Lindsay Clark, BA'07 BS'07
In 2007, Lindsay Clark graduated from the University of Utah with degrees in French, Environmental Studies and Urban Planning. While in school, she was involved with the Bennion Center’s Student Directed Program Xeriscape Salt Lake. It evolved into SEED which Lindsay directed and co-founded with Alex Parvaz. Together, they launched the Sustainable Campus Initiative and helped establish the Office of Sustainability.
Now, Lindsay works as the Barbara L. Tanner Fellow for the Office of Sustainability. She is actively developing the office and serves as a link to student organizations such as SEED and the Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU), where she is the Associate Director for the Sustainability Board.
Lindsay’s experience at the Bennion Center transformed her life, “I remember that ‘aha moment’ when I realized just how massive the environmental crisis is that we currently face.” Lindsay admits that before her involvement with center, she wasn’t aware of the sustainability issues our world faces. “I actually dropped my plans as I knew them and I changed my focus of study from pre-medicine to Environmental Studies and Urban Planning. I think that the Bennion Center helped me to find my calling in the sustainability movement and facilitated that growing process in a way that no other organization could.”
“My favorite memory, in a strange sort of way, is when our proposal for a student community garden for the Bennion Service Center House failed," to Lindsay, it was ridiculous for such a simple and beneficial projects to be rejected. "I felt furious and disappointed and as a result, pushed the group to tackle the whole problem of campus sustainability...Sometimes failure can help you to see the underlying problems and it can push you to reach for things you would have never dreamed possible.”
Lindsay’s advice to current students is this: “Find what you are passionate about and pursue it with all your heart; that is what makes you happy at the end of the day because you know that you are part of something bigger than yourself and that you are actively working to make the world a better place to live in.”
Marshall McCormick, BA’07
Marshall McCormick earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Anthropology with a minor in Human Development & Family Studies in 2007. In May 2008, he will receive a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from the U. In addition to graduating as a Bennion Center Service-Learning Scholar in 2007, Marshall participated in two San Juan River ASB trips, one as a river guide and one as a site leader.
Marshall and Dan Boyer, a fellow Bennion Center alumnus, were highlighted at the 2007 President’s Dinner. Marshall was given the opportunity to reflect on his time in Nicaragua and share the impact the Bennion Center had on him. “It was then that it occurred to me that we weren't just a group of students reaching out to the community but we were a collective of important individuals poised to change the world. It felt empowering to be able to represent and promote such a beautiful organization and to realize that any individual really can work to make the world a better place.”
The Bennion Center helped Marshall see the beauty in reaching out, lending a hand, and giving back to the world community. The Service Learning Scholars program helped him incorporate community service with his university education, “In turn it gave me the knowledge and experience to integrate service into my life goals. I feel that because of the successes and failures that I had with different programs and organizations, I was able to learn, hands-on, the best ways to recognize and address the needs of our community.”
The Service Learning program also allowed Marshall to volunteer in Nicaragua for nearly nine months, where he encouraged and supported children to attend and succeed in schooling. “The requirements of the Service Learning Scholars program allowed me to extend my education outside the classroom while encouraging me to create everlasting opportunities for others,” he says. Marshall also organized international fundraising tours and connected Nicaraguan children with caring American adults willing to fund their schooling. “This was only possible with the encouragement and guidance of the Bennion Center; they truly supported my education and experience for life-long service.”
Marshall is heading off to Madagascar with the Peace Corps this year. He’ll be an agroforestry volunteer, working on sustainable agriculture, water and soil conservation and increasing crop production through sustainable means. He’s due back May 2010.
Elizabeth Nies, BS’07
Before Elizabeth Nies earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2007, she directed the Bennion Center’s Mountain View Elementary Partnership and volunteered at Bend-in-the-River.
After graduation, Elizabeth moved to Washington. She now works as an aerospace stress engineer, analyzing airplane structures and interiors at BE Aerospace in Bothell, Washington.
Becca Wehunt, BS'07
After graduating from the University of Utah in 2007, Becca Wehunt began schooling at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. During her time at the U, Becca was as a Bennion Center Student Director, Executive Council Secretary and Student Cabinet President. She would like to go into Dermatology and would ultimately like to have her own practice.
Becca has a hard time picking just one memory of the center as her favorite. “I’d probably have to go with the Winter Retreat 3 years ago…We had fabulous activities and great discussions, and I feel close to everyone who was there. Winter Retreat is always wonderful, but that year was particularly memorable to me.” Becca also has warm memories from directing the Science Education Support Program, “The children that I taught truly touched me and made me believe in the service that we give others. That was when I began to see service as so much more than volunteerism. It became a relationship between those who give and those who receive, and an invaluable one at that.”
The time Becca spent in the Bennion Center has influenced her life in so many ways. “I see the world differently,” she says, “I see people's needs and desires and ways that I could serve them everyday and in every aspect of my life. The Bennion Center instilled in me a strong desire to create change & more importantly the knowledge that I can do so and the tools to do it.”
Becca advises current students to take reflection seriously, as she has found it to be so valuable. “I look back so fondly at the few pictures and journal entries I have. I wish I had more…It's one thing to do it for the community or Curt and Shane and Shannon, but another to do it for yourself,” she adds, “The work we do truly is the legacy of a great man, and it has a profound impact on all those who come in contact with it.”
Lis Jacques, HBS’05 BFA’06
Lis Jacques earned an Honors Degree in Chemistry from the University of Utah in 2005. In 2006, she completed her Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in painting and drawing also at the U. During her undergraduate experience, Lis was involved with the Bennion Center in many ways. She directed the Junior Science Academy, coordinated Campus Wide Programs and served as a Student Cabinet Representative. Lis was also one of the first 12 residents to live in the Bennion Service House, served as a Service-Learning Scholars Coordinator and graduated in 2006 as a Service-Learning Scholar. She also received the Dan Wendelboe Service Award for her work in Officers Circle recycling efforts.
Lis is now completing her second year as medical student at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine and hopes to be involved in clinical practice, medical teaching and research. “The Bennion Center taught me that service is an inseparable part of my lifelong education,” she says. This year, Lis began teaching weekly health orientation classes at the Road Home, “I look at as a continuation of the art classes I was involved with at Crossroads Urban Center. This effort was part of my service-learning scholar project and one of my greatest accomplishments in life as I learned the personal empowerment of seeing something grow from an idea and the benefit to myself and the participants. It also shaped my thinking about health as a more inclusive entity than science and how a wholistic approach to every person - regardless of their social status - should be a basic human right.”
With Lis’ leadership in the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), she is working for Universal Healthcare in the U.S. and pharm free care in clinics and hospitals. Lis recently attended a regional AMSA conference in San Francisco, "I marched for more funding for the Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). After visiting Ghana this summer I have seen the need for the wise use of humanitarian funds in eliminating healthcare disparities and poverty. I hope to play a part in this goal as a student and future physician. I thank the students and staff I interacted with in the Bennion Center for their role in my formal service education.”
Sarah Liljefelt, BS’06
In 2006, Sarah Liljefelt graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in Philosophy. She is a graduate of the Bennion Center’s Service-Learning Scholar Program. For her final project, she worked with the Utah Rivers Council to organize a canoe and kayak trip on the Bear River. The trip included a small group of state senators, reporters, and the general public. Participants were educated about Bear River issues and the effect that another dam on the river would have on the natural environment.
Upon graduation, Sarah headed off to Portland for law school. She just recently finished up her first semester at the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, where she is studying environmental law. “I want to go into water law; probably focusing on policy,” she says. Sarah’s always had a pretty strong idea of what she wanted to do and the Bennion Center gave her a great opportunity to integrate her interests and with her undergraduate degree and the experience was satisfying for her, “I've always loved to volunteer, and working on the Service Learning project was really rewarding.”
Sarah’s advice to current students is this, “Test the waters and find out what your passion is. School only gets harder after your undergraduate degree, so don't plan to go on to a graduate degree for fun; go because you know what you want to do, and that degree will allow you to do it.”
Alex Parvaz, BA’06 BS’06
Alex Parvaz graduated from the University of Utah in 2005 with degrees in Environmental Studies and Biology. As an undergrad student at the U, she directed the Bennion Center’s Xeriscape Salt Lake and Wasatch Community Gardens Student-Directed Programs, volunteered with Bend-in-the-River and graduated as a Service-Learning Scholar. Alex also directed and co-founded SEED with Lindsay Clark. Together, they launched the Sustainable Campus Initiative and helped establish the Office of Sustainability.
Alex has been involved with the Bennion Center for nearly her entire academic career at the U. “The Bennion Center has helped shaped my perspectives on my role in life and instilled within me a culture of service to the community,” she says, “Through service to the microorganisms devouring added compost materials, building gardens to grow food and share with the community, educating youth and working with university students about environmental and social health issues, I have learned much about the possibilities of instigating positive change through civic engagement, and bringing people together.”
Alex first learned about the Bennion Center after taking one of Fred Montague’s service-learning courses. “Five years later, I have invested myself in a number of challenging and yet meaningful and rewarding projects, empowering me to address and materialize my passion of helping build more sustainable, healthy communities,” she adds, “My enriching experiences in gardens, learning and teaching about environmental issues have provided practical experience and insight into ways of materializing my passions for a sustainable world.”
Currently, Alex is working towards her Masters in Science and Technology (MST) in Environmental Science and Sustainability, here at the U, and continues to be active in the Bennion Center’s SEED Program and in our community. She hopes to be able to continue working with the Office of Sustainability researching ways to improve the U’s ecological footprint, because as she explains it, “The University itself a microcosm of a city that can help offer leadership to the sustainable planning of Salt Lake and the world…I look forward to using the interdisciplinary framework of the Sustainability program and my understanding of science and social issues to work towards positive and healthy change both on and off campus.”
Clif Uckerman, BSW'06
In 2006, Clif Uckerman received his bachelors in Social Work from the University of Utah. While at the U, Clif was involved with the Bennion Center’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program and was one of the first Bennion Service House residents, helping to draft the mission statement and integrate diversity values.
"When I started attending the University of Utah in 2004, I was looking for a system of support that could help me progress and maneuver through such a huge institution,” Cliff says, “The Bennion Center is where I found it all - a cool place to hang, a place to practice and develop my leadership and a place to meet friendly and different people.”
Clif’s first ASB trip to LA was both fun and educational, “I learned so much about myself, about others and about the world. I had no idea that folks living with HIV and AIDS were still just normal regular people filled with promise, ambition and hope.” His experience inspired him to lead the following year’s trip to LA.
After graduation, Clif became the Director of YouthWorks, a pre-employment drug and alcohol prevention program aimed at youth success. Clif’s had a very positive Bennion Center experience and admits that, “My success has always been through the success of others and for those who impacted me at the Bennion Center I make that contribution back to the community in which I live and work. I am diversifying the community by exploring diversity issues among the youth and through their diversity helping them to succeed. Thanks, Bennion Center, for accepting the diversity within me."
Anne Looser, HBS'05
Anne Looser was involved in every facet of the Bennion Center during her schooling at the U - from student volunteer, to director, to coordinator. She was an ASB site leader and a Service Learning Scholar. Anne founded the Crossroads Urban Center student-directed program, organized the first Alternative Weekend, and helped conceptualize SPaCE.
Since graduating in 2005, Anne has moved to New York City where she teaches special education literacy instruction at Herbert Lehman High School in Bronx, New York. Anne has been chosen as a MetLife Fellow in the Teachers Network Leadership Institute (TNLI), a program established to improve student achievement by bringing the teacher’s voice to education policymaking, and the honor of membership in the organization has been extended to exemplary public school teachers across the nation. Through action research, TNLI teachers seek to bring their experience and expertise to current debates on education policy. Anne hopes to someday get her Ph.D. in Education Policy. “Education is so fundamental to our development and the lack thereof is the core of many social issues,” she says, “I want to be able to provide people with choices and opportunities.”
"The best training I ever received was through the Bennion Center!” The Bennion Center provided Anne with the tools she needed to be successful. The leadership training she received has proven to be invaluable. Every day, Anne uses the action plan skills she developed here and is able to think systematically about problems and issues that arise. Volunteering at the center also gave her confidence and fostered her ability to connect to and develop relationships with people. The Bennion Center also allowed her to make mistakes, to learn from them and to pick herself back up. Anne gained a sense of what a real community is like and knew she was a part of something bigger.
During her time at the Bennion Center, Anne gained an appreciation for the people she worked with. She began to view them as strong and powerful individuals, not victims or problems to be solved. “Remember that the people you are working with are people – powerful people – they’re not victims. They are much more powerful than you think. If you want to be in this for the long haul, you have to recognize their power as well as the power of your actions.”
Tyler Williams, BS'05
Tyler Williams graduated from the University of Utah in 2005 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business. During his senior year at the U, he was the student director for the Mountain View Elementary Partnership. Now, Tyler works as a Project Manager at Mountain West Real Estate Development where he helps the company acquire, develop, and redevelop retail shopping centers and strip malls in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Tyler speaks Spanish and was able to help a class of students whose primary language was Spanish and who struggled with their writing, speaking, and reading in English. He has fond memories of his experience with the Mountain View Elementary students, “I worked one-on-one with these kids. We read books together, practiced writing and spelling, and worked on reading comprehension. One of the things I miss most of all is going into the classroom each week and having kids smile and call out my name when I entered the room. They were so full of love and energy. I looked forward every week to seeing them."
Tyler encourages everyone to get involved in some sort of service, “The rewards of serving for this short amount of time at Mountain View far outweighed the effort in taking the time out of my schedule to do it,” he adds, “the Bennion Center has so many great programs and leaders that run the center - I am glad I was able to be involved.”
Christina Davis, BS’04 HBS’04
In 2004, Christina Davis earned Bachelor’s Degrees in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Utah. During her time at the U, she volunteered at the Bennion Center. In addition to directing People Connection for two years, Christina volunteered for other Bennion Center programs including Brothers and Sisters Club Eco-hour, Tree Utah, Bend-In-The-River, America Reads, and Environmental Action Team.
After graduation, Christina took a year off before going to law school. During that year, she served internships through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) for both the US Forest Service and Lava Beds National Monument. As a forest service intern on the Klamath River in Northern California, Christina did river clean-ups, monitored visitor use, educated visitors and locals, and helped with vegetation restoration. At Northern California’s Lava Beds National Monument, she monitored an archeologically sensitive prescribed burn area, provided visitor education about prescribe d burns and even participated in a prescribed burn. “That year I also managed to travel through Peru, Oregon, and Canada.”
Christina began law school at the University of Oregon in 2005. Her focus is on Environmental and Natural Resource Law. The last few years have been very busy for Christina. “I completed a fellowship for the Environment and Natural Resource Law Center with a focus on Oceans, Coasts and Watersheds, participated in the annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference held here at the University of Oregon and completed internships with several nonprofit environmental law organizations, including Friends of the San Juan. I am also a research assistant for the water law and ocean and coastal law professors.”
Christina plans to graduate this May with a Juris Doctorate with certificates in Environment and Natural Resource Law and Ocean and Coastal Law. After, she will take either the Oregon or Alaska Bar exam this summer. “Then, I have a year-long clerkship with the Superior Court in Anchorage, Alaska beginning in August of this year. After that I plan to pursue a career in public interest environmental law.”
Paul Arnold, BS'03 HBS'03
Paul Arnold graduated from the University of Utah in 2003 with degrees in Economics and Philosophy. During his three years of involvement with the Bennion Center, Paul directed the Bennion Center’s Environmental Action Team, coordinated Environmental Groups, and served as Student Cabinet President.
After graduation, Paul managed a financial services start-up company and taught math with Teach For America, a program that recruits outstanding recent college graduates and professionals to teach in urban and rural public schools and become leaders in the effort to expand educational opportunity.
Paul is currently attending law school at the University of Michigan and will graduate this coming May. His emphasis is on business law and he recently accepted a job offer in San Francisco for a management consulting firm so he and his wife, Monika Arnold, BA’01 (who is also a Bennion Center alum) will be relocating to the West Coast in the fall.
Rick Henriksen, BA’03 MD’07
Before completing his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah in 2003, Rick Henriksen volunteered at the Bennion Center as a student-director for the Special Olympics.
After graduation, Rick spent some time traveling throughout Europe and Southeast Asia. As a participant in the Volunteer Society Nepal, Rick volunteered at hospitals, clinics and orphanages in Nepal. In 2007, Rick received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in Bronx, New York. He’s now completing his residency in Family Medicine, here at the U.
Josh Holyoak, HBA'03
In 2003, Josh Holyoak graduated from the U with an Honors Degree in Biology. During his senior year, Josh was the Director of the Bennion Center’s BATKids Program. Upon graduation, he headed off to Maryland for medical school. He recently started a general surgery internship at the University of Colorado where he coincidently reconnected with fellow Bennion Center alum, Justin Barker. After he completes his internship, Josh hopes to work in the competitive field of Urology.
Josh’s favorite memory of working at the Bennion Center was when he got to teach a 5th grade class basic first aid. The kids were so fascinated with every detail and each bit of information he gave them sparked five new questions. That natural curiosity the kids displayed that day, which we all have, about the human body was a large part of what drove Josh towards medicine. His studies keep him very busy and he doesn’t always get as much sleep as he would like but he finds medicine to be fun, both to learn and to practice.
Josh has some great insight on the college experience and his advice to current students is this: “Study your butt off. It's a cliché, but you have no idea how much your hard work now will pay off in the future. That being said, make sure you are studying something that you love. You only get one career (usually) and most of them are hard work, so you might as well pick something that fascinates you. Lastly, I would advise everyone to consider Urology. It is the most fun you can have as a doctor. Just ask Dwight Schrute.”
Karen (Hunt) Lambert, BA'02
Karen (Hunt) Lambert graduated from the University of Utah with a Speech Communication degree in 2002. Before graduating as a Service-Learning scholar, she directed the Helping Hands, Helping Hearts student-run program and worked as a Service-Learning TA. Karen was recently married and is now pursuing her Master’s degree in American Studies at USU.
In addition to providing the foundation for many cherished college memories, the Bennion Center helped Karen develop leadership skills and greater confidence. “I learned to organize regular activities, recruit volunteers and schedule activities,” she says, “I gained lasting insights talking to homeless men and women as we served side by side in the community.” The experience also helped Karen be more supportive of other young or inexperienced leaders. She was only 18 years old when she directed Helping Hands, Helping Hearts, “Some of those who volunteered for my project were working on their master's degree and obviously had far more experience and skills than I did. However, they were willing to pitch in a hand and help out. Theirs is an example I try and follow."
Karen’s service experience and associations opened up other opportunities for her on campus, such as helping with a successful student body campaign, taking independent study with her favorite professor and getting paid to work as a Service-Learning teaching assistant.
“There's so much more I could say. Service healed my inner wounds, brought me joy, expanded my horizons, blessed me with friends, and brightened my perspective. My experience as a Service-Learning Scholar also allowed me to gain skills that helped me qualify for the workforce and for serving inside my family, church and community.”
Today, Karen strives to see service as something bigger than a mere scheduled project, but rather as a manner in which she lives. “It's easy to become obsessed in living up with the Jones' in a world with superficial definitions of success. An attitude of service is imperative to keep from getting caught up in materialism. I often attempt to remind myself to take Lowell Bennion's advice and learn to enjoy life's simple pleasures and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.”
Steven Nelson, BA'02
Steven Nelson is from Salt Lake City, Utah. He is Vice President of Catalyst Humanitarian and oversees the general operations of Catalyst Humanitarian and its partnerships. He co-founded the Utah Healing Arts program at the Bennion Center in 1998. The program, which still exists, encourages individuals with musical talents to perform for care facilities and hospitals around the state. Steven also founded the ASUU Communications Office in 2000. He holds a BA in Music from the University of Utah and currently works as the Vice President of Marketing for Sky Blue Communications, a wireless technology communications firm. In the past, Steve met with the coordinators of the Service Politics and Civic Engagement (SPACE) at the Bennion Center to help them plan strategies for outreach.
Steven says, "Out of the myriad of experiences in involvement and education I received at the University of Utah, the Bennion Center afforded me one of the richest experiences of all. The Bennion Center taught me that true common ground is to be united in a good cause. No matter who I was or where I came from, there was a place for me among a team of motivated individuals that believed in making the world a better place. Great friendships were forged as a result of such common desires, goals, and visions. The Bennion Center also taught me that one person can truly make an impact. While the world sometimes underestimates and belittles the individual, the Bennion Center emphasizes the importance of someone with an undaunted vision. This vision is not enough on its own, but the Bennion Center's specialty turning vision into reality by coupling it with the right tools, a solid team, and an appropriate focus. I have taken these lessons and found successful application of them beyond my University of Utah experiene---and I have the Bennion Center to thank for it."
Sonja (Hervi) Davidson, BS’01
In 2001, Sonja (Hervi) Davidson earned her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Utah. Before graduating, she served as director for the Bennion Center’s Eco-Hour program and participated in Portland and Arcata Alternative Spring Break trips. Post graduation, Sonja spent three years working at the Bennion Center as the Bend-in-the-River coordinator. She also volunteered as a staff partner for an ASB trip to Hammond, Louisiana.
“Our group spent a week planting trees in the swamps... and out in that muddy old swamp, I met the love o' my life.” Her (now) husband Chris Davidson was the student coordinator at the Hammond research station. Once he finished his schooling in Louisiana, Chris moved to Utah where he and Sonja were married.
The Bennion Center had a profound effect on Sonja’s life. “The Bennion Center most definitely impacted who I am and the career path that I chose. I simply cannot imagine going to work at a job each day without feeling like I am doing SOMETHING to make some sort of a positive impact in the world,” she adds, “Although my job is tough (teaching students with academic challenges in a low-income, inner city school), I can honestly say that, most days, I can come home and feel like I have made some sort of a difference... and that is part of the Bennion Center living on in my heart."
Sonja received her teaching certification in 2004 and now works teaches Special Education for Kindergarten through 6th grade at Odyssey Elementary School in Ogden. Her husband, Chris, teaches middle school science and as Sonja puts it, they “definitely get our fill of fun and working with kids!”
Jill Homer, BS’00
Jill Homer earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Mass Communication with a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Utah in 2000. While at the U, Jill was involved with the Bennion Center’s Environmental Action Team and participated in two Alternative Spring Breaks, one in Portland and one in Arcata.
After graduation, Jill worked at various newspapers in Utah and Idaho until she moved up to Alaska in August 2005. She now works as a small town journalist in Juneau. Jill spends a lot of her time outdoors ice biking, endurance mountain biking, road riding, touring, hiking, and snowboarding. She is currently training for the Iditarod Trail Invitational.
Jill says that her experiences at the Bennion Center were among the most valuable of her time in college. Looking back she says, “I forged some friendships that still remain strong today, and also cemented my resolution to work to protect and promote the natural environment.”
Jill’s favorite memories stem from her ASB trip to Arcata in 2000, where she worked to eradicate nonnative lupine from the Northern California beaches. “The group we worked with was so amazingly fun, and it was chance for me to step outside my comfort zone and connect with people who care as deeply about the environment as I do. I was still a little young at the time - 20 - and just traveling to California seemed like a big leap. Now I am riding my bicycle in the Alaskan winter wilderness, but in many ways, it’s just a continuation of those first leaps.”
Kim Paulding, BS'98
Kim (Hooper) Paulding graduated with a Organizational Communication Degree from the University of Utah in 1998. During her time at the U, she volunteered at the Bennion Center, directing the Literacy Action Project, Best Buddies Program and Special Olympics.
Kim says that time she spent at the Bennion Center was “a life changing experience for me and the only reason that I ended up working in nonprofits.” Since graduation, she has worked for numerous nonprofits including the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake and the Utah Food Bank. For the past seven years, she has run the Utah Bar Foundation, a charitable foundation that provides funding for legal services for the poor and disabled as well as for law related education in Utah. Kim also serves as Vice-Chair of the PRATT organization (Parley's Rails Trails and Tunnels). Kim has also started a family - she and her husband, Jon, have five children, one of which is adopted from Honduras.
Kristy Meyer, BS’97 BS’99 MSW’06
Kristy Meyer earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Utah before going on to get her Master’s of Social Work in 2006. During her undergraduate experience, Kristy was involved with the Bennion Center’s Campus AIDS Project.
After graduation, Kristy got married to her husband, Aaron Phillips, with whom she has, “lovely house and a loveable dog.” She recently accepted a social work position working with homeless veterans at the VA Medical Center in Salt Lake.
Christine Carr, BA'95
In 1995, Christine Carr graduated with a BA in English from the University of Utah. During her schooling at the U, Christine served as an Office Director, Student Coordinator, ASBC President, and Service-Learning Scholar at the Bennion Center.
After graduation, Christine lived in Europe and later in Japan where she taught English for two years with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET). She also served on the National Council for the Association for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (AJET) with which she helped coordinate beach clean ups and a school district recycling program, and participated in an "alternative spring break" with Habitat for Humanity in the Philippines. Once finished the JET Programme, Christine moved to New York City to attend law school. “I matriculated at Brooklyn Law School, in no small part because of their outstanding commitment to community service through the Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest (BLSPI).” She now practices tax law as an in-house corporate tax counsel with a Fortune 100 Company that specializes in international mergers and acquisitions.
The Bennion Center had a great impact on Christine, who says, “There is not a day that passes when I do not think about the things I learned at the Bennion Center. A commitment to examine my values, reflect on them and work to try to make them manifest in my choices and in my life are things that I began to understand because of the Bennion Center. In every aspect of my life, and in each step along the way of my path so far, I know that the Bennion Center was one of the primary things that allowed me to take the next step.”
To Christine, the Bennion Center is much more than just a place - "It is the students who serve and lead, the faculty that serve and teach, the administration and staff that serve and facilitate, and the alumni that put their experiences into practice as they step forth onto their paths beyond the University of Utah's doors." For her, the center is one of the principle places where the individual and the community intersect. She adds, "Having had the opportunity to be at that intersection, to learn from it…is a rare and wonderful thing…one that I am immeasurably grateful for and cannot praise highly enough.”
Tom Kotter, BA'95 BS'95
Tom Kotter earned degrees in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Utah in 1995. During his senior year of schooling at the U, he was the student director for the Bennion Center’s Lowell Elementary Partnership.
“The Bennion Center was the catalyst for me in making a lot of decisions in my life,” Tom says, “After the Bennion Center, I went and lived/volunteered in Africa, Thailand and India prior to doing my graduate studies. I know that these life-changing experiences wouldn't have occurred had I not experienced the Bennion Center and the relationships that I built there.”
Tom now has his own business, an international trading company. Owning his business and working from home allows him to not only provide for his family (he and his wife have twins - a boy and a girl - and are expecting a third child in March) but to foster his passion to be a part of positive change both in his community and in the world. “My work keeps me busy but it also affords me the freedom to spend a lot of time with my family and engage in projects that build stronger communities both here and overseas.”
Lisa Burbidge, BA'92
In 1992, Lisa Burbidge received a bachelor’s in Organization Communication from the University of Utah. During her schooling, she was a volunteer at the Bennion Center during its early years and served as the center’s Advocacy Director.
Since graduation, Lisa has worked with various non-profit organizations, including the United Way of the Great Salt Lake Area, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, the Madeleine Choir School, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Intermountain Area. She is also the sole proprietor and owner of the Burbidge Group, with which she provides development services for charitable organizations. Lisa specializes in providing insight, strategic advice, and practical support to non-profit organizations and their leadership. She is passionate about working collaboratively with professional fundraisers to build a framework for greatness and increase organizational capacity. She also aids busy development departments with the additional support they often need, and serves as a resource for organizations without dedicated development staff.
Lisa still finds time to serve her community by volunteering with groups such as the Utah Society of Fundraisers, the Salt Lake Arts Academy and the Junior League of Salt Lake City.
Lisa Nichols, BA’89 MSW’91
After finishing her undergraduate studies at the University of Utah with a degree in Psychology, Lisa Nichols went on to earn a Masters of Social work from the U in 1991. She got involved with the Bennion Center shortly after it opened – in fact, Lisa was one of the center’s first Rotary Interns.
“I was excited about the addition of the Bennion Center because I wanted an organized means to volunteer. I come from a family that is service-oriented and I had difficulty finding volunteer opportunities as I grew up.” Lisa finds that while non-profits always need volunteers, they don’t always have a means to respond to, train or organize volunteers and the Bennion Center helps fill that gap. The center provided Lisa with fantastic hands-on training. “I learned more from my volunteer work than from any of my course work,” she adds, “some of the skills I learned were academic such as planning and evaluation.”
The Bennion Center helped Lisa develop vital interpersonal skills such as communication, team building and motivating others. She also learned to be resourceful - "As interns, we often had projects without the resources to meet the needs of the project. This has been true throughout my career, and I have always been creative in meeting the needs of an individual or organization with limited resources.”
Lisa's favorite memory of the Bennion Center is when everyone made giant pictures of characters from Where the Wild Things Are and hung them throughout the Union Building. "We wanted people to know that volunteering is fun and requires imagination."
Since graduation, Lisa has worked with non-profit organizations that help the medically underserved. Today, she is the Executive Director of Midtown Community Health Center. Its mission is to make health care available to those who otherwise wouldn't have access due to financial, language or cultural barriers.
