BSU President Tromp to Vermont – A Legacy of Impact | Ever Onward - Ep. 66

Dr. Marlene Tromp joins the Ever Onward podcast to reflect on her transformative six-year tenure as president of Boise State University—one that has reshaped the institution’s trajectory and deepened its impact on students, Idaho’s workforce, and the broader community. Now, as she prepares for her next chapter as the newly announced president of the University of Vermont, Dr. Tromp leaves behind a legacy of innovation, access, and resilience.

Under her leadership, Boise State achieved a 39% improvement in graduation rates while maintaining one of the lowest tuition costs in the nation—where more than half of students graduate with zero federal loan debt. She spearheaded initiatives like the Community Impact Program and Hometown Challenge, ensuring graduates have clear pathways to careers in Idaho, with 70% of students staying in the Treasure Valley. Strategic partnerships with institutions like the Idaho National Laboratory have positioned the university as a leader in cybersecurity and nuclear energy research, creating high-value career opportunities for students.

At the heart of her leadership is a philosophy grounded in resilience, compassion, and the belief that education transforms lives. She shares how these values were shaped by her mother’s unwavering strength and the challenges she faced while caring for her mother with Alzheimer’s and her sister with brain cancer—all while navigating her own health battles. Despite suffering permanent nerve damage during childbirth and being told she might never walk unassisted again, Dr. Tromp fought her way back to running, embodying the perseverance she instills in her students.

As she prepares to bring her vision and leadership to the University of Vermont, this episode serves as a powerful reflection on the impact she has had at Boise State and the guiding principles she will take with her. As Dr. Tromp puts it: “Courage generates courage. The more love you give, the more love you get.”

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today on the Ever Onward podcast, we have a very
special guest and friend thepresident of Boise State
University, dr Marlene Tromp.
I'm re-recording this because werecorded her podcast a couple
weeks ago and then the big newsjust came out this week that Dr
Tromp will be taking a newposition as the president of
Vermont University.

(00:20):
I think the release of thispodcast is at a perfect time
because for those of us who havehad the privilege of being her
friend and watching her lead andfollowing her example here in
Idaho over the last severalyears, this will be a great
chance to listen to some of theimpact that she's made and hear
her story of what she's donehere in Idaho.
She's an incredible person andjust has done so much for

(00:44):
everyone here and for those ofyou who will be receiving and
welcoming Dr Marlene Trump toVermont, hopefully this podcast
can introduce you to thisincredible leader who will now
be leading your university.
So I wanted to rerecord thatand tell her thank you and
express our appreciation at thestart of this for her coming on

(01:05):
and, most importantly, for hercontribution here to the state
and everyone the families ofIdaho.
So thank you, dr Trump.
Prior to the Dr Trump podcast.
We'll have an AllQuest updatefrom Mark Cleverley and Kekoa
Nawahine Good morning we're herewith an AllQuest update.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
I'm Mark Cleverley, chief Leasing Officer, with
Allquist, keiko and Alahine alsoon the leasing team.
Yeah, we want to talk about twothings this morning.
First of all, we had somereally positive good news this
last week.
We always kind of talk aboutevery week kind of we get
positive news, but this projectin Reno that we're doing and I

(01:43):
want to talk to you specificallyabout it because you're kind of
running that project but we hadgood news.
We're like full steam ahead,moving forward, and now it's
like game on, so walk us throughthat real quickly.
And then I want to talk alittle bit more about kind of
motivational stuff for you likein your career and kind of what

(02:09):
makes you tick.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Yeah, no, we're really excited about Reno.
You know a lot of back andforth.
It was, you know, kind of goingthrough bankruptcy court there
for a while and a lot ofuncertainty regarding the
project.
But you know, working on thatwith with the team over there
and, like you said, mostrecently got kind of a clear
path forward and the green lightto to start working on it and

(02:32):
so, um, massive project, and youknow mostly what we've done
here at allquist is ground updevelopment.
Um, and what's exciting aboutthat one is redevelopment of the
old Harris Casino in downtownReno and bringing in, you know,
this new wave and push ofrevitalizing the downtown scene,

(02:54):
especially for office andretail and just a true mixed-use
project where you can live,work and play.
You know they've gotmultifamily housing in there.
We've got the whole groundfloor of restaurants and retail
and then office up above thatand a hotel that's right there
and just a lot of opportunitiesto come in and to create another

(03:15):
cornerstone of downtown that's.
You know a lot of people thatare familiar with that area, are
familiar with the where it usedto be the old Harrahs, and so
to come back in to, to revamp it, to push back towards a
revitalization of the downtownscene.
Is is really exciting for us tobe able to come in and help out
with that yeah, it's prettyamazing.

Speaker 2 (03:34):
I mean it's a total square footage of that project.
It's like 1.2 million squarefeet yeah right and it's a, it's
a beast.
And we always kind of tease tom, you're like you get us into
these things that are like sohard and difficult, but that's
what kind of keeps all of uslike motivated.
Right is a project like this,that is hard right, but guess

(03:54):
what, we're going to take it onand we're going to tackle this
sucker.

Speaker 3 (03:57):
Yeah, and that's what makes it fun, too, is you're
solving different problems,you're collaborating with
different groups and bringing tolife a vision that a lot of
people have and something that'sreally needed for the downtown
area, and so it's fun to be ableto, like you said, just tackle
these, these difficultchallenges, but that's where you

(04:17):
can turn something great, umyeah, into so we're excited.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
it reminds me a lot of sydney center plaza downtown
when you know, vrt was looking,boise State was looking downtown
and GBAD was looking to expand,and how do you make it work?
And then it's kind of the samething.
Tommy was like, hey, let's goput it all in one building and
let's go buy the US Bankbuilding and it's got a lot

(04:42):
there.
So it's kind of reminiscent ofthat project and how hard that
was and this is going to be hard, but there's not a better team
in my mind that's going to gomake this a success.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
Oh, 100%.
And that's what is nice, rightis.
You've kind of had thatbackground of experience here at
Allquist that have donesomething very similar.
You know, their state and theircity officials came down and
visited, saw all of that andreally appreciated the way that
our downtown is set up and howthose projects specifically can
be integrated into theirdowntown and how they want to

(05:19):
kind of mirror that over thereas well.
There's a lot of similaritiesbetween the markets for sure.
So that background experienceand former projects down here
that that's been done by Alquistis is is a great start to go
and do the same thing andimplement those same strategies
over there in Reno.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
Yeah, so with that hard project, uh, going to take
a lot of time and a lot ofenergy, a lot of passion.
Why so?
And we specifically put you onthis Um and and and looking back
now, like I'm like Kako isperfect for this because of your
, your past, like yourbackground of, of succeeding and

(05:57):
going through hard, hard timesand making decisions and and we
don't need to go into all thedetails, we don't have enough
time, but talk a little bitabout your past and why.
Why that has made yousuccessful now.

Speaker 3 (06:11):
Yeah, and just speaking of hard times and
success, there's a quote fromTony Robbins that I love.
He says good times create weakpeople.
Weak people create hard times,hard times create strong people,
and strong people create goodtimes.
And I think you know.
And one more quote from himthat he says the biggest problem
that people have is they thinkthey're not supposed to have it.

(06:34):
And I just really like that,because it's through these
challenges, it's through pushingourselves outside of our
comfort zone, that we're able toaccomplish and become the type
of people, one that we'recapable of becoming, two that we
want to be, and just capable ofthe greatness that everyone has
inside of them.
And so, without those challenges, without those problems,

(06:54):
without things to push yourselfoutside of your limit, you can't
accomplish the same things.
And so for me, you know,growing up I've got four
brothers and a sister that'sjust as competitive, and growing
up in that environment, it'sjust all we've known.
There's two things that I wouldsay that have been pivotal that

(07:15):
my parents have taught me, andone it's my dad just expecting
your best, expecting the bestout of us in everything that we
do, whatever it is expecting thebest out of us in everything
that we do, whatever it is.
You know a lot of that wassports growing up, just because
we loved it and that was justour everyday life.
But expecting your best andputting out your best every day
was a requirement.

(07:36):
There was no other way to goabout what you do, and so that
needs to translate intoeverything that you're doing.
One time in high school it wasa basketball game.
It was not one of my bettergames.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
You had a bad game, no way.

Speaker 3 (07:53):
Not one of my better games.
I would always get the coachingfrom my dad afterwards.
Talk to him.
Something that he said at thatpoint really stuck with me.
He said if anybody was watchingyou out there, do you think
they'd say that you gave iteverything you had?
Do you think that they'd saythat you worked really hard out
there and they'd say, oh, thatperson really gets after it.

(08:16):
And it wasn't that type of gamefor me.
But that really stuck is, ifsomebody's watching the way that
I carry myself and what I do,what are they going to say?
And, more importantly, how am Igoing to feel about the product
that I'm putting out, whetherit's in sports, whether it's now
in commercial real estate, oras a husband, as a father?
What am I going to feel aboutmyself and what I'm doing and

(08:40):
the effort that I'm putting intothat, and is that going to be
reflected among the people thatI'm around?
And so, just carrying thatmentality, I've always wanted to
push myself and knowing that Iwas capable.
The other thing.
So I said two things.
The other thing that my mom hasdone a really good job of is

(09:01):
just instilling self-belief andexpecting your best and then
believing that, um, you'recapable of whatever it is that
you want.
Accomplishing, you know, thosetwo things has has served me
really well in my lifethroughout, especially my
athletic career.
Um, but just everything that,the way that I approach it, I
want to one know that when I'mgetting into something say this

(09:23):
project for Reno now, forexample, since we're talking
about it that people around mehave confidence to know that I'm
going to put in everything thatI can into the project, and
then in myself as well,believing that this is going to
be a success.
That even though there'schallenges and obstacles and
different things that you needto figure out, there's a way to
figure it out.

(09:44):
Absolutely and takingresponsibility and control for
everything that you have thecapability of doing.
There's a lot of things thatare outside of our control, but
what's within your control thatyou can give everything to.
And approaching it with thattype of mentality is really the
way that I try to approach thethings that I'm doing in life.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
Love it, love it, love it.
Well, it's going to take a lotof effort down there in Reno,
yeah, but we know we're up forthe task right.
It's going to be awesome.
We're excited for it.

Speaker 3 (10:13):
We are excited.
Yeah, it's been great so farand we're excited to see how it
really comes together.
You know it's crazy.
People don't understand howmuch effort and work goes in
behind the scenes before youeven start to see construction
going on and changes and tenantsgoing in.
So we're excited to see theproject come together.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
Okay, sweet.
Thanks, man.
Thank you Appreciate it.

Speaker 1 (10:45):
Dr Trump, thank you so much for coming on.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
I'm so glad to be here.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
I was just saying.
You know, sometimes we havepeople on that we know pretty
good and sometimes it's all new.
But I'm so excited to justcatch up again and appreciate
you so much.

Speaker 4 (11:02):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (11:03):
You've been so kind to me and appreciate you so much
.
Thank you, you've been so kindto me.
We've got some connections withyour Finnish heritage.

Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (11:11):
And my son spent some time in Finland and you're
always so kind to ask about himand how he's doing.
Then I share my stories withhim of your heritage and there's
that great connection.
So thank you for always beingso personal and kind.
It's probably part of yourleadership style.
Well and yours too.

(11:32):
You are a seventh president ofBoise State.
Yes sir, I can't believe I wasjust looking at coming into this
.
This is year.

Speaker 4 (11:39):
Six Year six.
It's crazy, isn't?

Speaker 1 (11:42):
it.
It goes by so quickly.
Oh, and there's so many thingsI want to talk about today, but
I did just want to start therewith your leadership and the way
you go about it, because Ithink connection and being
present with the people you leadis part of what you do.
Talk about leadership and howit's been important to you and

(12:03):
just being the president of theuniversity and the
responsibility, but I know youjust love it.

Speaker 4 (12:09):
I do love it and actually it's a nice segue from
that Finnish heritage to talkabout it.
So the two principles I wouldsay I operate under and it's not
typical, I think, for a personin leadership to talk about the
role of love, but I really thinkit's a fundamental part of my

(12:31):
leadership I really believe thatyou have to care about what
you're doing, you have to lovethe work, you have to love the
people that are putting in theirtime and energy and even the
people who are critical of you.
You have to really love whatthey bring and think about it
and try to understand it.
And and that means I have tocare about every student, every

(12:52):
faculty, every staff person.
It means I have to care abouteveryone in our legislature, our
governor.
It means I have to care aboutthe entire complex of people
that we serve our alumni, careabout the entire complex of
people that we serve our alumni,our supporters and that is a
very powerful commitment.
But the job is alsointellectually complex and there

(13:15):
are real challenges that come.
I mean, gosh, I've beenpresident through COVID.
Yeah, I've been presidentthrough a lot of budget cuts
from our legislature.
I've been president through alot of support we've gotten from
groups like our legislature,people standing up for us, and

(13:40):
I've had to navigate a lot ofreally complex things.
Right now we're navigating allthe new executive orders and all
the dear colleague letters thatare coming in that have changed
federal funding, which supportsa lot of our research, and so
the other part of that is SISU,and that's a Finnish concept
that means unflappable tenacityin the face of insurmountable
odds.

Speaker 1 (14:00):
I love that.

Speaker 4 (14:00):
So it means that you just keep working really hard,
no matter how tall the mountainis, no matter what you have to
climb.
You just keep fighting the goodfight for the things that you
love and care about.
So I'm driven by mission and Ihave a lot of tenacity and I
love to problem solve.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
You know when we were talking before and you brought
that word up and I've since donesome digging because there's
not an English word that matchesit.

Speaker 4 (14:31):
Right, they don't translate it.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
They don't translate it.
But isn't that leadership?
I mean, isn't that life, achance to talk to people I love
or care about?
A lot of times it's my kids.
I think we go through thiswonderful experience,
surrounding ourselves withrelationships and passions that
we love, and then theexpectation that we are climbing
a mountain that tomorrow isgoing to be a challenge, and we

(14:57):
kind of if it is love andpassion and drive, and we're
doing something for a reasonthat authentically is us in our
heart, mind and soul, and thenwe're doing something for a
reason that authentically is usin our heart, mind and soul, and
then we're planning for thechallenges of the next day.
They're coming and I alwaystell people, hey, if you don't
have them right now, they'rearound the corner.
That's right, I love the analogyof uh, uh, you know, hey in the

(15:19):
barn, right?
Jim Everett said this last timewhen he was on like it's it's
hay in the barn.
It's there because I know I'mgoing to need it when times are
tough.
And I think that mentality isso refreshing that, hey, I don't
know what's coming today ortomorrow, because it's going to
come and I'm ready to do it.
About your day-to-day being theCEO of a university and all of

(15:46):
the sources of funds and uses offunds and how that changes.
It's got to be a constantchallenge.
I mean, building buildings ispretty easy.

Speaker 4 (15:58):
We do that too, you do that too right.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, there is the campus planning too, but it's
hey, where's the dollars comingin and how are we spending them?
And it's pretty predictable Inyour world of higher ed with the
changes that are now and everevolving.
It's also a kind of movingtarget every day today and
trying to figure out what'stomorrow bring.
That's got to be a challenge.

Speaker 4 (16:22):
Absolutely, and when you think about just athletics
which is just one part of myportfolio, just this one little
part.
If you think about athletics,my gosh the world has changed in
athletics On its head.
It's so different than it wasLike five years ago.
I think there were many of uswho saw this coming, but there
was no way to plan for it,because you couldn't tell what

(16:47):
illegal, like go to jail.

Speaker 1 (16:50):
Illegal five years ago now is if you're not doing
it and doing it more than thenext guy.
So so it wasn't just that itwas coming, that it was just so
drastically different from whatwas done before.
And and I think you hear,everyone hears that this is not
sustainable either and it'sgoing to continue evolving and
changing because with thesechanges come the unintended

(17:11):
consequences and you're dealingwith all those things too.

Speaker 4 (17:14):
Um, and that's just one part of the portfolio of
being the president right, whichis athletics, and and I think
there's also, you know, there'sa lot of complexity in how we're
funded.
You know, uh, uh.
Over the last couple of decades, state investment and this
isn't Idaho, this is the entirecountry state investment in

(17:35):
public higher education hasdeclined by about 30%, and the
cost burden to students andtheir supporters, whether that's
family or friends that aresupporting them to go to college
, the cost burden on them, hasrisen about 30%.
So it's directly proportional.
So in some state constitutionsacross the country, the state

(17:57):
constitution says that publichigher education should be as
close to free as possible.
But that is just a vanishingdream now, even though it's in
the constitution for most states, or many states.
And so what we're seeing now?
Because states are obliged tomanage so many more things than
they used to be and the demandsare so much greater, their

(18:19):
resources are going into otherthings, but that shifts that
cost burden which makeseducation so much more expensive
for people.
At Boise State and in the stateof Idaho we've done a really
good job of keeping those costsdown, so we cost much less.
We're the sixth lowest tuitionin the country we cost much.

Speaker 1 (18:37):
Six lowest tuition in the country state of Idaho.

Speaker 4 (18:40):
Yeah, and so we cost a lot less than most public
institutions do, which is whythere's so much demand out of
state to come to a place likeBoise State.
But our mission is still toserve Idaho students and it is a
service to bring in thosestudents because, you know, 70%
of the people who graduate fromBoise State stay and work in the

(19:00):
Treasure.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
Valley.
I love that, which makes totalsense, right.
Yeah, like you developrelationships.
Yeah, it's your formative yearswhere you're learning and
making these lifelongconnections that end up being
where and what you want to doand who you want to do with it.
So they stay here.

Speaker 4 (19:17):
And that's why we want Idaho kids to go to school
in Idaho.
Yeah, because that keeps themhere too.

Speaker 1 (19:22):
Well, the beautiful thing there's a lot of things I
want to talk to you about, but Ithink about Boise State, and
it's always been a hallmark ofyour leadership is connecting to
the business community too.
Yes, how real can you makethose degrees?
And I want to get into yourresults.

Speaker 4 (19:36):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (19:37):
But if you look at the way you serve the community
to try to keep those kids here,that's where the magic happens,
right?
Yes, so if Idaho kids can see aline of sight through Boise
State to Idaho jobs, that's thewin, win, win, win for everyone,
right?

Speaker 4 (19:53):
That's right, because talent pipeline.

Speaker 1 (19:55):
I bring this up a lot , but when I was on like the
United Way board 20 years agoand all of the things we would
always talk about, where's thetalent going to come from?
Where's the talent going tocome from?
You look 20 years ago at ourmedian wages and where we were
and just the ability to keep ourkids here for workforce, yes,
um, now we have this boom andyou have all of these jobs and

(20:17):
businesses coming here and youhave the ability now to for our
kids to say, oh, there are allmy opportunities for jobs and
they're in my community yes sothen the connector is Boise
State.
the connector is, and there'swhere I go and that's how I
connect with the community.
I think you've done a masterfuljob and talk about some of
those results you've had ofconnecting Boise State to

(20:38):
community, to these businesses,and some of the results, I mean
in the middle of a lot ofchallenges.
Just look at the data.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
Yeah, I thank you for asking that question and I'll
start with the results first andthen work my way back.
I thank you for asking thatquestion and I'll start with the
results first and then work myway back, because I think it's
when I'm at a higher edconference if I talk about how
much we've improved ourgraduation rate, people gasp.
So it's a big deal to improveyour graduation rate.
1% or 1.5%, that's a big deal.
We've improved our graduationrate in the last five years 39%,

(21:10):
wow, 39% 39% Wow 39% 39.
So that means more of thosefolks are getting their degree
more quickly, more efficiently,getting out into the job market,
bringing their talents out intothe world.
They're not spending as muchmoney on their education because
they're which is really kind ofthe Idaho way right, absolutely
.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
How do I get from where I'm at to my job in an
efficient way?
I'm not going into thistremendous debt we hear about in
higher ed.
Yes, and I'm into a job thatconnects my passions with my
future and my ability to raisemy family here.

Speaker 4 (21:43):
Yes, and one of the great facts that I always love
to give about what it costs togo to Boise State for an
in-state student.
So when the chair of the SanFrancisco Federal Reserve, mary
Daly, came in toward the stateof Idaho, she asked kids, why
aren't you going to college?
And they said, well, because Ihave to buy a pickup truck.

(22:04):
So we looked at the data.
So 52% of students who go toBoise State have $0 in federal
loan debt when they graduateZero, it's unbelievable.
And of the students who do so,just that other percentage that
do have some debt their debt isless for all four years than

(22:26):
$20,000.
So what that means is you couldbuy a pickup truck and a half
with the amount of money that itwould cost you.
In fact, I looked up whatvehicle costs that little.
It's a Mitsubishi Mirage, myfriend, and it is the least
expensive vehicle on the marketnow.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
And that is not the norm.
I mean, I don't know the data,but I mean if you look around
the country, those numbers havegot to be staggering, and the
debt that people take on and theability to get out and make a
living and then provide for yourfamily.
Now we have other challengeshere because of housing, which
is now the next thing, buttalent jobs staying here,

(23:05):
figuring that out, largelybecause of the vision, direction
and leadership of Boise State,which is our, you know, it's our
urban university, it's downtown, it connects to the business
community.
Can you speak a little bit moreto?
One of the other things I lovethat you've done is, as the
economies change and as newcompanies come, you're always at

(23:27):
the leading edge of connectingwith those companies.

Speaker 4 (23:29):
Yeah, that's very important.
If we want to prepare ourstudents for the workforce and
to meet those workforce demandsin our community, we have to
figure out what those industriesneed.
So, for example, I brought incybersecurity professionals and
said help us think about how weneed to design our degrees.
So it wasn't just people whowere academic cybersecurity

(23:50):
professionalists or computerscience engineers, it was people
working in industry helping toadvise us.
We work really closely in ourhealth care education with the
health care professionals allacross our community thinking
about what does it actually meanfor a student to be prepared?
But you know that's true inevery single degree area we
offer.
But you know that's true inevery single degree area we

(24:10):
offer.
So even if you come, you knowthis narrative of you're a
philosophy major, you'll neverget a job.
You'll live in your parents'basement forever.
That's actually not true,because what we do is we build
in.
We're one of the onlyuniversities I've ever known to
do this.
We build in career education asa fundamental part of your
curriculum.
You're doing it in your classesin your freshman year, your

(24:32):
sophomore year, your seniorproject is going to.
Your senior capstone course isgoing to consider that, and a
lot of those opportunities areways to connect out with
business and historically I'm aVictorianist.
Historically people got degreesin philosophy and classics and
literature to become bankpresidents, because it makes you

(24:53):
a big thinker.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
It's the yin and the yang thing of your brain, right?
It's like it makes you a betterbusiness person.
It makes you better at thethings you do right.

Speaker 4 (25:00):
Yes, and so we can get them the technical skills on
the you know, with like work,you, which is a four credit um
work opportunity withinternships, with internships,
with those career connections,work that we're doing.
But we can train your mind tobe nimble and adaptive and for

(25:21):
you to be an innovator.
And we engage a lot of studentsin research, active research
with faculty members, which alsoprepares them for the world
outside of the academy, whichalso prepares them for the world
outside of the academy, and sothose connections to our
business community andunderstanding from them what
they need is a critical driverfor us and helps us reshape what
we do for our students.

Speaker 1 (25:40):
I love it.
When I ran for governor, therewere a few things I was frankly
embarrassed that I didn't know,and I'm going to get to one of
them and they were on the longlist, by the way.
Because, you spend two yearsgoing around the state and in
places you just I mean, and oneof the things is the people and
beauty and business of our statewas just remarkable.
But then also you would havethese aha moments.

(26:01):
You go, I had no idea.
One of my aha moments was theINL.
Yes, I ended up visiting itprobably five times, but the
first time I went I remembergetting a little bus coming back
to my car thinking holy smokes,I missed this.
I had no idea.
So for those listening, and ifyou're kind of on the eastern

(26:22):
side of the state, you knoweverything about the INL.
But if you're in the westernside, where most of our
population is, idaho NationalLaboratories is a huge deal yes,
a big, big deal and tremendousleadership and tremendous
opportunity yes, especially forhigher ed, to connect with those
jobs and those people and thattechnology.
It pretty much leads thecountry in cybersecurity.

(26:45):
When I thought cybersecurity, Iwas thinking like different
kind of cyber.
This is like grid security.
This is big stuff.
It leads the nation in thesmall nuclear reactor research
and where we're heading withenergy and you're connected with
them.

Speaker 4 (27:03):
Absolutely Talk about that partnership because that
more cybersecurity professionalsthan Idaho, because with the
Idaho National Lab here as ourpartner and as our opportunity
to connect, we have the assetsto be the state everyone in the

(27:28):
country looks to forcybersecurity, and cybersecurity
is really important fornational security and that small
cell nuclear is reallyimportant for our energy future
and for national security.
So this really importantnational lab is this gem in the
state and so we've beenpartnering very robustly with

(27:48):
them on both fronts for a longtime.
But we have one of ourscientists, david Estrada, who
works very closely with INL.
He just got a PCASE award,which is the President's Award
for Early Career Scientists, andthere's just a handful of
people that get these in theentire country.
So people who are doingpathbreaking research are

(28:10):
working with the INL and workingwith companies like Micron and
helping to advance not just ourstudents, not just the state,
but our entire nation.
This is really transformativework, big stuff.

Speaker 1 (28:23):
Yeah, I remember sitting one of the visits.
They had a little conferenceroom.
You sat in and I was talking toone of their leaders conference
room.
You sat in and I was talking toone of their leaders and I said
, man, if I was a, I'm not thatsmart, but if I was like one of
the higher ed people in thisstate, I think I would like park
a bus in the parking lot andsay we're claiming our, we're

(28:47):
staking our ground here becausewe want a relationship with you,
because it's so overwhelming.
It is higher ed.
The other thing I think of whenI think of Boise and your
connections.
It is higher ed.
The other thing I think of whenI think of Boise and your
connections.
We have a tremendous amount ofentrepreneurship here and you
think of these legacy companies.
We had Andy Skoggan on who wastalking about the Albertson
story and you think of justAlbertson.
Do you think of the Simplots?
Yes, you butchered on recentlyand you talk about the Simplots
story.
You think of MK, when it waslike the world's largest

(29:13):
construction company that wasfrom here HP, one of its
original sites and then whathappened is all of these spinoff
businesses, and you mentionedMicron I'm going to hit Micron
in a second but there's all ofthis ingenuity and creative
entrepreneurial juices that justflow here from these legacy
companies and a lot of theselegacy individuals who have now

(29:34):
gone on to start their newcompanies and everything going
on, and I just love the wayyou're plugged in with all of
that here.

Speaker 4 (29:41):
Yes, and in fact I actually it's.
One of the things I love aboutthe West is that entrepreneurial
mindset.
And you know, boise State hasbeen repeatedly ranked in the
top institutions in the country,voted by our peers for
innovation, over and over andover again, and it's partly
because we think like ourcommunity and our business

(30:03):
community think, which is how dowe think outside the box?
How do we make something betterand new?
We don't want to ask whatanyone else has done before, we
want to do what's going to workbetter, and so it's that scrappy
, creative, trailblazing mindsetthat characterizes the West,
that also characterizes theuniversity, and that's part of

(30:23):
the reason it's such a good fitthat those are such good
partnerships and we want to knowabout all those companies.
I've created two new positionseven since my arrival one that
helps our faculty get out and dothat engagement and support
their research and scholarship,bringing it to these businesses
and helping them get better andunderstanding what kinds of

(30:45):
questions they're asking, andanother one to build a kind of
partnership that allows us toget our students into those
places.
And so it's about how does theuniversity become increasingly
integrated and engaged?

Speaker 1 (30:57):
It's so important, and what I love about it is
again go back to what is theimpact of that on the families
of.
Idaho.
Yes, it's very personal.
I mean the fact that you can goto Boise State and have line of
sight to those jobs and beplugged into these careers and
most and I know this is probablywherever you grow up.

(31:17):
You know well, this is a greatthing.
I want to stay here.
I want my kids to stay here.
But it is true for the familiesthat are here and for so long
it was like how do we get themback?
Where do they go?
And it just seems like BoiseState in the middle of a lot of
growth.
I mean we have had explosivegrowth.
It has been the partner at thecore from a higher ed thing
saying we are here to solvethese problems and to help the

(31:39):
families of Idaho Pretty uniqueduring this explosive growth.

Speaker 4 (31:43):
And I'll tell you what I think everybody wants
their kids to have theirgrandkids right there in their
home state so they can all beconnected to each other.
Right, that's that dream ofhaving your extended family and
being able for a young person tostart their family and be able
to have their own parents watchtheir kids, which is what my mom

(32:07):
did.
For me, that's an amazing thingto have that family
connectivity.
And it's part of the reason,actually, that we built the
Community Impact Program, whichreaches out into rural
communities, asks thosecommunities, asks the business
community, local government,nonprofits and community members
, what do you need?

(32:27):
And then we build that to specfor that community and we bring
the university to them and thatallows people to stay at home,
because there was this fear fora long time of that kind of
brain drain, you know, into thecity.
So if you live in Burley, do youworry about your kids going to

(32:47):
Boise State Cause you're afraidthey're not going to come home.
And we also created a programcalled Hometown Challenge which
has young people when they'reworking on their degree, we
support them to go home for thesummer so they don't have to get
a job at Walmart or somethinghere in town.
They can go home and work withtheir local mayor's office or a
local business and bring thosetalents that they're getting so

(33:10):
they can envision themselvesmoving back home.
So we're working really hard tothink about how do we help
people across the state thriveand keep our communities healthy
.

Speaker 1 (33:20):
I love it.
Tremendous amount of work.
I'm just sitting here as I'mtalking to you and I'm thinking
about it makes you tired If youthink of all the ways you're
reaching out to connect Idahocommunities, families,
businesses and trying to be theglue.
That kind of kind of does that.
But it's tremendously rewardingtoo so rewarding.

Speaker 4 (33:39):
And I'll tell you what my favorite day of the year
is commencement, which iscoming up yeah and my second
favorite day of the year is whenstudents come on campus for the
first time, and it'sorientation, because what I see
in both it's, honestly, I think,the best job a person can have

(34:00):
in the world.
You know, being a doctor ispretty good, tommy.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
It was pretty good.
I left it, but it was prettygood.
No, this is really good stuff.
Hey, you mentioned it, but Iwant to go a little deeper on
something I mean since I'veknown you talk about your mother
.
Oh, thank you talk about yourmother and I know I just really

(34:27):
want it's, I think, the truemark of a person is how they
care and love for the peoplearound them, and I think when
you get a glimpse into someonethat is an example of that.
It's impactful and I thinkyou've impacted me as I've been
able to watch since I've knownyou.
You care and love for yourmother.
Tell us a little bit about that, and I know it might be a
little tender.

Speaker 4 (34:46):
I just feel so blessed.
So when I was a young professor, I got a call from my mom.
She and my dad had retired toFlorida and he was in the
hospital and she didn't know why.
So I jumped on a plane and Iflew down and I found my dad at

(35:06):
a hospital and he had wasgetting a lung biopsy, but he
was afraid to tell her becausehe thought it would scare her
and he hoped it would be nothingand his lung had collapsed and
they kept him.
And so I, I said to my mom anddad, turned out he.
So I, I said to my mom and dad,turned out he had cancer.
And I said to my mom and dadwell, you just come and live up

(35:28):
with me.
So I moved them to where I wasso I could care for my dad.
Um, he passed away when I waspregnant with my son and I just
moved my mom in with me and Ifelt like all they had given me,
all the love they had shown me,the opportunity they had given
me to go to college, which was abig stretch for my dad as a

(35:50):
coal miner and trone miner.

Speaker 1 (35:52):
You grew up in Wyoming right.

Speaker 4 (35:53):
I did.
I did in southwest Wyoming andmy dad worked for PPNL, which
Lisa, our wonderful CEO of IdahoPower, tells me is something
like 50% owned by Idaho Power.
So my dad was power in Idahowhen I was growing up and I've

(36:14):
been blessed to have my son growup in a house where my mom was
there every day and my mom livedto the ripe old age of 96.
Um, but I cared for her for thelast 20 years and, um, she had

(36:36):
Alzheimer's and as the diseaseprogressed, um, she did
experience some difficulties andI just felt so lucky to be able
to hold her hand every day andtell her how much I loved her
and she was so proud of the workthat we were getting to do here
and I brought her tocommencement and it was her
first commencement ever and youknow I talked about how nobody

(36:59):
gets through college on theirown.
You always have community that'staking care of you and loving
you and that my mom made itpossible for me and I asked the
students who were graduating tothink about and recognize the
people that made it possible forthem.
And then the camera panned overand my mom was there and the
crowd just went nuts because,you know, here was this

(37:20):
beautiful woman who had made mylife possible right there before
them and I had a dozen rosesfor her that I brought to her
and I have people stop me on thestreet still years later and
say that was so impactful forthem.
But I also brought her tofootball games and she got to
get up on the platform by thestudent section and students

(37:43):
would cheer for her and I feltso lucky to give her those
experiences and so blessed thatmy son got to grow up with his
grandmother right there in thehouse.
So for me, family is such ahigh priority and I would have
done anything for my mom.

Speaker 1 (37:59):
Well, and for me, I got to tell you publicly, like
one of the things being inhealthcare and having family and
friends that have cared for aparent with Alzheimer's um, it
is not easy.
Like easy is not on that list,right.
And in all of the time that Iwatched you care for her,

(38:23):
marlene, like the fact that youalways would smile and share the
love with gratitude and neveronce, even not even a teeny bit,
say anything, that was hard.
It's a tremendous example to me, because I'm probably not the
guy that I would, probably wouldbe complaining.
I just, I just am.
And so being around someonethat like says yes, and you live

(38:47):
life with gratitude and with,like, this beauty, that, um,
it's really impactful.
And I know, uh, when she passedaway, um, it's gotta be hard
still.

Speaker 4 (38:57):
I mean that's so hard .
I miss her every day.
Yeah, death is so final.
Be hard still.
I mean that's so hard.

Speaker 1 (39:02):
I miss her every day.
Yeah, death is so final.
It's so, um, I don't know thatnine kind of thing that just
doesn't go away.
Uh, it doesn't ever go awaycause you just miss them.
Um, well, and not to get toopersonal, but I know you're now
taking care of your sister.

Speaker 4 (39:15):
I am, indeed.
My um sister was at G just afew months after we lost my mom,
was diagnosed with incurablebrain cancer, and so the day she
called me from the hospital,she had gone in thinking she was
dehydrated and they weresuddenly admitting her into the

(39:38):
ICU.
And she called me, and shelived in Florida at the time.
My family evidently likes toretire to Florida, and so, um, I
got on a plane and flew downthere and and I just brought her
home with me when her surgerywas done, and so we've, you know
we've all moved our wholefamily in together, so now my

(39:58):
boy has his aunt there with him.
But I feel I'm tremendouslyblessed to get to spend that
time with my sister andtremendously blessed to have the
privilege of caring for her.

Speaker 1 (40:11):
Well, and I, I I appreciate you sharing that
because I think sometimes, um,with very strong leaders in very
big positions, and we kind oflook at them like they're
superhuman, and I think thatvulnerability of talking about
the challenges that require thatsisu in our lives, I just think

(40:37):
it's helpful to share that.
I just think it's helpful toshare that because you know, as

(41:03):
you deal, write a book, becauseit's damn inspiring for people
like me to go, oh man, that isawesome and, um, it makes you
want to be better.

Speaker 4 (41:13):
You know I'll tell you that what I think about more
than anything else is withregard to that love and Sisu.
I just want more people to knowthat courage generates courage.
In Finnish cosmology, the wayyou get more sisu when you're
starting to run out is to do it.

(41:33):
So you get courage by beingcourageous.
It makes more courage.
It's just like love.
The more love you give, themore love you get.
The more love you have, itmakes more courage.
It's just like love the morelove you give, the more love you
get you know the more love youhave.

Speaker 1 (41:44):
It's beautiful.

Speaker 4 (41:45):
And so, um, I really I think a lot about growth
mindset, and one of the things Itell our students when they
come to campus is you will facechallenges.
It's like you were saying aboutthe hay in the barn you will
face challenges, You'llexperience things that are
painful.
You'll have classes that makeyou feel discouraged, or
professors that don't suit yourstyle or life experiences,

(42:08):
Someone that you date thatdecides you don't belong
together and your heart isbroken.
There will be all those kindsof challenges Times when you
disappoint yourself because youdon't live up to what you think
you can do, because you don'tlive up to what you think you
can do.
But if you can take thosedifficult experiences and learn
and grow from them, that's whatcan fuel your forward motion.

(42:29):
And what growth mindset says is,when you fall down, it's not
the act of falling down thatshows whether you belong or not.
It's getting back up again andnot saying ooh, I'm ashamed of
that, but saying gosh, how can Ilearn from that?
And looking at other success,and instead of feeling like, oh
gee, I wish I could be doing aswell as they are, I'm just not

(42:50):
that good saying wow, that'sinspiring, how can I learn from
that, and so that growth mindsetand that and that sisu like you
can actually generate morecourage by being courageous.
You can actually generate morecourage by being courageous.
You can actually generate moregrowth by being willing to take
risks where you might fail.
And I think all the time aboutpeople I've known over the

(43:10):
course of my life the ones whohave done the biggest things are
the ones who've been willing totake the risks where they might
fall down and did, but keptgetting back up and kept doing
more.
And I'm so desperately want ourstudents to know if you fail a
class, if you fail an exam, andfor our community to know.
Maybe you've tried to go toschool and it didn't work out

(43:33):
for you before, but come on back, because we're going to help
you figure out new ways to do it.
And and that student who didn'tdo as well as they wanted to do
, that doesn't mean you don'tbelong.
We're going to figure out whatyou are going to be able to be
successful at.
We're going to give you thesupport that you need.
And so I really think it's allof life right, there's hardship
everywhere, but if you approacheverything with that open growth

(43:55):
mindset and if you.
If you can see what you can begrateful for, even in the losses
or the lessons or the timesthat are difficult, then it
shifts your whole perspective.

Speaker 1 (44:07):
That is awesome.
I wish we could just bottlethat up, because that is what
makes life worth living actually.
And if you can look at lifethat way, with gratitude and
that growth mindset, and, as youwere talking, I was just
thinking about, I think I'vetold you I haven't told you this
story, I haven't.
We have four kids.
My youngest daughter, um, she,she, she, um, she came with some

(44:30):
challenges, has some learningdisabilities and, uh, trying to
figure out how to match thatwith life and figuring out how
to just how, how do I, you know,how do I be successful, knowing
that I've got these, thischallenge that, you know, it's a
learning disability, that'sthere.
And and it's been good for mebecause with our, our two oldest

(44:51):
kids, um, never thought aboutthat.
You know, go do what you wantto do, dream big, whatever, and
don't set any limits on it, justgo for it.
And then, and then, um, withwith my daughter, uh, you know,
you say, hey, go dream.
And then you sit there and youthink, oh, how does that fit?
with some limitations thatyou're not putting on yourself.

Speaker 4 (45:14):
Right, they're real, yes.

Speaker 1 (45:16):
And so recently, um she, she's like dad, I want to
go to esthetician school and I'mlike awesome, perfect thing
that is awesome.
She sells through it's time todo the practicum.
She gets a 94% on it and I'mlike this is fabulous, Except
you have to take a standardizedstate test.

Speaker 4 (45:35):
Ah, and that's a challenge.

Speaker 1 (45:37):
To get a certificate.

Speaker 4 (45:38):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (45:44):
And I remember saying to Shanna I'm like I don't know
how this is gonna work.
And then I called our stateboard and I'm like, hey, how is
this gonna work?
Like, are there accommodationsor anything like that?
And they're like, no, you gottapass it, it's, it's a
standardized test.
So she started studying and, um, you know, the first several
times didn't do that well, andthen I said, hey, you're going

(46:07):
to have to study.
There's a lot, it's medicalterminology, it's the
nomenclature, it's a big issue.
She's like I know, but none ofthat was part of my school and
it's hard.
I'm like I know, anyway, I'mgetting.
It's a long story to get to thepoint where she had a tutor and

(46:28):
she studied her butt off andthrough this process, the
testing agency that administersthe test, the gal and I'll never
forget her, her name wasLourdes, she works in Salt Lake
for the testing agency and webecame friends, me and Allie and
her, and every time she'd takethe test I'd go.
She would tell us how short shewas and Marlene she.
She would tell us how short shewas and Marlene she got to one
question that she missed.

Speaker 4 (46:48):
Oh, that's amazing.

Speaker 1 (46:50):
And I'm like this is so awesome, You're going to do
it.
And so then she took the nexttime and it was two, and then
she took it and this I don'tknow how many times she's taken
it now.
She took it and I calledLourdes and I said with Allie
and I said how did we do?
And she said not good.
And I looked across the tableat my daughter and I'm like,

(47:11):
okay, you're going to do this.
And she's like Dad, I can't doit anymore.
Anyway, long story short, lastweek she took it.
And Anyway, long story short,last week she took it and I said
how do you think it went?
She said I feel pretty goodabout it, I feel pretty good
about it.
And she calls to get the result.

(47:32):
And I just knew it, I knew it.
And so I start videoing heracross the table.
This was a couple weeks ago andit's an automated response and
I know they don't intend it tobe this way, but it gets to,
it's automated.
You know it's a computer voice.
Your test you took at noon onthis day.
Result is and up until then ithad been fail right and on video

(48:08):
it gets to.
Result is pass and I'm I.
I promise this story is going tohave loop back to higher ed.
But I, I I watched that momentfor her and I thought, what,
what a beautiful thing.
Yes, to have a challenge,whatever that is, to try
something super hard, that youthink I don't even know if I can
ever do this.
And now the pride since then ofI did it and now I'm ready to

(48:30):
go on to this career that I'mpassionate about and I want to
do.
Man, I'm proud of her.
I'm just so happy for her.
But I think of those storiesthat you must have across campus
of kids and adults and olderadults and people coming back to
say, hey, how am I going tofind my pathway?
And it's going to be hard, butthe accomplishment that comes

(48:51):
with learning and education andcareer, and you're immersed in
it every day.

Speaker 4 (48:55):
It's so profound.
It's one of the greatest gifts,and your daughter now is going
to be totally different the nexttime she faces a challenge.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (49:04):
Because she has had that experience of doing that
with the support of her lovingfamily, but being able to take
on the hard thing and actuallyachieve it.
And that's what the universitywants to do for students.
Because a lot of times I havestudents tell me oh, my family
thinks I'm stupid for going tocollege.
They think it's a waste ofmoney.
My goodness gracious, we've gotthe data.

(49:25):
My friends, it is definitelynot a waste of money.
The money you invest, you earnso many times over over the
course of your life.
A million dollars more onaverage over the course of your
lifetime If you get a collegedegree.
It's incredible.
But that there's so much fearthat stops people and I don't
ever want that to be the reasonthey stop.
And I'll tell you, you know, Ihave a physical disability.

(49:46):
I'm here today actually on acane.
When my son was born, I gotpermanent nerve damage in my
left leg and the doctors told mewell, you know, you may not
walk without assistance again.
And I pictured myself I'd beena marathon runner.
You know I used to run 60 to 80miles a week and so I pictured

(50:09):
myself in a wheelchair.
And there's nothing wrong withbeing in a wheelchair.
Thank God we have a device likethat.
But I wanted to run again, Iwanted to be, to have control
over my mobility, and so I spenta good long time working very
hard, and it was veryfrustrating.

(50:31):
I remember being in a PT studiowhere they had a little wooden
staircase that was just twosteps so you could practice
going up steps, and I could notget my left leg to lift up on
that thing and my toe would justhit the base of that staircase
over and over again, no matterhow much my brain told it to

(50:51):
lift up.
And I was in labor for threedays, which is kind of a long
time, so they think it just well.
We know it destroyed my femoralnerve in my left leg.
So as a consequence, eventhough I'm able to move pretty
fluidly most of the time, nobodywould ever know if I sit too
long or stand still for too long.

(51:12):
That leg just gives awaybecause it's putting too much
pressure on that one musclegroup in that one area where
there's no nerve, and so I'vetaken a couple of bad falls
lately as that leg is given out.
But if I hadn't decided that Iwas going to walk again, that I
was going to run again, I wouldstill be walking every day with

(51:34):
a cane or a walker or awheelchair.
I had to make a decision andI'm not saying there are some
things you can't control.
I had to make a decision andI'm not saying there are some
things you can't control, butnobody can tell you what your
limits are.
You have to feel what those areand figure out what those are.
And, um, I know it makes my sonnervous every time I go out for
a run cause he's afraid I'mgoing to take a spill when I'm
hauling he's.
He'd rather have me on thetreadmill.

(51:55):
Um, but I was just walkingoutside the Morrison center when
I had my last fall, and so itdoesn't have to be doing
something dramatic.
And I have learned that it notonly took courage, it took this
tenacity, this sisu to keep Iused to call it Wyoming,

(52:18):
cussedness right, to keepfighting for my mobility.

Speaker 1 (52:24):
I love, as we're talking, I love the Finnish we
didn't really go into it but theFinnish heritage which is rich
and deep and gives you all thesegreat things.
And then you put the Wyoming inthat.
It's this Wyoming Finnish grit.

Speaker 4 (52:38):
Yes, right, that's exactly what it is.

Speaker 1 (52:41):
It's like a perfect combo.

Speaker 4 (52:42):
It is, In fact, when people said to me when I first
got here gosh, you've been underthe gun so much.
I can't believe you haven'tleft I was like, well, if that
Wyoming wind doesn't blow youdown, nothing will.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
Oh, that's great.
What are some things you'relooking forward to?
This is going by really fast,but what's the future for Boise
State?
I know there's a lot.
Talk a little bit about whatyou're most excited about.

Speaker 4 (53:07):
Do you know?
We develop incredible newdegree programs all the time and
that's innovation of ourfaculty working with industry,
working with nonprofits,thinking about what we need to
build for the future.
So we have all these newdegrees rolling out and new
schools rolling out andincredible things like our
School of the Environment, whichis this very interdisciplinary

(53:29):
program, brings people togetherfrom all across the curriculum.
Went out and worked with alocal rancher a couple of years
ago who was concerned about hisnumber of water days as things
heated up and they rewilded withthe research of using NASA data
, working with NASA, usingscientific research, engineering

(53:53):
research, biological research.
They brought together a plan torewild beavers on his property
and when you pool water and it'sdeeper, it's less likely to
evaporate in the heat.
And so they were able to rewildbeavers around his ranch and he

(54:13):
got 21 additional water days inone year and so that kind of
like complex problem solving.
That's where higher ed isheaded, and it's so exciting to
me to think about bringingtogether.
We have, like a school ofpublic health, we have a school
of computing, we have a schoolof the environment that thinks

(54:33):
about like how do we help makethe environment what people need
it to be to thrive, to do theincredible work that they do, to
be to thrive, to do theincredible work that they do,
and these really complex, richprograms.
That's very exciting to me.
What's happening with BroncoAthletics is very exciting to me
.
We were the first group of fiveschools to compete in the
college football playoffs thisyear, what a great year, what a

(54:54):
great year, and here we arepoised to go to the Mountain
West Championships in men'sbasketball and women's
basketball and waiting to see ifthose teams make it into the
tournament and men's has beenthe last three years.
It's really exciting.
So there's so much to feelgrateful for and excited about.
And we're getting these newfacilities a new science

(55:15):
building.
We've just opened a new artsbuilding in the last few years
and a new engineering andmaterial science building.
So we've got these incrediblenew facilities and there's just
so much to be excited about.

Speaker 1 (55:28):
You know I saw, um, I love seeing the first campus
photos and for whatever reason,uh on on social media within the
last couple of weeks when I wasscrolling, they said, guess it
was, um, it was guess thiscampus and randomly it was Boise
state, and so I I went intothat and then it took me down
this deep dive.
But I just love those picturesof of when that first building

(55:53):
was right there on the river andyou see what things look like
and then you look at how it'sdeveloped.
What a beautiful place to be.
I mean, there are someconstraints because you are a
downtown, you know urban campus,yes, but the ways to interact
with the river, which is theriver and then, where it sits,

(56:13):
in its beauty, with thefoothills and the downtown
setting and the fact that you'vecrossed the river and you are
now.
You are the university.

Speaker 4 (56:19):
You're at the capital , you're in downtown business
district it is.

Speaker 1 (56:22):
It is a beautiful someone, someone got lucky or
was really really smart whenthey were thinking where are we?
Going to put this thing, but Ijust love that part of it and
the way the buildings fit andthe state, and you know I'm a
super Boise State fan.
Um, so it's been fun and, uh,that last game against Utah
state was so it's been fun andthat last game against Utah
State was just amazing,Incredible.

(56:44):
I even brought a Vandal with me.
Yeah, had the old Gov with me.
That's right.
We had a great great night.
It was a great great game.
It was nice to blow them up.

Speaker 4 (56:53):
Actually, I'm so proud of all of our universities
and I think every Vandal in thestate should feel so proud of
Boise State and what it's beenable to accomplish and cheer for
those teams, and just like wecheer for them.
We do yes, okay.

Speaker 1 (57:08):
I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.
No, there used to be one.
I've been here a long, longtime, but there used to be a
very.
It used to be a big rivalry.
Bitter, acrimonious rivalry,Bitter horrible rivalry and
that's kind of died out now, andI love rooting for the Vandals.
They've had some great yearstoo.

Speaker 4 (57:27):
And I'll tell you what when I came here and our
presidents got together acrossthe state, we said we are going
to cooperate and lift each otherup, because when we win, all of
Idaho wins, and so we want toreally work with and support
each other up, because when wewin, all of Idaho wins, and so
we want to really work with andsupport each other and and we
want to lift all of theseinstitutions up.
And I tell students all thetime when I speak to high

(57:48):
schools, I say I don't carewhere you go to college, just go
Like, find the place that fitsyou and fits your desires and
your future, and go therebecause that's where you're
going to thrive.
Um, but, I'll.
I'll tell you what I'm alwaysproud when I see when people say
to me hey, you know, sorry, I'ma Vandal, I'm like, well,
congratulations, that's amazing.

(58:09):
Or I'm a Bengal.
You know, it's great so we'reall proud.

Speaker 1 (58:14):
Idaho State, Idaho State.
I like their new president.
He's great too.
I'm actually going over as soonas we're done and giving a talk
at ISU today.

Speaker 4 (58:22):
Fantastic.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
It's on.
As you know, one of the thingswe're passionate about is the
trades and getting kids into thetrades.
So I'm going over and talkingto a big group of students over
there about the trades.
But Idaho State's done a greatjob too.
It's done a great job too, andI think we're all part of an
ecosystem and a state that weare better together the more we,

(58:46):
you bet, and sure, there'sprobably some healthy
competitiveness, which thereshould be.
It's the way the world works.
It makes us all better.

Speaker 4 (58:55):
That's what entrepreneurship and capitalism
are all about.

Speaker 1 (58:58):
That's what it is, and if it weren't like that, we
probably wouldn't love it.
So it's okay to be a littlecompetitive, but it's also okay
to say we're all part of thisIdaho family and we're all part
of this culture and heritagethat we want to.
Now I like competing with theother states.

Speaker 4 (59:10):
That's what I like.
Yeah me too.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
Let's keep our kids from going to Utah State.

Speaker 4 (59:14):
Amen Utah and keep Right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (59:18):
Well, president, this went by really fast.
I just want to say how much Iappreciate you.
Your example, your leadershipis just the way I watch you
interact with businesses andhelp businesses and help our
community, and the enthusiasm inwhich you lead and live it's
infectious.
It makes everyone around youbetter and I'm just proud to be

(59:39):
your friend.

Speaker 4 (59:40):
Thank you.
Can I say something about?

Speaker 1 (59:41):
you too.

Speaker 4 (59:42):
Yeah, I feel like one of my luckiest days when I came
to Idaho was when I met you?

Speaker 1 (59:47):
Oh, that's nice.

Speaker 4 (59:49):
Because you have done so much for this state and your
character.
You competed so hard in thatgovernor's race and one of the
first things I did so when I wascoming that primary just
happened.
Oh yeah, the first things I didso when I was coming, that
primary just happened and I wentand read all the news coverage
because I wanted to understandthe state I was coming to.
I really wanted to understandit and you have become such an

(01:00:11):
incredible supporter of ourstate government and our
governor.
And when he gave you that award, this year for the
contributions you made to thestate and to the well-being of
the state.
The governor's award I just wasso.

Speaker 1 (01:00:25):
It's actually kind of a cool thing.
I don't talk about it veryoften but, um, you know, when I
before I ran, I knew Brad alittle bit and um actually
talked to him before I I, I wentinto the race and, um, we
became pretty good friendsduring that.
You're, you're on the campaigntrail all the time and you're
interacting and it was sure itwas competitive, but really

(01:00:49):
really like him and got to knowhim really well.
And then since then it's almostbeen odd for some of my friends
and people.

Speaker 4 (01:00:56):
They're like is this real?

Speaker 1 (01:00:57):
And I'm like, yeah, it's real.
I really enjoy him, appreciatewhat he does for our state and
he and Teresa I mean it's a teameffort, she's amazing and for
what she does, and you know, Ijust really appreciate him.

Speaker 4 (01:01:11):
Well, and he recognized you for the same
reason that I feel like you'rereally special.
I think it takes a lot ofcharacter for somebody to care
so much about people in thestate that even after you know a
difficult, challenging racelike that, that you were able to
really see that value and lifthim up and and keep fighting for

(01:01:34):
the wellbeing of the state.

Speaker 1 (01:01:35):
It just makes me so proud to call you my friend.
I love and appreciate you.
Thank you so much for what youdo and we're here to help me in
any way, Thank you.

Speaker 4 (01:01:45):
Thanks for having me Thanks everybody.