Originally published on December 14, 2020.
Going to college, let alone earning a master’s degree, was never on Zach Guthrie’s radar while growing up. But thanks to SUU and a strong support system, Zach has earned both and is now a professional working in a fulfilling field.
Zach and his family moved to Cedar City in 2009 where he finished his secondary education career at Cedar High. He remembers becoming immediately enamored with the area and says he loved the environment and culture of SUU.
He enrolled at SUU in 2011 as a Criminal Justice major and became involved in a variety of activities like attending the Utah Shakespeare Festival and Thunderbird football games, participating in campus clubs and organizations, and working as an EDGE mentor and an audiovisual technician. And it was here that Zach met his wife, Karissa.
“SUU isn’t just for school,” Zach explains, “it’s to set what you want out of life and how you want to build relationships with others around you.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in 2015, Zach graduated with a master’s degree in Public Administration in 2017, and says his SUU career expanded his work ethic.
“I learned how to depend on the learning process and on others for support,” he says. “I went from being terrified of writing three-page papers to publishing a 65-page thesis while always looking at how to improve myself.”
Following his second SUU graduation, Zach worked for the Road Home Family Resource Center, a non-profit social services agency that assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness, as its hotel coordinator. That job provided him with a meaningful network that led to his current position with the homeless program office for the Utah Department of Workforce Services where he works as a network administrator. His job entails running the program that tracks all homeless services, agencies, funding, and people experiencing homelessness all over the state of Utah.
“I never thought that I would be a professional, working in a fulfilling field, but my support system was there,” Zach concludes, “This all stemmed from SUU and I couldn’t imagine where I would be without it.”
Zach and Karissa live in West Jordan, Utah, where he is a competitive power-lifter and the couple enjoys camping during the summer months and volunteering at a homeless shelter and for community events.
