Student Spotlight

This archived article was written by: Vivika Conra

Dean Thacker
Dean Thacker has many aliases. He is known as Colton Dean Thacker to his parents and family, Den to his friends, or student body president to the students at Utah State University Eastern.
Thacker is 20-years-old and a geoscience major. Born in Vernal, Utah and raised in Ririe, Idaho. Ririe (pronounced RYE-REE), is a small town of 643 people as of 2016, according to Google. Thacker’s family moved from Vernal to Ririe because his dad opened up a dealership in Rexburg, Idaho and Pocatello, Idaho.
After spring semester, he is going to the Logan campus to further his degree and hopes to go into oil. “I want to find oil and figure out the best methods to extract the oil and get royalties off each barrel that I’ve helped with.”
He would also like to get a degree in hydrology which is the study of water.
“The coal and oil market is full of ups and downs, so when it is bad I want to be able to have a hydrology degree so I can go work for a state government or the federal government helping with the amount of water the reserves need.” His dream job is to be a cast member on the show “Saturday Night Live” or be RuPaul’s best friend, maybe even go into politics after.
Being at USUE, one his favorite memories is the Harlem Renaissance Event the Center for Diversity and Inclusion threw for Black History Month last spring semester. “It’s one of my favorite events of all time.” (The CDI will be throwing this event again, so be on the lookout.)
He also enjoyed this past summer he spent on campus. “The summer at Eastern is really fun because everyone is in Tucker and it’s really chill because you don’t have a lot going on and so you get really close with your roommates.”
One of his proudest achievements is trying to make a difference on campus. “I think you can become president and just go through the motions. I feel like I’ve been trying to help a lot of things on campus. It’s something that should come with the job title, but doesn’t always come with being president.”
Thacker has had a hand in making a difference by helping out with the Library Learning Commons, the student center and dining services. He wants to continue making it a better place than when he found it.
Thacker has hidden talents of singing and playing piano specifically to original funny songs he has made. He debuted a song he wrote at Mr. USU Eastern, an event that is a spoof of Miss USU Eastern. The song titled “College sucks” was a big hit amongst the crowd and Thacker won the crown of Mr. USU Eastern.
His life is full of funny and embarrassing moments: memories like going under anesthesia and his mom being so scared she passed out and peed herself, or hitting a deer on the way to a dance in high school and getting deer guts all over himself.
He notes that one of the most embarrassing moments of his life was during a football game in high school when someone broke a bone in the field and the sound of it made Thacker who was sitting on the sidelines, pass out. The paramedics not only had to worry about the person who was actually injured but also Thacker who passed out because of it.
As a fun loving president who has put his heart into the things, Thacker has given advice to the upcoming candidates to play nice and be civil. “Don’t get on someone’s bad side just to win an election.”