Skip to main content
Intellect

Cougar Queries "My favorite lecture to teach is trauma"

Cougar Queries is a series profiling BYU employees by asking them a few simple questions about their work, interests and life.

Name: Sondra Heaston
BYU employee since: August 2005
My job at BYU is... Associate Teaching Professor in the College of Nursing

I get most excited about my work when... students are understanding what is taught and are excited to keep learning.

When I tell people I work for BYU, they often say... 'You are so lucky!' I agree.

What makes teaching the greatest job in the world is... you never know the extent of your influence.

The best advice I've ever got about teaching is... don't be the talking head in front of the classroom.

My favorite lecture to teach is... Trauma.

When I have 30 minutes of free-time, you can find me... hanging out with my family or the dogs at my house.

My advice to incoming freshman is... remember the excitement you are feeling now, being admitted to BYU, throughout your time at BYU, even when it gets tough. Enjoy the entire learning process.

My advice to graduating seniors is... never think you know it all. Always keep learning and be teachable.

My go-to BYU Creamery ice cream flavor is... Caramel Cashew and Mint Brownie.

On Saturday mornings you'll find me... sitting either at my kitchen table or on the deck looking over Provo.

My go-to comfort food is... chocolate.

Food you'll always find in my refrigerator are... fresh vegetables for a good salad.

The title of my autobiography would be... 'An Attempt in Finding the Good in Everyone and Everything.'

I'm most looking forward to... in the near future: traveling (I love to travel!) and my family together in the temple. Further in the future: everyone having perfect bodies without illness and being put out of a job in the eternities!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Know of another Cougar we should feature? Email Emily Hellewell.

 

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Improving future crop varieties: New BYU research in Nature decodes oat genetics

October 29, 2025
BYU plant and wildlife professors Rick Jellen and Jeff Maughan, together with an international consortium of researchers, have taken a major step toward unraveling the complexity of the oat genome. Their new research — published today in Nature and Nature Communications — ushers in a new era for oat genetics and breeding.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Why children became useless: Faith and the future of the family

October 28, 2025
Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, a renowned economist and recipient of the Acton Institute's Novak Award, addressed the BYU campus community on Tuesday. She applied her expertise in economics to highlight a shift in the value of having children.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU celebrates 150 years with a scientific twist on a birthday tradition

October 28, 2025
BYU is marking its 150th anniversary with a creative spin on a classic celebration: blowing out birthday candles in BYU style.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=