Student Spotlight: Mary Briggs Ott

Mary Briggs Ott is from Nibley, Utah. She came to USU and decided to double major in Finance and Sociology.  

She said she’s always been curious and thought research would be a fun way to learn about things she really wanted to learn about, in addition to what professors would teach in class. “I felt like I could take a little bit more control over my education,” she said.  

Mary said a lot of college learning is a means to an end goal of getting a good grade but research is a means to an end goal of finding an answer. “You’re learning for the sake of learning,” she said.  

“Don’t be afraid to take on lions,” she said. “Don’t go for an easy project that will simply check the box. Choose a project that makes you genuinely excited and curious. If you do so, finding the time and energy to participate in research will be easy.”