Our Better Selves is a campus-wide initiative dedicated to transforming division into dialogue and anger into understanding. It begins with a simple but courageous commitment: to pause, look inward, and consider how the tone we set, the assumptions we carry, and the energy we bring impact the spaces we share.
This isn’t about being more polite. It’s about being more present.
It’s about recognizing that every classroom, conversation, and community moment is shaped by how we show up. Meaningful progress doesn’t start with expecting more from others, but with bringing our better selves forward first.
Rooted in UVU’s mission of access, opportunity, and learning for all, Our Better Selves invites Wolverines to model what civic courage, compassion, and curiosity look like in practice. In classrooms, student groups, workplaces, and community gatherings, we can demonstrate what becomes possible when a university chooses connection over contempt.
Together, we can help UVU become a national example of what it looks like when a community commits to showing up with intention, honesty, and humanity.
These commitments draw on UVU’s enduring pillars—Inclusivity, Engagement, and Student Success—to inspire a campaign that can be embraced across campus, throughout Utah, and by communities nationwide.
Better listening.
To understand is to listen deeply, without interruption or assumption. We listen not just to grasp what’s said, but what’s felt. It’s hearing the whole person behind the words and letting them know they’ve been truly seen.
Better dialogue.
We learn best when we learn together. Honest conversation and shared experience help us see beyond assumptions, ease fear, and build the trust that division erodes.
Better connections.
It takes courage to choose care over contempt. When we show respect in difficult moments and model empathy even when it’s unpopular, we create the kind of presence that makes connection possible and inspires others to do the same.
The strength of our democracy and our community depends on ordinary people choosing to bring their best selves to difficult moments.
Our Better Selves isn’t about telling people what to think. Rather, it’s a grassroots effort to model what’s possible when a university and the community it serves prioritize people over politics and humanity over headlines.
