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Student plans to be a food critic in Salt Lake City

Tom Liljegren

Utah Statesman: So what brought you to studying up here at USU?

Melanie Nelson: Well, I like being away from home, but not far enough away that if I wanted to go home I couldn’t. It’s about an hour and half from Salt Lake. And I have friends up here, and I’ve had a lot of family come up here and really like it, so I decided to come. It’s just a fun atmosphere.

US: So how have you liked Logan since you’ve come up from Salt Lake?

Nelson: I like it a lot.

US: What do you like about it?

Nelson: Well, I really like snow and I really like cold weather, and I’m a big skier. So, I love being able to go to a ski resort up here and just the cold weather mainly. I actually went to Snow College for two years, and that’s so much smaller, and it’s nice that there’s more of a variety of restaurants and places to eat and fun things to do.

US: What are you studying up here?

Nelson: Communications with an emphasis in public relations.

US: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Nelson: I actually want to be a food critic for Salt Lake magazine and just critique restaurants in the Salt Lake Valley and write about them. And, other than that, just living in Salt Lake… married.

US: Do you have a favorite restaurant in Logan?

Nelson: I actually went to Happy Sushi about a week ago and loved it, so I’d say that that’s probably my favorite.

US: Do you have a favorite food?

Nelson: Sushi.

US: If you could travel anywhere, is there any place you’d really like to travel?

Nelson: Yeah, I would want to go to Switzerland.

US: Why Switzerland?

Nelson: I have ancestors from Switzerland, and I’ve had friends that have studied abroad there and said it was awesome. And, I’ve never been to Europe, so Europe would be cool.

US: Do you have any nicknames?

Nelson: Uh-huh. Mel-Nel for Melanie Nelson is one. Or, just Mel. Rosebud, ’cause my middle name’s Rose. Or a new one is Milano, like milano cookies. My roommates just barely gave it to me. I moved into a new apartment this semester and they give everyone in the apartment a new nickname. So, I don’t know.

US: What’s your favorite thing to do in your spare time?

Nelson: There are so many things. Ski, right now play Guitar Hero ’cause I got it for Christmas, or dance. I’m a dancer.

US: Are you any good at Guitar Hero yet?

Nelson: Yes, I can play on the level “hard” which is actually amazingly hard. Most people have a hard time on easy.

US: Did you have any New Year’s resolutions this year, and, if so, how are those going?

Nelson: Well, one is to graduate this December, and so far it looks like I’m on track for that. And, I guess I’d like to buy a new car, ’cause I have a piece of crap. Literally, a piece of crap. -tlilegren@cc.usu.edu