Mr. SUU
The yo-yo master, Andrew Clemons, stole hearts and earned himself the title of Mr. SUU during the recent school-wide pageant.
Clemons was one of six finalists in the pageant, where he competed in talent, swimwear and live question sections.
At the end of the night, it was Clemons’ yo-yoing skills and charm that earned him the crown.
“I jokingly say I am the coolest kid in school,” Clemons said. “I think it’s been cool to have random people you don’t know say ‘hi’ to you in the hall.”
Clemons was born and raised in North Salt Lake were he participated in lacrosse and snowboarding.
He is currently a sophomore computer science major with dreams of one day traveling the world as a professional yo-yoer, but will most likely end up doing something with data analytics.
While studying here at SUU, Clemons is involved in the Sigma Chi Fraternity, Mobile App Development Club and the Quantitative Computing Club. He is also looking for more ways to get involved.
“I want to be more involved in student government and SUUSA activities,” Clemons said.
Although the title of Mr. SUU doesn’t hold much responsibility, Clemons hopes to inspire those who are thinking about coming to SUU.
“I was one of the few kids to come to SUU from my high school, so I hope to go back and be like, ‘SUU’s a super cool place, and you can accomplish whatever you want, if you put your mind to it,’” Clemons said.
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MISS SUU
From New Orleans to the Queen of SUU, India Mack presents more than just your typical college student.
Mack was born and raised in New Orleans, where she attended Dillard University and studied both theater arts production and early childhood education.
Upon her graduation, Mack began teaching K-12 students art, where she focused on creative thinking. While teaching, Mack went back to school and received her degree in elementary education. After teaching for nine years, Mack realized she was ready to start following more of her dreams.
Mack moved to Cedar City in hopes to earn a degree in fine arts and arts administration, in order to move up the administration ladder. She is currently a second year student and is scheduled to graduate in August of 2019.
Mack is currently a Graduate Ambassador, Graduate Senator for SUUSA and Graduate Mentor for the Black Student Union. She also works for the Utah Shakespeare Festival and is part of the education department where she runs the after-school theater arts programs at East and Three Peaks elementary schools. She also sits as a committee member for the Diversity and Inclusion, Online Presence and Graduate Council committees.
On top of all her commitments, Mack is the mother of two beautiful children whom she loves and cherishes. She is also committed to going to as many events as possible, even if she isn’t a member of that specific organization or club.
After graduating next summer, Mack plans on starting a high school program where students will use art as activism. She hopes to teach artists how to use their artistic ability to say something, while informing them about current political situations.
After being crowned Miss SUU, Mack’s fame has grown on campus.
“Being Miss SUU means that I represent not only myself, but an entire institution,” Mack said. “I have a lot of school spirit, and I know a lot about the university. So I can talk about it for extended periods of time, about anything.”
Mack is currently running on the platform of “Leave A Legacy.”
“I believe that if every student here left something behind for other students to build upon, image how great it would be over a course of time,” Mack said.
She is currently working on leaving her own legacy with two different projects.
The first is a new program called “T-Bird Eats,” which is a food recovery program that focuses on minimizing food waste on campus. When food is left over from an event on campus, students would be notified and would be given the opportunity to pick up the food instead of it being thrown away.
Although “T-Bird Eats” is still in the works, Mack hopes to have the program up and running for spring semester 2019.
Mack is also working with the SPB to establish events that are family friendly and more inviting to non-traditional students. She hopes to offer child care for specific events so that non-traditional students will feel more welcome.
She also hopes to inform non-traditional students that they can be involved in any event and organization that is on campus.
“Just because you are a certain age doesn’t mean you can’t go to a specific event,” Mack said.
Reflecting back on her run for Miss SUU, Mack said, “I did this because of a conversation I had with someone about lack of representation–not only with race, but also as a graduate student, a Non-Traditional Student and a mother. You put in your head that you’re a Non-Trad and that you can’t do traditional things, but you can. Live your life!”
Mack represents many different organizations on campus, but more than anything, she represents what it means to be a true representation of a T-Bird.
Story by: Easton Bowring
news@suunews.net
Photo by: Easton Bowring
