Have you ever wondered how the Brooks the Bison statue came to be a part of the Trailblazer traditions?
Sitting front and center on campus is the bison statue outside the Holland Centennial Commons. This statue is part of the famous Utah Tech University tradition of rubbing the nose on the first day of college and hitting the behind on the way to the stage before graduation.
Matt Devore, the director of student outreach services, played a part in getting the statue to where it is today as he was the student body president at the time of the statue’s arrival on campus.
In 2016, Brooks the Bison became the official mascot for Dixie State University. Devore knew the students, faculty, staff and the community had something new to connect to on a deeper level now that there was an official mascot of the bison.
“I was going to graduate at the end of spring, but there was an opportunity to leave a mark on campus, and that was to be able to purchase the bison statue in front of the Holland,” Devore said.
After working with many different administrators, the bison arrived on campus the night before graduation. By the morning, it was set up and ready to welcome the students as they walked to the commencement, which is why this is one of Devore’s favorite memories of his time on campus.
Devore graduated that same year but knew he wanted to stay on campus, so he became the residency life coordinator for Campus View l. He worked in this position for four years while getting his master’s degree in higher education administration through Louisiana State University.
Once Devore graduated with his degree, he started teaching first-year Trailblazer Connection courses to freshmen. From his own experience of feeling lost his freshman year, he was able to help other freshmen transition from high school to college more smoothly.
“I started falling more in love with that because I was able to share my story, share my perspective, and really help each and every one of these students in the classroom with their transition into higher education, their journey and the path they’re on,” Devore said.
After a few years, the position of director of student outreach services became available on campus. In this position, he would oversee the Peer Coach Program along with helping any incoming freshman. Devore knew that with his time in the residence hall and classes, this was a position he wanted to transfer his experiences over to train and teach the peer coaches. This is a title he still holds three years later.
Rebecca Wilde, a sophomore population health major from Dallas, Texas, is one of the peer coaches at Utah Tech. She said Devore takes his job seriously but also makes it fun for them.
“He’s always striving for us to be the best, which I think is great because it encourages me to do better,” Wilde said.
This dedication he has for his students can be seen in his position. Del Beatty, vice president of student affairs, said Devore is great at showing students the importance of finding social connections.
“That’s one of the reasons that our Peer Coach Program is getting stronger and stronger is because he’s able to now mentor,” Beatty said.
Devore has known Beatty since his time as a student and sees him as a mentor because of the way he influences and helps people on campus. Beatty was even there supporting Devore when he ran for Mr. Trailblazer and won the title, which was one of Beatty’s favorite memories of him.
“As a result, those qualities that he’s picked up over his life became sort of a hodgepodge of who he has become,” Beatty said. “But this one quality is his best: he motivates people and they genuinely like him.”
They even play pickleball together occasionally, which is one of Devore’s favorite hobbies. Devore said he is obsessed with pickleball and has even joined the city league to allow him more opportunities to play.
In the future, Devore hopes to become the dean of students and eventually work his way up to become a university president, either here at Utah Tech or on another campus. In the meantime, he plans to continue to show students the value of higher education.
Devore said: “One thing that I value and love the most within higher education is there’s something for everyone you know, and there are opportunities for everyone. There are opportunities of things, maybe they [students] haven’t even thought of, but by taking a risk, taking a chance or getting involved, it can change their whole perspective of what could happen within their lives.”
