Student turns down BYU scholarship to come to USU
Chuck Oughton biology/history senior
Caught: On the steps in the Sunburst loungeAge: 21Hometown: Born in Georgia, raised in Rochester, NY, graduate high school in Hurricane, Utah.Favorite Color: GreenFavorite Music: Modern Rock
Utah Statesman: Why did you choose Utah State University?
Chuck Oughton: I really like the campus and the atmosphere up here. I actually wasn’t going to come here until a week before school started for me. I was originally going to Brigham Young University because I had some big scholarship down there but every time I went down there I felt like the faculty there just treated all of their students like just another number. Whenever I would come up here though, even before I told them I was thinking about coming every one, students and professors was just really friendly and it was nice. While BYU felt like a foreign country, USU felt like home.
US: What’s your favorite thing about USU?
Oughton: The people that I’ve met here. Everyone that I’ve met here is just awesome and fun to hang out with.
US: What kind of hobbies do you have?
Oughton: All sorts of outdoors things, especially in the snow, but I do like summer things too, like climbing and hiking. This may sound stupid but I also really like learning other languages – dead languages specifically. I’ve been studying ancient Greek on my own for the last three semesters. I couldn’t do it for credit since I’d probably flunk out but since it’s just for fun they let me keep going to class. I also have a summer job at a scout camp so I have a lot of hobbies with that like Indian dancing and tomahawk throwing.
US: Do you have a job here?
Oughton: Several. I’m a [supplemental] instructor for biology 1010, a UTF (undergraduate teaching fellow) for USU 1320 and I lead cross country skiing tours every weekend down by Provo.
US: What’s your favorite food?
Oughton: Bulgogi. It’s a kind of Korean barbecue. I started eating it last semester when a friend made it for me and now I just love it. I even made a whole bunch of it for my Mom over Thanksgiving. I made a whole bunch and I’ve got it in my freezer, I can just heat it up and eat it. It’s great.
US: What three movies that you’ve seen recently would you recommend?
Oughton: “I-Robot.” “Troy” because I like historical movies even though their not that accurate. “Napoleon Dynamite” because it’s hilarious and anyone who doesn’t think so is a communist.
US: Describe yourself in five words.
Oughton: Casual, fun-loving, funny, independent and crazy.
US: What’s your motto or philosophy in life?
Oughton: Don’t be too optimistic; the light at the other even of the tunnel may just be another train.
US: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Oughton: Stuck in grad school somewhere trying to finish a thesis or a dissertation, or worse, still here working on my bachelor’s.
US: What was the best day of you life?
Oughton: The first day that I went with my dad to the Florida Keys. We went out all day deep sea fishing, it was so much fun.
US: What’s a pet peeve of yours?
Oughton: When people don’t use their turn signal when they’re driving. Especially when they’re turning into where you’re trying to get out of and you’re sitting there thinking, “If you had just signaled I could’ve gotten out”.
US: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Oughton: Rome. I’ve always loved to learn about Rome. I think all of Italy is really beautiful. I’ve never been there so whenever I think about it, it seems like an idealistic place to live. And saying that would make my classics teachers happy.
US: If you had the choice between a million dollars and a magical flying carpet, which would you choose and what would you do with it?
Oughton: The carpet, so that I could go whereever I want to whenever I want to and to whatever I want to. I could have total freedom. And when I was done with it, I could sell the carpet for more than a million dollars.
US: What do you fear the most?
Oughton: Failure or not finishing what I set out to do. I hate that.
US: If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
Oughton: Oh, typical beauty pageant answers, I’d have everyone understand that everyone is different and that it’s OK. People get too hung up and that everyone should be like them and I think the differences are great.
US: What one thing would you change about yourself?
Oughton: I would make myself not so much of a procrastinator.
US: What is you dream job?
Oughton: A marine biologist in the Florida Keys. That way, I could get paid for fishing and scuba diving all day.
US: What’s the best class that you’ve had here at Utah State?
Oughton: Probably Latin 1010, it pretty much renewed my interest in history. All of the three professors that teach it are really good too.
US: What would you like people to remember about you?
Oughton: That I use my turn signal.
-steveshinney@cc.usu.edu