Meet your CEHS Senator: Tiffanee Bird
Tiffanee Bird is no stranger to Utah State University. Raised an Aggie football fan, Aggie blue runs deep in her veins. Her mom and older sister are Aggie alumni. Her brother-in-law is a current student and her younger sister is a freshman.
But surprisingly enough, Bird’s top choice of school wasn’t originally USU. Although she grew up with the Aggie spirit, the Tooele native thought she had settled on Weber State University.
It wasn’t until she talked to a friend before starting her freshman year that she realized Weber didn’t quite fit where she wanted to be.
“My family didn’t push me one way or the other. I knew they would be coming up for the games whether I came to school here or not, and, plus, just knowing about the student life and how different it is convinced me to switch,” Bird said.
Bird felt connected to USU in a way she hadn’t felt anywhere else. She enjoys that USU is very student-oriented, with a very friendly atmosphere and a constant hub of activity.
“There’s always something going on, there’s always something to go to. There’s a club to join. There’s somewhere to go,” Bird said. “There’s always a spot for everybody.”
Bird has always felt comfortable in and around Cache Valley.
“Utah State cares so much about their students and they want them to succeed and do well,” Bird said. “I feel like everybody’s so friendly. Everybody’s going to talk to anybody. Everyone is so open with one another.”
In her small increments of free time, she can usually be found watching Friends or New Girl on Netflix while munching on chips and salsa or quesadillas.
When she isn’t getting sucked into the latest drama between characters, she devotes time to her studies and her role as the College of Education and Human Services senator, which she serves as for the 2019-20 school year.
Her decision to run for senator came from a pep talk with Deidre Thomas, the past CEHS senator, who reminded Bird that with a little bit of courage, she had the drive needed to succeed.
“It was one of those decisions where I was like, ‘You know what? I should just go for it and try it, because I feel like it’s something that I want to do,’” Bird said.
Sydnee Bird, an elementary education major at USU and Tiffanee Bird’s younger sister, has always looked up to Tiffanee as someone she wanted to be like.
The two spent much of their younger years together playing soccer, running track and participating in drill team. They also served in student government together.
As a close observer of Tiffanee Bird’s role as CEHS senator, she has learned the importance of getting involved.
“Even though our majors are not the same, I see Tiffanee is willing to go out of her way to help every single person in the College of Education,” Sydnee Bird said. “She wants to make a difference.”
Sydnee Bird described her sister as a hard-working, dedicated and determined person.
“If Tiff puts her mind to something, she is going to make it happen,” she said. “She puts in long hours and always goes above and beyond in everything she does.”
Because CEHS is home to a broad variety of majors, Bird’s main focus as senator has been to bring unity within the college.
“There’s eight different departments and they range from teaching to consumer sciences to nursing and exercise sciences, so I’ve been trying to work on finding common interests between all of those things,” Bird said.
Bird currently works with Calli Weeks, the CEHS council president, on monthly newsletters to bring awareness of the diversity of the college to its students.
Weeks became acquainted with Tiffanee after meeting during their freshman year at the Aggie Blue Leadership Conference three years ago. The two connected instantly and have remained good friends ever since.
“Tiffanee is someone who is always looking outward,” Weeks said. “As president of her council, I am amazed at her ability to work well with others. She is always involving our council and looking for ways to include us.”
Weeks admires Bird for her commitment to the College of Education and Human Services, and the organization she provides in her position as senator.
“She is one of the hardest workers I know,” Weeks said. “She is always striving to do the best for our college.”
As the CEHS senator, Bird has learned that anything is possible.
“Students have a voice and anything can happen,” Bird said. “Any student can talk to someone about issues and be led to the right sources to make a difference.”
Ellie Sutton, a current roommate of Bird’s, characterizes her as someone who is a competitive and intelligent leader, with a contagious smile.
“She is quick to love, easy to follow and enthusiastic about pretty much anything she does,” Sutton said. “I admire her goodness, her determination and happy nature.”
As an exercise science major, Bird will graduate with three years under her belt this May and is looking forward to the world of opportunities that are beginning to open up for her.
She often spends time dreaming of her down-the-road career goal of running a non-profit organization that develops health programs in other countries.
But for now, she’ll continue researching graduate school opportunities in the western United States, with the goal to start an occupational therapy program in the near future.
As Bird begins her last semester at Utah State in January, she hopes that students take her advice to have confidence and courage in themselves, something she has aimed to develop from her freshman year.
“Just have confidence and courage that you can go out there and you can get involved,” Bird said. “You can talk to your professors. You can make friends. You can do anything as long as you have confidence in yourself and 10 seconds of courage to put yourself out there.”
—kortni.marie.wells@aggiemail.usu.edu
@kortniwells