Utah Tech University students have been making waves on the big screen and on the field in both the entertainment and sports industries.
The motto “active learning. active life.” has been used by Utah Tech to promote hands-on learning to better prepare students for the career field after graduation. Several Utah Tech students are already gaining experience in the sports and entertainment industry through working on TV programs, films and working with various National Football League franchises.
Chandler Jones, from Sandy, is in his second year of the master’s program in athletic training. After playing sports his whole life, he turned his attention to becoming an athletic trainer off the field.
“In the Spring of 2020, Covid hit, and for me, football became a thing of the past as I chose to focus on school,” Jones said. “I began working for the football team for a year, and I met one of the master’s of athletic training students at the time, who I became friends with, and helped me reconnect with my want to become an athletic trainer.”
Jones landed an internship with the Jacksonville Jaguars this past summer. During his time with the Jaguars, he was able to learn firsthand how trainers at the highest level work and how he can become a better trainer himself.
“They all did an amazing job at working together and knowing when to hand things off and who the best person to hand them off to was,” Jones said. ”My view on interprofessional collaboration was already very positive, but I had never seen such synchrony and effectiveness when working with a large team like that.”
Another student who’s gotten the chance to work with the NFL is Bausten Rasmussen, a second-year master’s program in athletic training from Roosevelt. Rasmussen worked with the Miami Dolphins during their summer training camp and felt more prepared for the internship due to her learning experience at Utah Tech.
“Our program at Utah Tech has given me the opportunity to work hands-on while learning, and this has allowed me to feel confident that I am going to be the best athletic trainer I can be,” Rasmussen said.
During her time with the Dolphins, Rasmussen learned the importance of being a team player while also being able to step up and be a leader, especially in the high-stakes world of the NFL.
Working with the Dolphins allowed Rasmussen to realize her aspirations as an athletic trainer, even as a female in a male-dominated industry.
“I know as a woman I am going to have to work harder and hold myself to a higher standard than most to get the respect that I deserve in such a male-dominated field,” Rasmussen said. ”Times have changed, but they haven’t completely. My experience with the NFL showed me that I am doing the right thing; I have big ambitions, and I am capable of reaching them.”
In addition to sports, Utah Tech students are making splashes in the entertainment industry. Ben Vasion, a senior film major from Cathlamet, Washington, has loved movies since he was a kid, but he has learned to appreciate the artistic element of them as he has gotten older.
“As I got into high school, I started to enjoy and appreciate movies in a different way,” Vasion said. “I started to enjoy them from the artistic perspective. It’s such an all-encompassing art form, and to have the ability to work with different artists from every art form became very appealing to me.”
Vasion has been working on the set of the TV show “The Promised Land” as the assistant location manager. As the assistant locations manager, he has worked with helping gather permits, along with solving other logistical problems that could arise while filming.
Vasion has also worked on two feature films, “Horizon: An American Saga Chapter – 2” and “Wardriver“ as the locations production assistant. He has also worked on several short films.
Having the opportunity to work on various creative projects has helped Vasion gain valuable experience as he works toward his goal of becoming a film director.
“This experience will definitely help me negotiate my pay on future movies and TV shows,” Vasion said. ”To me, that’s relevant because my ultimate goal is to write and direct feature films for a living, but producers/studios won’t want to fund a film you’re not willing to help fund yourself.“
These Utah Tech students are finding success in a variety of industries and are leveraging the skills they learned at Utah Tech into success outside of the classroom.
