Land, Water, Air: USU Science Valedictorian Aims to Bring Knowledge to Policymaking

Utah State University scholar Makenna “Kenna” Roberts grew up within sight of the Great Salt Lake.

“I was raised on a small farm in Layton, Utah that’s been in our family since the mid-19th century,” says Roberts, who graduates this spring from USU as valedictorian of the College of Science.

During her undergraduate career, the first-generation college student has served as a data analysis and communications assistant for the Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air, a major interdisciplinary initiative established by USU in 2021.

“It feels really special to be working with a group that values high-quality research that will affect a natural resource like the Great Salt Lake that was so iconic to me growing up,” says Roberts, a USU Honors Program student who is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics, with minors in data science and political science. “The institute has worked with many researchers who have been studying effects of changes in the lake and possible solutions. We have been able to work to get results from these researchers to policymakers, who can make really important policies that can preserve the lake.”

Deriving evidence-based data from sound research to aid decision makers is at the heart of Roberts’ efforts as a scholar and a citizen. In her institute role, she has assisted the team in crafting concise, but data-infused reports for the Governor’s Office and state legislators, along with technical reports for researchers and public agencies.

Roberts’ fire-in-the-belly enthusiasm for politics and, specifically, policymaking, started early, in discussions with her father, Layton City Councilmember Tyson Roberts. She has accompanied him to many a meeting in the Davis County community as well as the state capitol in Salt Lake City.

“I am fascinated by the whole policymaking process,” says Roberts, who graduated from Layton High School in 2019. “And a key component of good policy, I’ve learned, is it needs to be educated policy. Research-based policy goes into making policy beneficial to all citizens.”

Among the highlights of Roberts’ USU studies was a Washington D.C. internship in spring 2024 with the office of Blake Moore, U.S. representative for Utah’s first congressional district.

“It was super-inspiring to be in the fast-paced hub of changemakers who genuinely believe in making the world a better place,” she says. “As a legislative intern, I worked with legislative and communications staff on policy briefs, attended hearings and observed Senate and House votes. It was exciting to see political science in action.”

As she wraps up her USU studies, Roberts has been hard at work on her Honors Program senior capstone project, which combines national SAT annual score reports and employment data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. With Department of Mathematics and Statistics faculty mentors Stephen Walsh and Kady Schneiter, Roberts has been analyzing the datasets to determine trends between male and female participants and how those trends relate to commonly researched factors that influence gender gaps in STEM fields.

“I’ve really enjoyed doing research independent from a class and working with these professors,” she says. “I hope to continue this kind of research, when I start working on a master’s degree.”

Roberts has been accepted to five graduate programs (and counting) in applied statistics or data science — all at schools on the East Coast — and has selected Duke University as her graduate school destination.

“I’ll enter Duke University’s Master’s in Statistical Science program in the fall,” she says. “My career goals include getting involved in policy research — perhaps with a nonprofit think tank or a university. I envision work using numerical methods to guide policymaking.”

Roberts says USU’s supportive residential and academic resources bolstered her confidence and gave her a sense of belonging and community.

“As a first-generation college student, I had a lot of questions, including some I was embarrassed to ask,” she says. “I’m grateful for the Aggie First Scholars program, along with the Honors Program, which provided helpful guidance.”

Roberts lived in Honors housing during her first year, which was a lifesaver, she says, as the university plunged into pandemic lockdown during spring semester 2020.

“I had eight fantastic roommates and we grew very close,” she says. “We spent a lot of time together playing card games to entertain ourselves. We’re still great friends.”

Once restrictions lifted, Roberts availed herself of Aggie football and basketball games, Poetry and a Beverage events and tackling the climbing wall at the Aggie Recreation Center.

Among her fondest activities was serving as a tutor at the Aggie Math Learning Center.

“I had so much fun and got to know students from all over the university,” Roberts says. “I also got to know all of the math and statistics department faculty and staff. The whole experience helped me build confidence and really learn math and statistics as I helped others.”

Getting involved in the campus community, she says, made all the difference in her USU experience.

“There’s doing and there’s living,” Roberts says. “Getting to know people, joining study groups and going to events should be all be priorities. I’ve had so many wonderful experiences and opportunities at Utah State.”