USUSA President Sorensen recounts statewide tour with President Mortensen

Utah State University President Brad Mortensen, his cabinet and USUSA President Brandon Sorensen recently completed a week-long tour across Utah, visiting regional campuses and centers to strengthen the bond between the Logan hub and the university’s statewide locations.

The tour, which served as a prelude to Mortensen’s inauguration, aimed to shift the perception of USU as a Logan-centric institution. For student leaders at regional campuses, the physical presence of the university’s top administration signaled a new era of visibility.

“[It] made our campus feel seen and connected and helped us engage in conversation with Pres. Mortensen and those who work with him,” wrote Brooke Duersch, USUSA Brigham City Vice President, in an email to The Utah Statesman. “Allowing us to feel included and heard as part of the USU community”.

Those who went on the tour noted how it highlighted the diversity of the Aggie experience, which often looks different for the working professionals and non-traditional students common in the statewide system. In the Wasatch region, which includes Salt Lake, Orem, Heber and Park City, the demographic is largely composed of industry professionals and working mothers.

Ryan Schmelter, USUSA Wasatch Vice President, said most of his campus is female. Schmelter emphasized successful reach for his region means tailoring the college experience to fit the schedules of those with full-time jobs and families.

“Having that opportunity to see President Mortensen and the fact that he can put in the effort to come out and spend time and just answer questions and talk with us definitely, definitely meant a lot,” Schmelter said.

Throughout the tour, Sorensen encountered stories that challenged the traditional four-year, right-out-of-high-school mold. In Blanding, he met Henry, a 50-year-old student who is legally blind and returning to earn a welding certificate. In Moab, he spoke with Letty, an immigrant who has taught English as a second language to over 2,000 people over 40 years through USU programs.

“It was just, honestly, really humbling to hear the sacrifice and things that people go through to be able to get an education,” Sorensen said.

One of the primary tools discussed to aid these students is the Utah State Promise Scholarship. The initiative is designed to cover the expense of school that might otherwise prevent a student from earning a degree, a critical factor for the many statewide Aggies balancing full-time work and family.

Duersch said she believes the scholarship will be a game-changer for economic mobility in Brigham City. 

“It makes earning a degree feel possible and completing a degree a reality,” Duersch wrote.

While Logan is known for the Luminary and True Aggie Night events, statewide campuses have developed their own signature cultures. 

In Brigham City, the Annual Big Blue Pumpkin Walk has become a community staple that draws alumni and future Aggies alike. USU Eastern students participate in “True Eagle,” where they kiss over a large rock, affectionately named Gibby, that originated from a senior prank. Blanding campus features a hogan, a traditionally significant structure to the Navajo culture used for ceremonies and meetings.

For Schmelter and the Wasatch region, traditions lean toward professional networking rather than pure social activities, though annual trips to Top Golf remain a popular highlight.

The administration’s refusal to label these stops as “listening sessions” was intentional. Mortensen expressed to the group he didn’t want to imply the listening would stop once the tour ended. 

As the tour concluded, the message from leadership remained one of unity across hundreds of miles.

“We can be separated miles apart, but Aggie is what unites us,” Sorensen said. “At the end of the day, we’re all Aggies, and that same work ethic in Logan, that same work ethic in Blanding … that same spirit, that same drive, is what we want every campus to understand that.”