The Fall Issue of 'Utah State' Magazine: Something Special in the Air…

Utah State University stories are different — they just are. They are uniquely amazing and inspiring and they are often built upon such verve and passion and level of achievement that they force us to put everything on pause for a few moments in order to reevaluate the far reaching impacts of place and people and ideas.

The fall issue of Utah State magazine, recently mailed and posted online, seems to confirm that fact. It shares the story of Ardeshir Zahedi ’50, whose fingerprints appear everywhere within a 40-year span of geopolitical happenings and who USU President Stan Albrecht calls “the most distinguished graduate in our history.”

The magazine also celebrates USU senior Amberley Snyder, who won the final barrel racing event of the college season for Utah State’s Rodeo club and who is rightfully captivating the world with her no-excuse attitude. This, after she was paralyzed and told she would never ride again, that she should “probably find something else to do.”

There’s Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes, who was presented the Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year Award. And then there’s the story of Liz Howell, a former USU undergraduate who lost her husband, Brady, in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the Pentagon and is sharing her unique experiences in grief now healing hearts around the world.

“With this issue we do seem to be getting more requests for extra copies, more thank-you notes, more ‘Makes me proud to be an Aggie’ emails …” said magazine editor Jared Thayne. “It’s a tad humbling, but it’s not really surprising. We all know the power to be found in USU stories is something from which we can always learn.”

Read these stories and others online.