Tyler Rich connects campuswide

When Utah native Tyler Rich arrived at Utah State, he was set to be a finance major in the Huntsman Scholar program. Little did he know he would later graduate with three bachelor’s degrees and leave a lasting impact on not only the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business but Utah State itself.

In addition to the finance degree, Rich added on economics and later data analytics, Rich said as he progressed in the business school, he started discovering more of what he was interested in and wanted to accomplish in his lifetime, which is what lead him to triple major.

“In business school in general, I’ve had experiences inside and especially, I think, outside the classroom that helped me to define who I am and what I want, and how I want to help the world, or how I want to help my future employer,” Rich said.

Rich was a leader in the Huntsman Scholar program, led partially by assistant director Stephanie Hamblin.

“It’s really easy to see leadership positions as a power thing or authority. I don’t think that’s true,” Rich said. “I see it as an opportunity to help those that I’m serving grow and reach their highest potential.”

Hamblin said she was impressed with Rich’s capabilities to impact USU outside of the business school and the scholars program.

“Tyler creates value in whatever he does,” Hamblin said. “He would look for connections not just within the Huntsman School of Business but campus-wide, which was impressive.”

Scholars are divided into small groups, or cohorts, which each have a student leader assigned to them. Rich was assigned as a cohort leader.

“I have helped coordinate a few different events with our scholars, and they’ve all been focused on either serving our community or just helping the cohort members develop themselves, professionally and academically. I think that’s the biggest thing, is just planning to be focused and seeing the needs of those you serve as greater than your own,” Rich said.

At the end of his time at Utah State, Rich was awarded the Val R. Christensen Service Award, alongside being a finalist for other Robins awards. According to the Robins Award website, the service award is given to those whose service and volunteering has significantly impacted Utah State and its community.

Rich said he was shocked and humbled by the award.

Outside of the business school, Rich was also involved with multiple campus organizations. He was the clubs director for USUSA and the vice president of the USU chapter of Their Story is Our Story, also known as TSOS.

Rich was inspired to get involved with the chapter after serving a two-year mission in Germany for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As stated on the USUSA website, the mission of TSOS is to “share stories of the newcomer journey to advocate and educate, and to actuate integration. We transform the perception and reception of newcomers and displaced persons worldwide, one story at a time. Ultimately, we envision a world where there is no ‘them,’ only us.”

Rich said an event he was particularly proud of this year was The Power of Stories. 30 different people, who in total had ties to 15 different countries, were able to share their diverse stories with each other.

The event saw an age range of young USU students to people upwards of 60 years old.

“Pretty much about as diverse a group of 30 people as you can get,” Rich said.

Rich was also able to host an event called Service ‘n’ Soup this year, where students who participated in service projects were able to receive a bowl of soup. The event took place during the fall semester in the TSC lounges. Rich thought this event was a big contributor to his Robins Award win.

Rich plans to move out to Minneapolis for the summer with his wife, Anna, who he met at USU. He has secured a summer internship with the company Family Search. The couple will be back in Logan for the fall semester as Anna finishes her degree, but Rich will miss his favorite Aggie Ice Cream flavor Aggie Joy while he is gone.