Bo Earls, an avid knapper and founder of the UVKA (explained later), is one of the most well known men on campus, at least to sports fanatics. He is the hero for the week. Here is what he had to say:
Q: First of all, your name is Christopher Legrande Earls, where did “Bo” come from?
A: I am a Dukes of Hazard fan, and some of my family called me “Bo Duke” due to my favorite toy: a toy-sized version of the “General Lee” car they drove on the show. It didn’t stick much, but I liked it. When I moved to Utah in 1996 from South Carolina, I decided to just tell everyone that my name was Bo. This time, it stuck. I never liked my real name much. I think my parents ran out of good names by the time they had me.
Q: What is it that you do at UVU? How long have you been working here?
A: I am the director of intramurals & sport clubs. I have held this position for five years as of August 15 of this year.
Q: What brought you to UVU?
A: I came to UVU to pursue a degree in health in the fall of 1996 and graduated in spring of 2000 with a BS in integrated studies. At the time, UVU was my stepping stone to try and get into BYU. I fell in love with UVU and am still here.
Q: What made you want to get involved with the intramurals?
A: I participated in Intramurals from day one. I was very active in sports as a youth, and intramurals allowed me to carry over that enthusiasm into my college career. I eventually volunteered and later worked for Sam Atoa as a supervisor.
Q: What is your favorite part about your job?
A: I love the fact that my job is offering students fun and enjoyable things to do on campus. Working with many student employees is rewarding. Currently my most fun thing to do is play Frisbee golf on the new course on campus.
Q: What is the most memorable experience you have had while in your position?
A: I would have to say the most memorable moment was seeing our flag football team win the regional tournament at ASU two years in a row. Jared Sumsion and his buddies represented UVU well for those two years. Before that, no one knew who we were whenever I went to conferences and tourneys.
Q: Besides sports, what are your hobbies?
I’m a knapper (a person who shapes stones through the process of knapping to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls). I started the Utah Valley Knapping Association (UVKA) over 2 years ago. I have been knapping for 5 years and am truly addicted. My favorite point types are Clovis, Dalton, and corner tang knives. Recently I have been dabbling in Fog knife blades and large percussion pieces.
Q: If you could tell the students, faculty, and staff at UVU one message, what would it be?
A: My favorite saying is In Vino Vertias. My words of advice to all would be straight from the mouth of Samuel Clemens, “Experience is the name we give our mistakes.”
