STUDENT STORIES
BLAKE STAGG
Supply Chain Management, '18
Blake has had a lot of hardship in life, starting when his best friend, and twin brother committed suicide. This devastation threw Blake into a downward spiral where he eventually became heavily involved with a prescription drug addiction. Battling the heartbreak of loosing his brother and the addiction, Blake, with the help of family and friends knew he need help and wanted more for his life. Fortunately for Blake, there is a bright future, incredible education, and dedicated mentors that have helped him to where he is today, a very successful student. Blake shares his story because if he can impact just one person to believe they can be anything, it is worth it!
Check out Blake's full video story here.
WHY WEBER?
Blake grew up in Utah, right in Weber State's back yard. Right out of high school, he received a full academic scholarship to Weber State, so he took the offer and started. After taking his first few classes and unsure of what he wanted to do at the time, he decided to postpone school and work for a few years. "During that time, my twin brother committed suicide. That really threw me for a loop and I actually got heavily involved with prescription drugs and got into an addiction. That consumed my life for a couple of years. Luckily through family and support, I was able to get sober and stay sober. I have been sober for a little over five years now." During his rehab, Blake attended a community college in Salt Lake where he received his associate's degree. Wanting more, Blake decided to transfer back to Weber State and "try something new this time. It has led me to the point I am right now where life is pretty good!"
WHY SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT?
"I choose supply chain management because of professor Barlow. The first few days in class he made it known that there was a huge demand for jobs in that industry and the longer I took the course I realized I liked the math involved and there are so many different opportunities in the field and I could choose what I wanted to do where some of the other majors I felt limited by the career selection."
ACTIVITIES AT WEBER?
"The most fun experience I've had at Weber is at the football or basketball games. I am a big sport's guy and especially when Weber has advanced into the NCAA tournament, I remember that and had a really good time. Growing up I was a huge sports fan. Weber State isn't generally known as a big sports school but that's one thing that I've realized is that it still fun and they are competitive. What's better than going to the football stadium on a crisp September night, perfect temperature, you've got mountains in the background and you are watching football, it is an intimate setting, and I just really enjoy it."
Blake recalls being a student while current NBA sensation was still here, "I was able to see Damian Liliard play for the three years he was here and it was incredible! You look at him now and he's one of the top 10 or 15 guys in the NBA and he went to little Weber State in Ogden, Utah, so I feel fortunate and lucky to have seen that before he made it big."
INCREDIBLE ACCESS
Fortunately for Blake, the faculty and staff at the Goddard School make it a point to get to know their students, and this has been a major benefit to Blake's success and growth. "At Weber state, the faculty and staff have helped me tremendously. There's been a few teachers specifically, Evan Barlow, Stan Fawcett and Professor William Baily that really made a huge impact on my college career. They took the time to answer questions that I had and pushed me inside the classroom to do better. They saw the potential in me before I even did. It has made a world of difference in my college career. The faculty and staff have listened to me and I have told them about my experiences. While they couldn't directly relate, they could relate to going through hard things and they shared their experiences back with me. That helped me know that I could do whatever I want to do."
In addition to incredible faculty, the Goddard School has a wonderful career services center dedicated to it's students. "There are so many internships. Every day it seemed like I was getting a new email for a new internship opportunity."
ADVICE
"The biggest key to my success is just put in the work because I've been in college a few times and when it didn't work out I wanted to blame something external, like a professor or the weather, but when I could finally hold myself accountable and say you determine your destiny in college, that's when the things started to change. That's one of my biggest recommendations is take responsibility and hold yourself accountable and put your head down and do what you have to do!"
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
"These struggles that I have been through have made me realize that I am capable of doing hard things and succeeding and made me realize the great opportunity I have right at my fingertips for the taking. A lot of the people that have been through what I've been through don't have that opportunity, so it has driven me to succeed and I want to succeed." Through the Goddard School of Business, Blake currently has an internship at Hill Airforce Base. "My internship has made me grow and made the classes that I'm taking applicable in the real world setting. The skills that I've learned here transfer to the job which has made me a more valuable member at my job and has made everything make sense."
Blake is scheduled to graduate with a degree in Supply Chain Management in the spring of 2018. What's next after school? "Ultimately, I'd like to pursue a master's degree."