A road to remember: Aggies walk the walk
On Jan. 22, community members gathered on the Utah State University Quad in the cold for the second annual Aggies Walk the Walk event. Hosted by USU Athletics, the event was held to remember Martin Luther King Jr. and was put on by Isaiah Jones, the associate athletic director for student-athlete and community engagement.
Jones said the event is something he loves to put on and the walk was inspired by King and other civil rights advocates’ famous marches.
“[I’m] thinking of it as an opportunity to continue building community and bringing people together,” Jones said. “At the same time, it really kind of embodies and gives us a sense of tradition around the power of community and love.”
The event started as people met on the steps of Old Main facing the Quad. Jones said a few words and then invited David Zook, Cache County executive, to speak.
Zook thanked the crowd for gathering in the cold weather and then shared some words Gov. Spencer Cox said at his recent inauguration. He discussed King’s love of service and its importance in creating community. He said in Cache Valley, he’s found people are service-oriented.
“We serve each other,” Zook said to the group. “If we see a need, we step up.”
After Zook’s remarks, the walk began. Holding tealights, the group walked from the Quad to the Wayne Estes Center.
At the center, a few student-athletes addressed the crowd. First was Kaylee Erickson, redshirt junior on the softball team.
“It’s just awesome to see everybody come out for the community and stand and walk for Martin Luther King and remember what he stood for,” Erickson said. “As I was walking, I was just thinking about how in order to make a real impact on people, you have to take it one step at a time.”
Then Indya Nespor, senior tennis player, spoke.
“Thank you all for coming in this cold and for honoring Dr. Martin Luther King,” Nespor said. “I walk the walk for my teammates and for all of Aggie Nation. I think if we spread the kindness, equality and unity, we can all be better.”
There were many student-athletes in the crowd, which Jones said he appreciated.
“Our mission is being out in the community — providing access and education in the community,” Jones said. “Our student-athletes are really on the front porch as far as leading that vision. You see something like tonight and how many people in the community come, so having them lead the walk … means everything.”
He also said having the athletes do the walk helps team unity.
“We always say in sports that even when you have a really good team or a good community, it’s a really active process to keep it that way, and so the walk is an opportunity for us to do something together — to reflect,” Jones said.