UW comes to Big Horn County for community day

University of Wyoming faculty, officials and students paid a visit to Big Horn County Monday for a special “UW in Your Community” event designed to inform the public about the university and connect alumni with their university.
The officials made three stops at local high schools and finished the day with the main event at the Lovell Community Center.
Officials first gathered at Rocky Mountain High School in Cowley at 10 a.m. Monday, then moved on to Greybull for an 11:30 session. After lunch in Greybull, the group returned to the north and conducted a session at Lovell High School at 2:45 p.m.
The Rocky Mountain and Lovell sessions began with an introduction by Kyle Moore, vice provost for enrollment management, who began with, “I have the very best job at the University of Wyoming” because he gets to welcome the next class of students to the university, adding, “We’re glad to be here.”
Speaking at each stop, including the night program, were Rocky Mountain graduate Taylor Despain, Lovell graduate Jacob Grant and Greybull graduate Colton Farrow.
Despain said she chose UW because, after growing up in a small town, she wanted a small community feeling in a university, and she said she got that in Laramie, noting, “It was easy to find people (friends) in Laramie.” She said she has enjoyed college sports, serving as a manager on the men’s basketball team for two years, as well as intramurals.
As a double major in accounting and management in the highly rated College of Business, Despain said she found it easy to make connections at UW, adding, “The staff really cares a lot about you and made us feel included.”
 Grant, a junior majoring in business economics, said the university “has been a great experience for me” because of the connections made, the opportunity to make new friends and the preparation for the future UW gives. With the College of Business ranking in the top 5 percent of colleges nationwide, Grant said he will be prepared to go into the workforce and that his college experience “set me up for my future.”
Grant, too, mentioned the “smalltown feel” in Laramie and said the professors “care for you and will work one on one” with students. He noted that he is interning with the University of Wyoming Foundation, giving him real world experience.
Farrow, a junior majoring in architectural engineering, said he was looking for a university he could afford but worried the relatively low cost would be reflected in the quality of his instruction, but he said, “Nothing could be further from the truth.” He said he has had top quality instruction from professors “who care about you as a person.” He also said he has great coaches on the UW rodeo team, of which he is a member.
Professors
Two University of Wyoming professors spoke to the students. Dr. Tom Minckley, a professor of geology and geophysics, agreed with the students’ assessments of professors, noting that classes are relatively small and adding, “We do try to get to know you, and we do care about your future” with the kind of personal attention not afforded at larger institutions.
He noted that he has done a lot of research at Natural Trap Cave east of Lovell on Little Mountain and gave a presentation at the evening event.
Dr. Beth McMillan, program director for the new UW School of Computing, said she can speak both as an alumnus and a faculty member. She said she felt supported as a student at UW, which helped advance her career and helped her return as a professor.
McMillan highlighted some of the new computing programs at the university and noted that students can leverage computing skills and tools in whatever field they choose a career in. She noted that students have access to a supercomputer through the university.
Moore returned with a video about the Cowboy Commitment Program, which provides scholarship money to high school students based on their GPA and ACT test on top of other scholarships they might have on hand. Funds can be applied to tuition, books and room and board, he said.
Moore said it is important for prospective students to visit the campus to “see it for yourself,” noting that a campus tour is like a test drive of the University of Wyoming. He introduced University of Wyoming president Dr. Ed Seidel, who he said has made it a priority to get to know students from across Wyoming.
Seidel stressed the strong bond the university has with the people of Wyoming and, thus, high school students, stating, “We’re the University of Wyoming. We’re your university.” He said he’s proud of the myriad course offerings at UW with professors who are experts in their field, and he pointed out that UW has many well-funded study abroad programs. And on the campus in Laramie, UW has students from more than 80 countries.
Noting his boots and jeans, he said his apparel was emblematic of “how down to earth we are” at the university, adding that the school is “big enough for students to have a wide variety of experiences but small enough for students to get to know many people.”
Seidel said the university sets students up for their careers with professors who serve as mentors and lifelong advisors.
He noted strong collegiate athletics and the construction of new dorms underway.
Monday evening
program
Monday evening’s program at the community center featured a PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Minckley about Natural Trap Cave, which has 150,000 years of animals falling into the cave and hitting the floor 95 feet below, along with sediment containing pollen and plant fragments, providing invaluable research opportunities for scientists. Bones have been found of bison, horses, giant camels, deer, pronghorn, mammoth, musk ox, gray wolf, the American cheetah, American lion and short-faced bear, but no legendary saber tooth cats, Dr. Minckley said.
He said Wyoming was lush, wet and green tens of thousands of years ago, allowing megafauna to flourish. He said the landscape would have been incredibly beautiful in the spring, but early people migrating through the area would have had to be wary of the large carnivores.
Also speaking about Natural Trap Cave and Wyoming fossils in general was Dr. Laura Vietti, museum and collections manager at the UW Geological Museum. Dr. Vietti has been working on a project to make fossils available to people across the state by making 3D models through 3D printing. Many of the vertebrate fossils in the museum’s collection – nearly 6,000 of 57,000 specimens -- are from Natural Trap Cave, she noted, and through 3D printing she can take fossils to communities around the state.
“My goal is to put your fossils back in your hands,” she said, noting that the fossils belong to Wyoming. She also said the fossil collection can be viewed on the museum’s website.
Melissa Cook, UW Extension educator spoke and said her focus is on community vitality and health. A trained facilitator and mediator, she listed her various programs including winter survival techniques and working with Northwest College to conduct EMT classes. A master gardener class will be held in the spring, she noted.
In his speech to the evening audience, Seidel spoke about his background in economic development and said that UW is working to facilitate economic development not just in important industries like agriculture and mining but also in computing and entrepreurship.
Seidel said the university is working closely with Wyoming community colleges to help build the Wyoming economy, in part, through the Wyoming Innovation Partnership.