Cougar Queries is a series of profiling BYU employees by asking them a few simple questions about their work, interests and life.
Name: Sterling Hilton
BYU employee since: 1996
My job at BYU is? department chair of the Educational Leadership and Foundations department. I also have teaching and research responsibilities.
Currently I?m working on? a research project with local school districts to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics.
I?m currently reading?The Harry Potter series in sequence, The Influencer and Peace Like a River.
I get most excited about my work when? school teachers make sense of mathematics for themselves and then get excited about helping students do the same.
When I have 30 minutes of free-time, you can find me? I never have free time, but I steal time to read and do jigsaw puzzles.
My advice to incoming freshman is? embrace the tenets of general education wholeheartedly. Take one class each semester that you want to take, not that you have to take; attend all devotionals and forums; go to international cinema. A university education is about becoming educated, not just becoming more employable.
My advice to graduating seniors is? keep learning.
The best-kept BYU secret is? International Cinema.
I?ve been a BYU fan since? birth. My dad was a professor at BYU, so it?s part of who I am.
My most cherished memory at BYU was when? I met my wife on a study abroad in Paris.
On Saturday mornings you?ll find me? running on the Provo River Parkway trail. I walk the RB stairs every day, sometimes multiple times a day, going between my car and office. I like the stairs because they pose a brief physical challenge. I can tell my level of fitness by the effort required to climb them. I?m a runner, so I like being able to climb without breathing hard.
My go-to comfort food is? anything with a hint of lime.
You?ll never find me without? a book to read and a pen and paper to help me think.
I?m most looking forward to? taking piano lessons again. I think I?d practice a lot more than when I was a kid.
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