Cody Merritt leads campus volunteers in SUN Center

This archived article was written by: Emma Campbell

Long hair and a beard best describes the president of the Serving Utah Network for the 2017-18 year. Don’t let his appearance fool you because he is organized and ready to lead one of the strongest organizations on campus. West Haven Native, Cody Merritt, 22, was chosen as president of the SUN Center by its Director Terry Johnson.
Merritt wants to be remembered for what he calls his luscious hair but, more importantly he wants people to remember that he is always willing to help others. He says that he knows service will always be a part of his life.
He is at USU Eastern because tuition is the lowest in the state. His decision to join SUN Center was based on the fact that he wanted to make friends and needed something to get him out of the house. He joined SUN Center fall semester of 2016.
In describing the Sun Center, he said it’s, “An organization of students that strive to organize and promote service for students and the community.” The best part of SUN Center is the diversity of the projects they do. There really is something for everyone.
A favorite SUN Center memory of Merritt is last year’s Spring Break Service Adventure Breakaway. They traveled to a Navajo Reservation in Southeastern Utah and students learned a lot about another culture, as well as completed volunteer work.
“Being president of the SUN Center is lots of fun. It can be stressful at times because I’m still learning. It’s teaching me how to work with different people.”
His main goal for this year, “I want the student body to know what the SUN Center is and have a desire to work with us, even if they aren’t a part of SUN Center.” Service is a great stress reliever. You don’t have to serve often it’s just a great way to have fun and learn new things.
Sun Center does not use the term projects. “We like to call them adventures because service can be really fun if you make it and adventures are fun. It also promotes a more positive aspect to the things SUN Center does,” he explains.
There are lots of things going on this semester that students can get involved with. A big one is Day of Caring Sept. 9. People from throughout Carbon County work together to make this event happen. Day of Caring is not just a Carbon County event it’s National. United Way works with counties and cities all over the country to have Day of Caring. It’s a great way to serve others for a day and make the community stronger. For more details talk to students in the SUN Center. Their office is in the Jennifer Leavitt Student Center room 213.
“I’m really excited! We have an awesome team, we will work together to put on good service adventures that are meaningful, well organized and fun. I think that will go a long way.” -Merritt