Originally published on May 11, 2021.
Lacie Jonas is engaged in an impressive pair of careers and points to her SUU experience as being highly instrumental in her success, as she gained not only knowledge but also a confident self-awareness that taught her she could achieve mightily in whatever field she entered.
“Because of SUU I have accomplished many things that allow me to be proud I am a T-Bird,” she says, and she is also proud of her position as a child nutrition specialist with the Utah State Board of Education and, as a result of her SUU ROTC training, of her work as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot with the Medical Service Corps of the Utah National Guard. She serves in the MEDEVAC community and is employed in the state emergency response program as necessary.
“Serving the people of Utah and America is an absolute blessing in my life,” she says.
A 2011 graduate of Northridge High School in Layton, Utah, she chose SUU for its location and its uncommon attention to students and majored in human nutrition in addition to her study in the school’s ROTC program. She also began her service in the Utah National Guard while a Thunderbird.
Following her SUU graduation, the Herriman, Utah, resident worked in USBE’s child and adult care food programs for two years before moving into the school nutrition programs where, she says, she works closely with the state’s school districts and charter schools.
“We work diligently to ensure that our schools are keeping the children healthy and feeding them yummy meals,” she says.
She gives abundant credit to SUU as being a great catalyst in her dual careers because, she says, “I had the best professors anyone could imagine.”
Also, she says, “Attending the study abroad program in Japan helped me get a greater understanding of the world around me and gave me the motivation to help grow and provide healthy meals for American children.”
The University helped build her life on a personal basis as well.
“SUU gave me lifelong mentors, friends, and family, and it allowed me to grow as a person and an asset to society,” she says. “Among the many things my SUU education taught me is resiliency, something I have applied as I’ve progressed in my personal and professional life.”
