Humanities Scholar Spotlight
Jay Hess | Johnny Prokop | Isabella Boam
The Humanities Scholars program is an exclusive first-year experience providing an immersive atmosphere where students, faculty, and staff collaborate over shared interests, academic research, and community involvement.
Q: How did you choose the University of Utah?
A: I chose the University of Utah because of recommendations from faculty and friends,
as well as my own desire.
Q: What are you most excited about starting this year or what are you most looking
forward to?
A: I'm most excited about meeting new people.
Q: What is something that you learned in high school that you think will help you
this first year at the University of Utah?
A: In high school, I learned the importance of balance from doing way too many AP and
CE classes on top of sports, so that will help me to prioritize my tasks and time.
Q: What is a hobby you enjoy and why do you love it?
A: I really enjoy listening to and breaking down music, because it's both technical and
artistic, so there's a lot of room for other interpretations and opinions.
Q: What is your most frequently used or favorite emoji, and why?
A: I use the heartbreak emoji a lot because I'm always saying something corny.
Q: Who is someone in your family whom you look up to, and why?
A: I look up to my aunt a lot because she's shown me that success is not one size fits
all, and you can be happy in the mundane.
Q: Would you rather spend time at the beach or camping, and why?
A: I would rather spend time at the beach, because camping is a lot of work and uncomfortable.
Q: If you could go back in time, in what time period would you most like to live and
why?
A: I wouldn't want to go back in time because being gay in any other era wasn’t exactly
pleasant.
Q: How did you choose the University of Utah?
A: My Dad works here, it's a nice school, and I thought it would be overall preferable
to an out-of-state experience.
Q: What are you most excited about starting this year or what are you most looking
forward to?
A: I was looking forward to my Afro-Speculative fiction course and I was rewarded! A
very fun course already! I also hope to make some cool friends.
Q: What is something that you learned in high school that you think will help you
this first year at the University of Utah?
A: Something I’ve learned in high school was that time management is important and I
still need to master it.
Q: What is a hobby you enjoy and why do you love it?
A: I enjoy making art in all sorts of media and I love being able to visualize abstract
imagery in my head.
Q: What is your dream career, and what is it that excites you about that career?
A: My dream career is to be an English teacher. I like to work with people, and I want
to help people.
Q: What is your most frequently used or favorite emoji, and why?
A: I am a fan of the falafel emoji because it is by far the most specific emoji.
Q: Who is someone in your family whom you look up to, and why?
A: I look up to my dad because of his persistence and his thirst for knowledge. I look
up to my mom because of her thoughtfulness and can-do attitude!
Q: Would you rather spend time at the beach or camping, and why?
A: I would rather spend time camping because there is more stuff to do. I don't love
relaxing, and I like the fear of camping.
Q: How did you choose the University of Utah?
A: I love Salt Lake City, and the U had the exact major I wanted.
Q: What is your dream career, and what is it that excites you about that career?
A: My dream career is to be a foreign service officer. My grandpa was one and it seems
like a fulfilling career.
Q: What is your most frequently used or favorite emoji, and why?
A: The laughing emoji because I love laughing and people say I giggle a lot.
Q: If you could go back in time, in what time period would you most like to live and
why?
A: The 90s, because I love 90s alternative rock and it seemed like a great time to be
a teen/young adult.