Work hard and play hard; moderation in all

This archived article was written by: Benoni Sowah

Anna Macdonald was born in Spokane, Wash., to an Air Force clerk and a stay-at-home mom. She is the fourth child of six children. Her family moved to Sandy, Utah when she was 6-months old. Macdonald remembers sneaking out to play with the other kids anytime she had the chance. She also remembers being the tomboy who was always up to some mischief. She lived in Sandy until she was 8 and her family moved to Arkansas. In junior high she played volleyball and ran track. Her family again moved to Brooklyn Park, Minn., when she was 14. In high school she was on the swim team and the cross country ski team.
Her family moved around a lot due to her dad’s job working for CES (Church Education System).
She said “it was exciting moving around because I love new things, I love making new friends and I love to start all over again.”
Her decision to come to USU-Eastern was because she loved Price. Her parents grew up here and her dad is an alumnus. She said her dad took them on campus tours every time they visited Price and told those stories of his school life. Her dad was also vice president of academics and student services on student government.
She loves campus and lives with her grandmother in Price. She lives in the home her dad grew up in. Anna loves USU-Eastern for its size, good teachers.
She said “It feels like we are one big family.”
She has been an ambassador for a year. Her decision to get involved in that role was to share that love and enthusiasm for the school. This is because of how much her dad talked about the school. Although she loved being an ambassador, she decided to run for vice president of academics and student services on student government. She wanted the experience and it felt right to do it. She also wanted the chance to be involved with students who help make life on campus better.
She decided to run within a short time when nominations were open.
“I was scared of many things, losing and the magnitude of the work weighed on my mind,” she said.
She sometimes felt inadequate considering the caliber of those she was running against. But the thought that if she did not run now, then she would miss out on a great opportunity to learn and grow. The experience was great and the most memorable moment in the whole race was when she won.
“I suddenly realized what I was getting into and winning made me realize that the students supported me.”
She also knew that there would be students who will always support her when things get hard.
Macdonald added, “The reasons why we have people in our lives is to seek help from them when we cannot do it all by ourselves and so when things get tough I will seek help from friends, that’s what they are for.”
She said after her tenure as vice president, she wants to see growth in the people she works with, the school and herself. She wants everyone to look back at the experiences they have had and say, “That was great.”
She is beginning to feel the growth since she won the position. She said meeting and interviewing students for positions on student government has been a great learning experience for her. She is seeing how demanding the job is, but is willing to work and learn.
She has been involved in youth leadership roles in her church. She was on the youth planning committee of her church and loves planning events. She said this is one experience she is bringing to student government.
Macdonald wants to be a social worker and a mother someday. She has chosen to work with abused children. She said she wants to let children feel loved and to know that they can grow to become whatever they dream of.
“It hurts me to see innocent kids go through hard times and I want to be there for them. Children are very special and should be treated as such.” she said.
For fun, she likes to sing, roller blade and swim. She is excited to be a life guard at the Price Wave Pool this summer. She also loves being outdoors.
Her fellow ambassadors think highly of her.
Emily Williams said, “Anna is delightfully competitive and makes everyone feel good about themselves.”
Tyler Swenson said, “She is way cool and is amazing at everything she does. She is super nice.”
Trent Snyder said, “She has the voice of angel and is nice to everyone.”
Madonald said if there is one thing she wants the student body to know, it is “work hard and play hard.” She believes that a fusion of the two makes a healthy person. She absolutely believes in moderation.