Humans of USU: Colter Smith
The Utah Statesman interviewed Colter Smith, a sophomore in agricultural systems technology from Manila, Utah.
US: What are you most excited for in 2014?
CS: For summer to be here again so itÃs warm and I can hunt and work my horses and farm and just be outside without freezing my butt off.
US: WhatÃs a goal you have for this year?
CS: Get good grades in all of my classes.
US: What was your favorite thing about growing up in Manila?
CS: I could walk out my front door and go shoot my gun and do anything I wanted. I could take a horse wherever I wanted.
US: WhoÃs your celebrity crush?
CS: Carrie Underwood.
US: What was your favorite childhood memory?
CS: One of the things I always remember was when I was really little. Anytime weÃd get ready to go on a trip in the wintertime, Dad would go out and start the truck to warm it up and the smell of the diesel exhaust is stuck in my mind, so whenever I smell it, it brings back a lot of good childhood memories.
US: Favorite singer?
CS: George Strait or Chris Ledoux.
US: What do you love about Utah State?
CS: That itÃs freaking awesome. I just like the atmosphere here. ItÃs got a rural feel to it, so it helps me put up with city life.
US: WhatÃs been a recent dumb moment?
CS: I was going to someoneÃs apartment for the first time and turned on 400 East instead of 400 West, and then drove around aimlessly trying to figure out what was going on before I made the realization that I needed to go to 400 West.
US: What made you want to study agricultural systems?
CS: Because itÃs the closest degree to doing the things that I enjoy, like working with my horses, farming and things of that nature.
US: If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
CS: Steak and potatoes.
US: What would be a perfect way to spend a day?
CS: IÃd wake up and have biscuits and gravy for breakfast, then I would load the horses in the trailer, drive up on the mountain, then once I got by Sheep Creek Park IÃd hook up the team and go drive them for a while until I felt like I was content, and then set up camp, go fishing, catch dinner and sleep out under the stars.
US: WhereÃs your favorite place in the world?
CS: South Valley or in the mountains by my house, the Uintas.
US: Best advice youÃve ever been given?
CS: When I was on my mission, we were visited by a member of the Seventy and he told us that everyoneÃs going to be offered offense, but to take it is an individual decision, and not to take it, is also a decision. So when offered offense, donÃt take to it.
US: Do you have a favorite quote?
CS: ìCourage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.î ó John Wayne.
US: Who do you look up to most?
CS: I really look up to my dad, not simply because heÃs my dad, but because heÃs an incredible person. Because heÃs a man, heÃs morally good, heÃs honest and good for his word. HeÃd give you the shirt off his back.
US: WhatÃs a typical day like for you?
CS: Wake up and go to my classes in the morning, then immediately after that I go to work, then after that it just depends on the day.
US: WhatÃs been your greatest accomplishment in life?
CS: My mission, because it took me out of my comfort zone and it required me to do things I wasnÃt familiar with and maybe didnÃt even want to do, but also helped me see the value in different cultures and meeting people I maybe didnÃt want to meet at first.
US: Do you like being the youngest child?
CS: I donÃt really care, but I hate being eight years younger than my closest sibling.
US: WhatÃs your most prized possession?
CS: Probably my truck and my .45 pistol.
US: How many Animals do you have?
CS: Three Belgian draft horses, nine quarter horses, a couple Scottish highland cattle, chickens, and my mom has mini horses, but IÃm embarrassed to admit that.