Studying languages and cultures in Austria, launching a publishing career in New York City and working in Paris for Google before it was a household name — the start of John Lewis Needham's career took him far away from the small Utah college town he called home.
"While at Utah State University I studied under dozens of professors," John said. "There were a few in particular that really left a mark, and at the time I could tell they were important to me but over time it's become even more evident. It might sound kind of odd, but it's because of an essay-writing course I took in the English department that I wound up taking a very strong interest in book publishing, and starting my career there."
John's publishing gig led to two more jobs before ultimately landing him at Google in 2004, "When they were just starting to emerge as a force."
"You'd think to work for a tech company you'd have to get a computer science degree, or at least take a marketing class," John said. "For me, it was actually an English class where we used the New Yorker magazine as our medium to learn from and model ourselves after."
The class was taught by award-winning lecturer Helen Cannon, who came to Utah State in 1987 as a graduate instructor and remained a fixture in the English department for 13 years. It was the far-reaching effects of Cannon's influence which prompted John to recently establish a trio of endowments at Utah State University, giving back to the very place his long journey began.
He has established and/or generously supported several endowments, including the Cleo Christensen Smith Aggie Family Scholarship; Sylvan Eugene Needham, III Study Abroad Scholarship; and the Helen B. & Lawrence O. Cannon Endowment. Each gift represents an aspect of John's USU experience he considers formative to both his future career opportunities and a lifetime of personal interests.
"It was only once I got to a certain point in my career that I realized how fortunate I was and how I couldn't take credit for it. The credit was due to the people who shaped my early training at USU. That's when I knew I needed to be part of that cycle — it was my turn to help others have that experience in these programs."
Honoring Cleo Smith
Cleo Christensen Smith (1919-2013) was a pioneering educator whose career spanned several decades of teaching and counseling students in southern Idaho and Utah’s Cache Valley, as well as developing special education and alternative high school diploma programs for Cache County School District. Mrs. Smith (as she was affectionately known by her students) taught and led with determination and compassion at a time in Cache Valley's history when a female educator continuing to teach after marrying and starting a family was beyond the norm. Smith did both, continuing her professional career after marrying her sweetheart Lewis Calder Smith — who was then serving as a fighter pilot in World War II’s Pacific Theater — and resuming her career once more after the youngest of the couple’s four daughters began school.
"My grandmother was a force who many people in Cache Valley still know and recognize," John said.
The scholarship honoring Smith's name became a reality when John received an email around the time of Cleo Smith's 100th birthday celebration, for which the extended family held a special reunion to remember her loving influence.
"Within hours of receiving that email, I rallied the cousins to join in on this, and persuaded a few to commit, on a pledge basis, while I did the same," John said. "If there's a message here, it's when opportunity comes around — take it."
The gift-matching program and John's fast-acting cousins cleared the way for the Cleo Christensen Smith Aggie Family Scholarship, a now fully-funded endowment commemorating her career as an educator and her impact on generations of USU students.
Opportunities Abroad
As an undergraduate, seeking degrees in both Liberal Arts and French (plus a minor in German), John was awarded the Jean Inness and Carl T. Degener scholarships within Utah State's Languages department. He used them to fund summer study programs in Austria and Israel, laying the foundation for future career opportunities abroad.
"That really shaped my outlook on my career, "John said. "In fact, during my time at Google I was assigned to develop programs in Europe where I was based in London and Paris for the company. I credit that directly to that study abroad experience and feeling confident in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, and engaging with people who interpret the world differently."
The Sylvan Eugene Needham, III, Study Abroad Scholarship is named for John's father Gene, who according to John "has been abroad to study languages and cultures more times than I can count."
Gene Needham is a lifelong resident of Logan, Utah, and perpetual student at Utah State University. His travels began as a USU undergraduate when an interest in language study took him to the University of Vienna in Austria. Gene's studies have since included a dozen languages, an MFA in oil painting (1981), MA in creative writing (1994), MS in history (2008), and scores of USU classes audited all in the name of learning for its own sake.
The scholarship seeks to memorialize Gene Needham’s passion for travel and learning abroad while reciprocating the support John received as an undergraduate.
The Key to Proactive Giving
"Sometimes the number of requests you get over the course of the year can numb you," John said, "because you don't know which ones are right for you, or that you can afford, or that truly are going to be transformative. I found in my approach to giving, the more I've focused on specific objectives, the easier it is. I decided that supporting students at USU and honoring people important to me is one of those objectives, and it's on that basis I got involved in three different scholarships."
Even as the oldest of his three children became an Aggie in 2020 amid ongoing pandemic hardships, John's support provides more students with opportunities to experience Utah State as he did — and hopefully perpetuate the cycle of thoughtful giving for future generations.
"If you're at a stage in life where you can concentrate some amount per year to give rather than let it go in various directions, you can create something really meaningful," John said. "It's permanent. It's associated with an institution that's important to you, named for somebody that's important to you — it's such a great way to give."
Contact
Justin Barton
Senior Development Director
435-797-4473
justin.barton@usu.edu