Dixie Forum ends term with Earth Day panel, presentation

stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — An Earth Day presentation will be given by Dixie State University’s Sustainability Club president, professors and students at the “Dixie Forum: A Window on the World” Tuesday at noon at the Dunford Auditorium in the Browning Resource Center on the DSU campus 225 S. 700 East in St. George. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend.

Dixie State University Sustainability logo | Image courtesy of Dixie State University, St. George News
Dixie State University Sustainability logo | Image courtesy of Dixie State University, St. George News

Sustainability Club President Trevor Anderson, professors Kelly Bringhurst and Rico Del Sesto, and Missy Jessop, Keiran Presland, Brett Stanfield and Alena Weida — students in Theda Wrede’s English class — will offer a presentation that observes the 45th anniversary of Earth Day.

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 to recognize the modern environmental movement.

Anderson, a Southern Utah native, earned an associate degree from Dixie State in 2007. He then attended Southern Utah University, where he received a Bachelor of Psychology. He is currently seeking a degree in secondary education in biology.

Bringhurst is the department chair for Dixie State’s Physical Science Department and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology and a doctorate in environmental science. As part of teaching environmental science lecture and field courses, Bringhurst takes his students to a variety of interesting locations, including Catalina Island, Costa Rica and Zion National Park.


Read more: Dixie State offers Zion National Park experiential learning program

Dr. Rico del Sesto, associate professor of chemistry at Dixie State University, St. George, undated | Publicity photo courtesy of Dixie State University, St. George News
Dr. Rico del Sesto, associate professor of chemistry at Dixie State University, St. George, undated | Publicity photo courtesy of Dixie State University, St. George News

Del Sesto is an assistant professor of chemistry at Dixie State University.  He has bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in chemistry. For nearly 20 years he has been performing research at the interface of organic, materials, and analytical chemistry. Currently, Del Sesto is developing materials that are capable of enhanced extraction for analytical method development, materials that enhance the efficacy of antibiotics, and unique materials with interesting optical and magnetic behavior.


Read more: Public lecture: Inventor’s materials defeat bacterium; MRSA, water contaminants


Jessop is a senior studying English with an emphasis in literary studies. During her time in St. George, she has learned to appreciate the beautiful desert landscape. Backpacking and canyoneering in the tangle of slot canyons of Southern Utah have instilled in her a deep sense of reverence for the desert.

Alena Weida, Dixie Roundup rodeo queen contestant, May 2014 | Photo courtesy of St. George Lions Club, St. George News
Alena Weida, Dixie Roundup rodeo queen contestant, May 2014 | Photo courtesy of St. George Lions Club, St. George News

Presland, a senior majoring in English with an emphasis in literary studies, enjoys land-based literature as well as modern and postmodern novels. He loves to be outside in the canyons with a notebook and a pen.

Stanfield grew up in the rural Midwest and moved to St. George from Portland, Oregon. He is studying creative writing at Dixie State and his fiction and poetry have appeared in The Nighthawk Review, Caesura and The Golden Walkmen Magazine.

Weida is a business major from Indianapolis. According to Dixie State’s press release, Weida is an avid tree-hugger, yogi and equestrian. A natural investigator, she holds curiosity for all outdoor activities.

Event details and resources

  • What: “Dixie Forum: A Window on the World”
  • When: Tuesday, April 21, at noon
  • Where: Dunford Auditorium of the Browning Resource Center, Dixie State University campus, 225 S. 700 East, St. George
  • Contact: DSU Forum coordinator John Burns | Telephone 435-879-4712 | Email burns@dixie.edu
  • Dixie forum website

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