The Luminary lights a new year

On Friday, Aug 23, incoming first-year students walked from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum to the Quad to assemble an Aggie “A” in celebration of the start of their first year at Utah State University.

At the Luminary, an annual tradition unique to Utah State, first-year students held lanterns of white light while marching in their matching Aggie game day t-shirts. They were joined by their Connections professors and peer mentors. The march was led by the USU bagpipe and drum band, with USUSA president Matt Richey playing the bagpipes. Other members of the student body, staff, parents, members of the Logan community and alumni aligned the path with blue lanterns, starting at the geology building on the Quad.

After students finished marching, they stood in the formation of an Aggie “A” on the Quad, where a drone took a photo of the formation from above. They then did a countdown to the Old Main “A” turning blue, and students went to find their friends and family for photos and celebration.

“Utah State has a lot of traditions, which is one of the reasons I want to come here,” said first-year student Onalee Estrada. “They have traditions that run deep, and the Luminary is like our first steps walking across campus.”

The ceremony can also become a family tradition for multi-generational Aggies. This was the case for Cole Johnson, who started college this year after two years of serving an LDS mission in the Philippines.

“I’m an Aggie through and through. My family — we’re all Aggies. I’m a third-generation Aggie,” Johnson said.

The event is the last in a three-day, two-credit course incoming students can take called USU Connections. In the spirit of the name, Connections is about helping new students connect with other first-year students and ease their transition into college life.

First-year student Kiera Jimenez shared her positive experience in Connections.

“It’s genuinely been a cool experience, and I got to meet these cool people that I would have never met before,” Jimenez said. “I think one big factor for us having a really good Connections group is our professor Brett Crane. He is absolutely amazing, and our peer mentor as well, Alexa Cleverly — she is so energetic. She puts her heart and soul into everything she does with us.”

The tradition occurs at three campuses each year: Blanding, Logan and Eastern. The Blanding and Eastern campuses have parts of the event broadcasted to them, such as the closing remarks by President Elizabeth Cantwell, and then they also light their version of the Old Main “A” blue.

“What I love about Connections is that Utah State is just showing that it wants to set you up for success for the rest of your life. They’re not just like helping you make friends here at college, but they’re teaching you principles that’ll help you for the rest of your life,” said first-year student Michie Phan. “And so it just shows that Utah State is truly committed to its students.”

The tradition of walking from the Spectrum to the Quad is also symbolically reversed when students graduate. On graduation day, students march in their cap and gown from the Quad to the Spectrum for their graduation ceremony.