Meet your senator: College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Heather Lieber
Genuine and motivated describes Heather Lieber, your not-so-typical Utah State University Agriculture and Applied Sciences Senator. Lieber is a Taco-Bell-cheesy-gordita-crunch-loving dietetics junior in her fourth year at Utah State who has a passion for her college.
What sets the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences (CAAS) apart from any other college on campus is the 72-plus majors within the college, Lieber said, most of which aren’t incredibly specific to Agriculture. There is something for everyone.
“We are the number one Ag. school in the nation,” she said. “Our college is what started it all. We have degree diversity to match our future goals and hopefully our eventual career paths.”
Before her role as CAAS Senator, Lieber served on the A-Team for two years, helping with Student Orientation. She also participated in the Miss USU pageant and is an avid dance party-goer, or event-goer as she likes to say.
She said she is excited for the Ag. dance that CAAS is hosting to close the week, which will include swing dance for the first hour, and other types of music following the rest of the night. It will be held at the airport hanger this Friday night.
Lieber’s choice to become the CAAS Senator stemmed from watching Calee Lott, who held the position of CAAS Senator last school year.
“I faced lots of doubts and didn’t really know if I could do it, but the question I had to ask myself was often, ‘Who am I not to be the one?’ If someone else could do it, why couldn’t it be me?” Lieber said. “It was a new role for me to take on that required fast learning. I was up for the challenge. I also wanted to be a part of change and to let the students in our college know that I cared about change while seeking to improve what we currently stand for as a college.”
When she isn’t interacting with students or focusing on improving the vision and goals she has for the CAAS program, you can find her running a community 5k here or there or just running in general.
Lieber wants to inspire as a CAAS Senator, and help other students catch the vision of pride in the “college that started it all.”
“I would love to improve the student experience,” she said. “I want to do more than just improve the social media aspect of our college. I want to engage with students in conversation, and get to know them on an individual basis. The one thing I want students to know about me is that I’m a genuine person and won’t be fake in my conversations with students. I want to get to know them, and learn of their story and their needs. I want to help students realize that their experiences in CAAS are different than any other experience that they may have in their time at USU.”
As for her future, she hopes to be able to help people find joy in helping their bodies function to their fullest capacity through dietetics and nutrition. She wants to help people understand that taking care of their bodies can bring happiness to their lives.
“My dream scenarios are to work in an athletics program focusing on helping athletes with nutrition,” Lieber said. “I would also love to work with people with disabilities. But who really knows 100 percent what it is they want to do?”
Lieber appreciates that CAAS is so incredibly diverse, and well-rounded. When asked to describe herself, she laughed. “I’m just me. I’m not super Ag. I love Taco Bell, running and all Mexican Food. I want people to know that I’m a genuine person, and that their stories are of individual importance. I love USU and I love Logan.”
kortni.marie.wells@aggiemail.usu.edu
@kortniwells