Several students are recognized at the CHaSS Awards Ceremony on March 22, 2023.
By Andrea DeHaan, CHaSS Communications Editor
Daniel Wray’s decision to attend Utah State University as an undergraduate was largely due to athletic opportunities. He played football at USU before a series of experiences working for collegiate athletics and earning a Ph.D. in Sports Management. Today, he is the associate athletics director for development at St. Mary’s College of California.
“The humanities at Utah State have so many collaborative and conversation-based courses [where] you learn how to talk to a lot of different people and … articulate the thoughts that you're having,” he said. “And so, pursuing a career in philanthropy was something that was just sort of natural. … I was able to connect those dots and made it to where I am today.”
But for Wray '14, who grew up in Salt Lake City, coming to USU was, at least initially, “the path of least resistance.”
“I didn't really know what I wanted to do necessarily [in the] long term. But I knew that I had … a talent in English. It was something that I always enjoyed in high school,” he said, so he decided to see what majoring in English would mean for a new college student like him.
A decade later, Wray considers his experience at USU “a key component” to his pursuit of advanced degrees and the opportunity to see his own potential develop.
“As my career interests evolved and changed, … the lessons that I learned there we're at the heart of the success that I've been able to see as a professional,” said Wray, who points to an education in the humanities for teaching him “to learn and be able to understand in different ways rather than just being told or taught a set of facts.”
He thinks back fondly on his time at Utah State and on the professors who helped him succeed in and beyond the classroom. Professors like Christine Cooper-Rompato who outlined the path to a Ph.D. on a piece of paper that Wray carried around in his pocket. He also remembers the support he received in the form of financial aid packages and scholarships, and earlier this year, he decided to create a scholarship in the Department of English to help future first-generation students and literature majors in need.
And, unsurprisingly, as a development professional, Wray wanted to support an area that was not only dear to his heart but also where his gift would have the greatest impact.
“In the English department, in particular, there's not necessarily a mechanism for revenue generation outside of enrollment,” Wray said. “I consider myself a young professional, and this is a small gift in the scheme of things, but being able to start that off … is really important.”
Wray hopes his scholarship will help open doors for future Aggies and “continue to make the humanities accessible for folks that may not have considered it otherwise.”
Studying English may have started as the path of least resistance, but now Wray credits it with teaching him how to engage with new material, glean information, apply critical thinking, and become a more effective communicator and listener.
“Thinking about my own experiences and the ways in which I experienced the major, experienced the college, experienced the university as a whole,” said Wray, “it was really important to me to provide that opportunity for others.”
Each spring the College of Humanities and Social Sciences awards scholarships to a new round of students at its annual college awards ceremony. Want to support students with your gift? Donations made by March 6 will be awarded at this year’s March 20th CHaSS Awards Ceremony.
Make your gift now: https://chass.usu.edu/giving/chass-award
15 undergraduate English students from Logan, Vernal, and Ephraim campuses presented at the 100th Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Society Convention and won awards in three categories.
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