Some of Dixie State University’s students had the chance to represent the southern Utah region on “The Today Show” Monday.
As part of Weatherman Al Roker’s race to earn the Guinness World Record title for Fastest Time to Report a Weather Forecast from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Colombia, nearly 50 DSU students took a bus to the Four Corners Monument to be part of the show. The event is part of what Roker is calling, “Rokerthon 2.”
The students demonstrated several outdoor activities available in Utah as a backdrop for Roker’s weather report, said Jordon Sharp, director of student involvement and leadership. They showed ideas of healthy living by dressing up in hiking and other outdoor gear.
Dan Guthrie, a weatherman from KSL, was at the Four Corners Monument. He introduced students from DSU including Krissia Beatty, a DSU alumna and Miss Utah.
“[DSU] was the ideal choice to showcase the values and strengths of Utah, as Dixie students live their new school tagline: active learning, active life,” Sharp said.
Sky Crystal, a junior marketing major from Kimberly, Idaho, and the marketing manager for DSU Student Association, was among the nearly 50 students on the show.
“[We represented] the Dixie life and built a reputation to the nation about what [DSU] has to offer for younger generations,” Crystal said.
Student Body President Matt Devore, a senior integrated studies major from Mesquite, Nevada, also appeared on the broadcast.
Devore said students from DSU got this opportunity because Sharp coordinated with the Utah Office of Tourism and made the opportunity to be on the show happen.
“What we hope to achieve is simply getting [the DSU] name out there,” Devore said.
Students wore DSU merchandise such as foam fingers, hats and flags “to show school spirit,” Devore said.
The students started broadcasting at 5 a.m. as “The Today Show” began airing at 7 a.m. Eastern Time. The students were broadcast on NBC every half hour for about seven minutes each segment from 7-9 a.m. local time.
Guthrie joked about the apparel students were wearing on the show.
“There’s a couple of folks in shorts,” Guthrie said. “You guys are definitely from the St. George area.”
Roker ended the show by placing the “Rokerthon” flag in the Utah portion of the Four Corners Monument.