Occasionally, when traveling to share stories of Neumont's unique approach I am asked "Why Utah"  I thought this might share some perspective on the thriving tech economy of Utah's Silicon Slopes:

Silicon Slopes: Utah's Past, Present, and Future
by Stacy Cahoon Hughes

While the name "Silicon Valley" immediately conjures the association of high-tech innovation, the lesser-known Silicon Slopes represents just as great a source of technology research and development. Based in the metropolitan Wasatch Front in Utah, Silicon Slopes stretches from Logan in the north to Nephi in the south and includes Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden. Silicon Slopes possesses not only a great presence in the world of modern technology, but also a distinct history in the field, and is a driving force in the state's future growth.

Utah's relationship with technology began in earnest in 1961 when University of Utah professor Ivan Sutherland invented the sketchpad, the forerunner to the graphical user interface (GUI) present on every modern computer. Nolan Bushnell, a University alumnus, developed the first commercially sold video game, Computer Space, in 1971, and five years later, he formed the first successful video game company, Atari. Thomas Stockham, a professor at The University of Utah, produced the first digital audio recording in 1976 and became known as the father of digital audio. Over the next few decades, several tech companies, including Novell, Adobe, Pixar, and Netscape, established roots in Silicon Slopes.

Now, Utah's Silicon Slopes boast a strong technological presence in what many believe to be an unexpected part of America. The successful Internet company Overstock.com, now known as O.co, started out in Cottonwood Heights outside Salt Lake City. Other start-ups such as Park City's Skullcandy and Provo's Ancestry.com continue to generate revenue for themselves and the state. Silicon Slopes also hosts a selection of successful biotechnology firms, including Myriad Genetics, Inc., in Salt Lake City. The area continues to grow with Adobe planning a new branch in Lehi in 2012. Newly established universities, like Neumont University, and expanded programs at The University of Utah and Brigham Young University provide all of these companies with new and local talent from which to develop their businesses.

About the Author:
Stacy Cahoon Hughes serves as Communications Manager of Neumont University, a technology-focused university in South Jordan, Utah.

Neumont Haunts

Neumont University is centered in South Jordan, Utah and a short trip to the greater Salt Lake City is nothing but a short Trax ride away. If scarring yourself silly is what you are into then boy does Salt Lake tend to your needs. There are at least 4 different haunted houses and many other October events offered here in Salt Lake. Everything from the corn mazes to the witch festival. There are events for every level of scary that you should so choose.

The great thing about Neumont being in this location is the variety of places you can visit. If you want outdoors you can go to the mazes and enjoy a great fright or just get lost for once and let all of your worries disappear. The local theme park known as the Lagoon hosts a month long event called frightmares where the entire park is transformed into a scary thrill adventure. The local malls offer trick or treating as a safe environment for children to have Halloween the way they want. Many small frightful activities are offered around the valley and the way you spend your month here in South Jordan is all up to you and how much you decide you would like to be scarred.

Neumont Events

Neumont has a lot to offer in terms activities and events. The weeks and weekends here during the quarters and during breaks are jam packed with activities and events for students. Activities such as career week, club activities and Nerdapalooza offer students ways to escape the everyday hustle and bustle of the Neumont class life. The events offered off campus are usually offered at a reduced cost and are usually pretty extensive. The events no matter where they are held are always something students should take advantage of.

The pros to attending events here at Neumont are endless. They tend to relieve homesickness and they also tend to create connections between people. At Neumont the most important thing is being able to create connections with your fellow student and other professionals already in the industry. Attending the events offered here is the single most important activity you can do as a student to grow your tree of connections.

The New Writing Lab

Neumont would like to offer a new writing lab here at school and it will be offered everyday from 12-2 and is being run by KP(Kristen Parker) She would also like for any students who have been here for at least one quarter to take a small English survey. The following email describes this in further detail.

Dear students,

My name is Kristen Parker and I'm a new English instructor here at Neumont. I am starting a new Writing Center, and I'd like a minute of your time in order to make this service as useful for you as possible. If you started at Neumont prior to last Monday, please take a moment and complete the following survey. It's very brief, and the data it will provide me will be very important: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/35GXJTC.

The Writing Center will open on October 17th. It will be open from 12-2 p.m. each day and is located in room 306 (the library). If you would like any help with writing projects of any kind (including help with grammar, style, content, and organization) please be sure to come to the Writing Center with not only your draft, but an assignment handout or rubric (grading sheet for the writing project) as well. This will allow me to better serve you.

I look forward to working with you!

Welcome Neubies

Thinking back to the days when I was a neubie, (Which was only one short quarter ago) I realize that things happened to be a lot tougher than I thought they would be. I struggled at first to keep up with the pace of things and I started to lose sleep due to procrastination. Well I turned my act around and was able to get myself on track and passed all of my classes like a champ. The purpose of this article is to actually inform all incoming students of the dangers that surround procrastination. It is the most volatile of the bad habits that college students seem to show during these few short years that we have together.

First things first, I would suggest doing all work the moment it is given to you. Work and it as much as you can but do not lose sleep over it. Here at Neumont sleep is a very important thing to students because if you start to lose it you begin to fall asleep during class and not keep up with what needs to be kept up with. Time management is important as well due to it encompassing all of the previous topics I have covered. All in all I would say that it is important to keep track of all of these topics and keep control on what you do and when. Do your work but sleep when you can, and play games to relive stress but do not focus on them to the point that your grades fall. A slogan here at Neumont is GB4G which stands for “Grades before Games” and if you live by this you will succeed here at Neumont.

Maintain your body and your time. A lot of students find themselves eating less healthy and resorting to junk food and mass amounts of caffeine. This is not a good habit to get into due to its effect on one’s health. Eventually it will cause you to not have as much energy and your physical properties will begin to lack and expand. I would say the most important part of eating healthy is what all of our parents have told us and that is to eat our vegetables and eat balanced meals. It sounds like a lecture but it is extremely important to follow if you want to stay healthy and not end up being that troll under the bridge who is a code monkey.

If you follow all advice given in this article and use common sense while attending this fine institution of learning then you will succeed and end up graduating in 2.5 years with a diploma that means around 60k a year depending on who hires you. Neumont is known for great coders and good leaders, so wouldn’t you want to be part of the legacy that Neumont is creating. While attending just remember to eat right, do not procrastinate, and manage your time effectively. Personally I have yet to grasp all of these 100% but since I am on my way to getting these skills to that point then I will one day graduate and be able to look back with pride. As a student that has already experienced Neumont for its level of hard work and dedication I openly welcome you to Neumont as new students on their way to a better future.

Time to Kick Back by Dylan Goelz

After all is said and done, and those 10 harsh weeks of school for the quarter are all finished up, what is it that the students of Neumont University do to occupy their times, while waiting on the next quarter to roll around? 

Well I talked to a few/many students before the last week of school and I was told that almost every student (in my Cohort '25' at least) would be going home for the break. This means that out of 30+ students only 5 or so students would be staying here in Utah to relax. Now this came as a shock to me because I thought that most students would not be able to afford something like this. But again, the college blind eye has deceived me.

For those students that went home there are a few situations that they experience while visiting their old family and friends after 3+ months away from them. The first thing would be them having to sit through a long trip back to wherever they are from. There may be a few students from the states a little closer such as Idaho or Colorado but a 17 hour train ride to get to Los Angeles seams a little daunting if you ask me. I digress because in the end each and every student who ventured home for the break between quarters where able to relieve some of the homesickness on them, as well as some pressure hopefully.

For the few students that did stay back to enjoy Utah’s many tourist attractions or just to relax in the student housing, or wherever they may be staying, there are a few activities to participate in: I, for one, am one of the few students that were able to stay back and enjoy the surroundings and wonderful weather as the seasons here are changing. A few activities to partake in would include the miniature golf-course and batting cages within walking distance of the school. If that doesn’t strike your fancy then maybe a few hikes or a nice camping trip to enjoy this time of year, there are always the dollar theaters open year-round to serve those of us who enjoy movies but don’t quite have the pocket for the more expensive theaters.

As you can see there are many activities that students may partake in during the break here at Neumont. I listed but a select few, and there are countless more options. Salt Lake City caters to many different tastes and characteristics of the people in this beautiful city. Whether it be the music scene or the nature scene, shopping or relaxing, there is always something here to occupy your time. Then again we can just sit in Neumont housing and play 15 hour lan parties with our friends or maybe try to get a leg up on the next quarter and learn some new skills in the coding genre. 

Whatever be your choice in the end, you can never go wrong here at Neumont due to the sheer variety of choices of activities here in the beautiful South Jordan, Utah.