Meet your Senator: Mr. Joseph Day, the Science Guy
Joseph Day’s favorite tooth is his upper left canine. “Because it’s sharp,” he laughed. “And it’s tooth number eleven”.
He didn’t say why the number eleven is significant, but it’s safe to assume Day probably has a good reason. He is intelligent, motivated, handsome and kind. He’s currently applying to dental schools and he’s the science senator this year at Utah State University.
Growing up, Day wanted to be a train conductor. He then made a dramatic shift in his career path and hoped to become a construction truck driver.
“And then I wanted to get paid, so I decided to be a contractor — so I could still drive the trucks,” he said.
Like many aspiring college students, Day took the infamous Career Aptitude Test in high school and one of the recommended occupations was to be a dentist.
“It just clicked… I don’t know why,” he said.
Thus, Day went from trains, to trucks, to teeth. And he couldn’t be happier. A biology major at USU, Day absolutely adores the sciences and has a real passion for learning. Right now he interns as a dental assistant.
When asked if he’ll be the sort of dentist to try and talk to his patients even with his hands in their mouth, Day just leaned his head back and laughed. “No, it’s so hard, though!” he exclaimed. “Like, I do want to talk to them, but I’m cleaning their teeth and they can’t respond… Hopefully I’ll get the hang of that and not be that dentist!”
Day is also brimming with school spirit. His favorite Aggie Ice Cream flavor is Aggie Bull Tracks. He used to work at the beloved creamery when he was an underclassman, which was a long time ago, he said as he laughed and examined his biceps for ice cream scooping definition.
An outdoorsman, a Cache Valley native, and an Alpha Tao Omega fraternity member, Day has big dreams for USU this year. Take Science Week, for example. This year Nov 7-11, Day plans to break the world record for the most people stargazing at once.
“We need 1,869 people to break the world record. Hoping to do it on the Quad or something. Maybe the field. People like to be on the football field, right?” he chuckled.
Science Week gives our happy-go-lucky science senator the chance to do his thing: give back and get involved face to face with his fellow Aggies.
“I love Science Week because it’s my chance to give back,” he said. “It’s their money and I’m giving it back to them in a useful and meaningful way. I’ve actually learned a lot sitting in boards; how the university runs, the good and the bad, the fun stuff, the struggles, the behind the scenes…”
Joe Day is passionate about the responsibility he faces sitting on four university committees. Because a lot of the hard work happens under the radar, it’s understandable that not many Aggies know about their senators — or the hard work they do for their academic well-being.
“When you elect people, you’re not just electing them for a title,” he said. “Science is awesome. And senators work hard and care. A lot. Our main purpose is to visit with students, whether it’s to help with homework, classes, career paths, whatever. But we also fight for your reasonable student fees, we fight for the no-test policies before finals week, and we fight for programs that better the student experience. When we plan anything, we think of the students. They are our reason for everything.”
Joe Day plans to begin a mentorship program this year, in which students will be given an alumni mentor in their program. This way the students will have “professionals and fellow students to look up to and discuss important decisions with,” he hopes. It is also a personal and rewarding way to thank alumni.
A ball of sunshine, Day is the guy to go to — whether a student needs help on their lab write-up, picking their breadth physical science requirement or just wants to talk about flossing habits.
@viviangates29
Joe is the greatest