Loudly and Proudly
Amy Renner Hendricks, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Speaking of stories, here’s one for you ...
Brad (that’s what he prefers to be called) may be Weber State University’s new president, but, at home, he’s king … of dad jokes. “You know the kind,” he said, laughing, “the quick quips that make your kids give each other that ‘Oh no, not another one’ glance.” Here’s his recent favorite: “My wife said she was getting really annoyed because I couldn’t stop singing I’m a Believer. I thought she had to be joking, but ‘then I saw her face.’”
He grinned and said, “I think that one’s actually gotten a few eye rolls at this point. I like when my kids’ friends come over because sometimes they laugh at my jokes.”
Brad brings his good nature and even temperament to work, too. Ask any of his colleagues, and they’ll agree. But, this is a story of a time when Brad was uncharacteristically unhappy. It was spring semester 2008, and as WSU’s vice president for University Advancement and legislative liaison, he was spending most of his time at the Utah State Capitol. On this particular day, Brad watched as the Capitol Rotunda came alive with undergrads from the University of Utah and Utah State University, all eager to display their research for legislators. That wasn’t what bothered him — a champion of higher education, Brad thinks students sharing what they’ve learned is a beautiful thing to behold, even if they are wearing Utah red or Aggie blue. But he felt there should have been some purple there, too, that Weber State’s undergraduate researchers had important experiences to share, as well. But, he had been told there wasn’t enough space for students from three universities.
And that bothered him.
So Brad went to the scheduling office and booked WSU’s own undergraduate research day at the Capitol. Two weeks later, 30+ students assembled in the Rotunda to share their work. Brad watched happily as legislators listened to students explain their undergraduate research experiences — impressive, meaningful projects that focused on brine shrimp populations, the sleep cycles of shift workers, how to teach math through dance and more.
“He was so proud of what our students and faculty were doing,” said Utah Sen. Ann Millner, who was president of WSU at the time. “He wanted to spotlight it. His collaborative side would have loved to share the day with the University of Utah and Utah State University, but when that couldn’t happen, he became fiercely determined to showcase Weber State students and faculty.”
Ten years later, as president of WSU, Brad is even more “fiercely determined” to put Weber State in the spotlight, to share the Weber State story. But what is that exactly?
We Are Weber. Defined.
On Jan. 3, 2019, on just his third official day as Weber State’s president, Brad found himself answering an important question, “What does the statement ‘We Are Weber’ mean to you?”
He paused for a moment and finally said, “Dang it. I wasn’t going to get emotional.” But he did. Choking up, he continued. “When I say ‘We Are Weber,’ it means we are a community that is willing to go to any length to help our students accomplish things they’ve only dreamed of accomplishing.” He then recounted a quick history of Aaron Tracy and J. Willard Marriott: In the early 1920s, Tracy, a Weber College faculty member (who would later become president of Weber College), helped Marriott, (who had quit high school to work on his family’s farm), find odd jobs on campus so he could earn credits and get his college degree.
“Look what that relationship launched,” Brad said. “Marriott would later become a worldwide leader in the hospitality business. Today, thanks to the personalized attention our students still get from faculty, our students go out and become wildly successful. I truly believe what we do here is second to none, and, throughout my presidency, I’m going to take the time to share the Weber State story.”
That’s why the remainder of this article will not be about Brad, although it’s his introduction to the alumni community; it will be about others. “Our alumni and student stories are far more important to me,” he said, smiling. In that spirit, Brad, just a few weeks into his presidency, reached out to students, alumni, faculty and staff to learn more about them through his Louder and Prouder campaign. Inspired by his enthusiasm and the wonderful responses he received, we have put a compilation of stories together, a compilation of …
great, Great, GREAT Successes
‘Speak’ing of Success
When Brad Wilson BS ’93 stepped into the House Chamber on the opening day of the 2019 legislative session — his ninth session since he was elected to Utah’s House of Representatives in 2010 — he did so with a new title: speaker of the house. Wilson graduated from Weber State with a bachelor’s degree in business administration/marketing. He is president and CEO of Destination Homes.
Wilson, and Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, received WSU’s 2019 Crystal Crest Presidential Award. In his acceptance speech, Wilson joked, “When I attended Weber State, I was nominated for a Crystal Crest four times, but never won.” He added, “It’s really special to finally be taking one of these home with me tonight.”
Oh, the Places She’ll Go
Jeni Claudio’s first interaction with Weber State had nothing to do with her own education. Instead, it had everything to do with her children’s education. A single mother of five young kids, Jeni signed up for Weber State’s Family Literacy Program, which provides in-home literacy and parenting support to families, most of whom participate in Head Start.
“Reading to my kids is going to help them in the future,” said Jeni, who was raised by parents who couldn’t read. “Having that family time with a book, or having my son on my lap and teaching him his letters is really nice. Now, all of my kids are doing great in school.”
Because of her experience with the Family Literacy Program, which reached its 2,000th family early in 2019, Jeni decided to begin her own educational journey. She visited Weber State’s Community Education Center in Ogden, where she received the help and encouragement she needed to enroll at the university. Today, Jeni is a only a few semesters away from graduating with a degree in social work.
Hear more from Jeni on the Family Literacy Program here.
Keeping A Promise
Craig Johnson BS ’14 recalls what it was like to grow up poor in the frigid Midwest. “Even though my parents worked tirelessly to provide for me and my siblings, I often had to wear shoes full of holes,” he said. “The winters left me cold, wet, and with stinky feet that caused me no shortage of embarrassment. I promised myself that my children would never have to go through that.”
After graduating from high school in central Iowa, Craig moved to Utah, where most of his extended family lived. A friend directed him to WSU, where Craig enrolled and majored in manufacturing engineering. Today, he is the director of quality and improvement for All Metals Fabrication in Ogden, where he helps create and implement strategies to grow the company.
“I spent six years as a part-time student at Weber State, and I loved every minute of it,” Craig said. “My education gave me the knowledge and skills I needed to have continued success after graduation. And, because I’m frugal by nature, I never buy expensive shoes, but I have been able to keep that promise I made to myself and my children. I couldn’t have done that without WSU.”
Learn more about Craig here.
Published in the New York Times
Shaquille Heath BS ’15, a communications associate for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, wrote an essay on race for the New York Times, in which she boldly shared a life moment, relaying a conversation her dad initiated with her at the mall food court when she was just 13:
“ ... he looked at me and said, ‘You’re black.’ He said it so sternly that I thought that this remark may have been the end of the talk.
“I’m sure you’ve already had encounters in life that tell you what this means,” he said, “but I want to talk to you about it.
“No fluctuation in his voice, no change of tone. His demeanor commanded my attention. I sat silently and listened.
“The first thing people see when they look at you is your skin color. People will look at your skin and all they will see is black. It doesn’t matter what you accomplish in life. If you become a doctor, a lawyer, a movie star — they will look at you, and the first thing they will see is your blackness.
“He stared at me intently. I stared back at him. I didn’t touch my pretzel.”
Shaquille’s essay, titled The Other Talk, was published in the New York Times on Jan. 19, 2019, the Saturday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Realization of a Dream
In February 2019, Eladio Bobadilla BIS ’13 accepted a position as assistant professor of history at the University of Kentucky. It was a dream come true for someone who, growing up, never even thought he’d go to college. When Eladio was 11, his family moved from a tiny adobe house in Mexico to Central California, where his dad found steady work picking grapes. Eladio didn’t speak a word of English and barely finished high school. He heard about Weber State while serving in the U.S. Navy and enrolled after he was honorably discharged.
Eladio graduated from WSU with a Bachelor of Integrated Studies degree in just three years. After declining offers from two Ivy League graduate schools, he accepted a fellowship to Duke University, which he completed in the spring of 2019. He will begin his new career in Kentucky in the fall of 2019.
“Along the way, people told me I’d never go to college. But at Weber State, everyone encouraged me. They knew my story and supported my dream,” Eladio said. “They didn’t just say, ‘We hope you do well.’ They said, ‘You will do well, and we will get you to where you want to be.’ They did just that.”
A Long-Term Investment
In January 2019, Trisha Nichols BS ’17, MTax ’18 started a new career as a tax associate at a certified public accounting office. A single mother of four, she worked hard to earn her bachelor’s degree in accounting and her Master of Taxation degree just one year later. Prior to enrolling at Weber State, where she was the recipient of a Dream Weber award (which offers free tuition and general fees to students whose household incomes are $40,000 or less), she took on jobs in restaurants and retail stores, but it was never quite enough to support her family. For five years, she had to rely on government assistance, but she knew her future could and would be bright, with an education.
“Today, I can comfortably support my family,” Trisha said. “I am beyond grateful for my phenomenal education, for my professors and my experiences with Beta Alpha Psi (an honor society for accounting students). To everyone who helped me along the way, I would just say, ‘Thank you a million times over.’”
We just had to share this story about the day Brad became president because ...…
Oh, What a Day It Was!
On the afternoon of Dec. 6, 2018, Brad and Camille Mortensen sat in their car behind the LDS Institute on the north side of Weber State University’s Ogden campus. Camille was clutching a framed drawing of a picture her and Brad’s youngest son, Brooks, had drawn as a kindergartener, with a thumbs up by Weber, or “Webr” as he spelled it, and a thumbs down by BYU. She wanted to show it during the announcement, if there was even going to be an announcement. Brad was clutching his cell phone, waiting … waiting … waiting.
It was 4:50 p.m. Weber State University’s public presidential announcement was scheduled to begin in 55 minutes. A phone call from the Utah Board of Regents was bound to come in at any moment. Brad and Camille had spent most of the day trying to distract themselves from that phone call, going to the gym and relaxing at home — “It wasn’t possible,” Camille said, laughing. Around 3:30, Camille couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to change into her dress clothes. “What are you doing?” Brad asked. “We haven’t gotten a phone call yet.” To which Camille replied, “I’m feeling optimistic, Brad — “I was really more nervous than optimistic,” she noted.
At 4, they decided to head to Weber State, just in case — “It was a long, quiet drive that afternoon from our home in Pleasant View to Ogden,” Camille said.
Finally, at 4:53 p.m., the phone rang. Brad answered it on speaker. “Brad, we are pleased to offer you the position of president of Weber State University,” said chair of the Utah Board of Regents Harris Simmons, the voice on the other line. With that sentence, Brad and Camille went from heavyhearted — they had almost decided to head home — to elated.
After a brief conversation with Simmons, Brad called his parents, Leon and Barbara Mortensen, who he knew would be awaiting his call anxiously on their farm in Idaho. Or, that’s where he thought they would be. He had no idea Camille had orchestrated them being at Weber State. “I called them and said, ‘Brad will never tell you to come, because it’s so uncertain, but I know he’ll want you to be there if he’s named president.’ It was so funny to see his reaction when they said, ‘That’s great news, son! We’re in the football stadium parking lot. We’ll see you in a few minutes.’”
Brad then moved his car from the LDS Institute to the pay lot just south of Shepherd Union, where a Board of Regents representative was waiting to sneak him and Camille into the Shepherd Union Ballroom for the public announcement. There, a still-emotional Brad was met with shouts of cheer and encouragement and a standing ovation. He took the stage, thanking Camille, his four kids, his friends, the Board of Regents, Weber State faculty, staff and students, and his parents, for whom he asked the audience to give a round of applause. “Many of you have heard me tell the story of how my dad worked in a potato processing plant, and how he always encouraged his sons to get an education because he wanted something better for us. Tonight, they took a risk and drove here from Idaho,” he said, his voice breaking.
But for Leon and Barbara, it wasn’t a risk at all. “We had a good feeling about it,” said Leon. “We certainly had hoped for it, because we knew it was his dream,” interjected Barbara. Both said, “We’re so proud of him.”
When asked how they felt being applauded, they humbly said, “Brad has always been there for us, and he’s always been very thankful to us. It’s just another one of Brad’s characteristics — not forgetting those who helped him get here.”
WSU Through and Through
“We start them young at our house,” Camille told the crowd of Weber State community members during Brad’s presidential announcement. “Our youngest son, Brooks, when he was a kindergartener at Polk School here in Ogden (he’s 13 now), went to an assembly where the BYU Ballroom Dance Team was performing. He got back to his classroom, and his teacher asked all the students to draw a picture of what they thought of the assembly. Brad was so proud of Brooks’ submission that it’s been hanging in his office for the past nine years.”
She held up the drawing.
“You probably can’t see it very well, but it says ‘BYU,’ with a thumbs down and ‘Weber’ spelled creatively (Wibr), with a big purple thumbs up,” Camille explained.
She continued: “Our oldest daughter, Brynn, graduated from Weber State in 2017, and because of her academic experiences and fun social experiences, it was only natural that her younger sister, Colette, would want to come here. She’ll be starting in the fall.”
Their son Cameron also completed an internship through WSU’s Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service and “went to every WSU football camp.”
“We — our entire family — loves Weber State, and Brad, well, he is fiercely loyal to this school, and he’s passionate about this school,” Camille said. “He’s the hardest-working man I know, and I am so excited about the future of Weber State as he leads and works with other fiercely passionate and talented people. I think the future is bright.”
Brad’s Favorite Professor
Brad earned a bachelor’s degree from Utah State University, a master’s degree from Syracuse University and a doctoral degree from the University of Utah. He also attended Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho). It was there he met one of his favorite professors, Kent Marlor.
“He taught Poli Sci 299: Political Inquiry. It was an impossible class,” Brad said, laughing. “He handed us a list of all these things to research — I think I still have the list somewhere in my office — and he said, ‘These are all the things you might have to deal with if you ever work in politics.’
“I remember one of the questions was, ‘Who is Carl Cheeseman?’ We had two weeks to research the questions, footnote them and turn them in. Remember, we didn’t have Google or Wikipedia at the time — this was 1991 or 1992. We had to learn to use all the references at the library, and all of the names were spelled wrong for the people we were trying to look up, so we had to deduce who he was even talking about.
“It wound up being a tricky, difficult assignment, but Professor Marlor’s take on it was, ‘If you can do this, you can go out there and figure anything else out,’ and he was right. That’s why I love the phrase in our positioning statement that says, ‘We know how to challenge you, and we care enough to do it.’ That was Kent Marlor for me in my education. I relate to that part of what happens at Weber State because if we’re just here to make it easy for students, then we’re not doing it right. Will they have a degree in the end? Yes. But they won’t have grown.
“By the way, we (the students in Professor Marlor’s class) weren't supposed to help each other, but I remember we were all running around asking, ‘Who the heck is Carl Cheeseman!?’” Brad said, chuckling.