Student Spotlights

This archived article was written by: Vivika Corona

From Japan to Guam, Hawaii to New York, to Virginia and now Price, 17-year-old Joseph Poston has been around the block. Originally born in Japan, but having spent most of his life in New York and Virginia, Poston’s parents split when he was younger. His dad was a Navy Seal and Poston was born on a U.S. air force base in Japan. However, when asked where he is from, he replies with Virginia.
Poston likes that he moves a lot because every place is different, especially from Virginia to Price. “The people in New York and the people in Virginia they’re different but their attitudes are similar. People here (referring to Price), they’re not rude at all. They’re all friendly since I’ve been here. Everybody introduces themselves, randomly people will come up to me and in Virginia that doesn’t happen,” Poston said.
Although he likes moving, he doesn’t like being far away from his family. “Even though they can be annoying, I do miss being around them.” He plans on moving to Vegas after this school year and is happy to rejoin his family. Moving to Vegas also helped him find his way here toUtah State University Eastern. His mom and two siblings plan on moving to Las Vegas, so Poston decided to start somewhere closer to Vegas to transition easier than starting in Virginia.
Originally, Poston planned on attending Logan’s campus but registered late and came to Price instead. He is not disappointed with how relaxed the campus is. “I’m not really a people person. People tell me all the time that they feel like they want to come up to me and say something but it’s fine, I like being alone sometimes,” he said. Overall, he has no complaints but does miss having meaningful bonds around him.
Majoring in sociology, Poston wants to be a social worker, but has also thought about psychology. Taking a sociology class in high school helped him become interested in the career. “I find social problems interesting and human behavior. The way the brain works is also interesting,” he said.
His proudest achievement is graduating high school for multiple reasons. Poston goes on to say that his first two years were his worst because he didn’t care very much, but after realized the error of his ways and started doing a lot better. He is also proud to have passed his math classes because he hates [it] and his mom really wanted him to graduate. “My older brother was going through mental problems around the time he was supposed to graduate and it really messed with him. It was a distraction towards his schooling so he didn’t really focus on school and dealing with his mental problems. He didn’t end up graduating and my mom really wanted me to graduate. That made her really proud,” he said.
As for hidden talents, he is good at basketball and making people laugh. “I like to joke around a lot with people, especially my close friends. Everyone that knows me knows that I joke around all the time,” Poston said.