Official SLCC Blog

Nearly every family has beloved traditions, and Leon Jensen’s holiday custom is especially meaningful. Each Christmas, rather than exchanging gifts, Leon and his family members donate to the M. Lane Jensen Scholarship fund at SLCC. Leon created the scholarship fund over 30 years ago when his son, Lane, died in a tragic accident at the age of 29. For Leon and his family, creating the scholarship was the best way to heal from Lane’s untimely passing. “It’s a way of taking hurt and making some good out of it,” says Lane’s sister, Amber. In describing Lane, both Amber and Leon recall his vibrant personality. “Nobody loved life more than Lane did,” says Amber. "He was a great dancer and the life of every party, and he loved participating in Utah’s outdoor sports activities.” The scholarship also pays tribute to Leon’s parents, Moroni and Vivian. Both were educators for many years, and both were Utah State legislators and dedicated much of their lives to public service. Co...

Australian native Leichan Williams (seated center with ball) surrounded by her family away from home. When Leichan “LJ” Williams fell during a recent away game against Western Wyoming Community College, her coaches and teammates first thought the 6-foot, 2-inch center had just wrangled an offensive rebound and scored. In assistant coach Marcilina Grayer’s basketball mind, LJ had just executed a play exactly the way they had practiced over and over. Players fall all of the time in basketball, and some were yelling at LJ to “get up” after sinking her jump shot in the paint. And on a cold, snowy November night, her team up by 10 points, the 18-year-old did try, but something had gone terribly wrong inside the Rock Springs arena in that evening. LJ rolled over on to her back and raised her right leg. At that point, everything and everyone just stopped. Some covered their eyes. Others literally ran away from what they saw. LJ had landed on another player, rolling and seve...

SLCC student Spencer Zimmerman sharpens his skills at the Math Success Center. When math gets in the way of your goals you force yourself to understand it, but then something cool happens – you start to actually like math. At least that’s what has been happening with Spencer Zimmerman, who hopes someday to be an architect. Until recently finding refuge at Salt Lake Community College’s Math Success Center , mathematics had been an academic nemesis for Zimmerman, 26, who since high school has struggled with numbers and equations. “They claimed I wasn’t trying hard enough,” he recalls. “They didn’t realize I needed extra help.” For student Don Touti he discovered he was “rusty” at math. Touti, 20, is working to become a police detective someday. He took Math 980 this past semester and found he was shaky with algebra and worse with geometry. “When I used to come to class, it was annoying because I wasn’t learning anything,” Touti says. “When you’re not learning anything, y...