Three months of Provo was all he could take.
After graduating from high school in southern California, Utah Valley State College seemed like the ideal school to Nathan Finnigan, who wanted to be away from home, but near a relative.
Located in Provo, UVSC was near Brigham Young University, where his brother was studying.
It wasn’t the dearth of cultural diversity or conservative social norm that began to make Finnigan think twice about coming to Utah County?It was the dating scene.
He claims it didn’t have anything to do with a lack of date-worthy girls that liked Finnigan (who is about 6-feet tall, fit, tan, blonde, blue-eyed and outgoing), he was just tired of the rat race.
“I felt like everyone was competing,” Finnigan said. “[Other guys] would size you up for how good looking you are or whatever skills you have. They’d check out what you were wearing [and] what you were driving. Everyone was very superficial and materialistic. The girls were the same way.”
It wasn’t until five years later that Finnigan came back to Utah?But this time he is definitely a lot happier about where he is.
“I love the [University of Utah], and I love the location,” said Finnigan, who is awed by the sight of beautiful mountains basking in the evening light as he drives home.
But the scenery is not the only factor that lured him to Salt Lake City.
“In Utah County, there was a larger LDS population, but it was way too out of reality,” Finnigan said about his experience in Provo. “Salt Lake City still has a large support [base] for my religious belief.”
And religion plays an important part of Finnigan’s life. After the first day of his only semester at UVSC, he decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Finnigan’s experience in Osaka, Japan, made him change his major to Japanese. Finnigan felt he had a talent for language, and he wanted to stay connected with the people who gave him so much.
“They’re incredible and very warm, especially toward Americans,” Finnigan said. “I feel I owe them a lot. Whenever I see a Japanese [person], I’d try to strike up a conversation.”
When Finnigan returned to the United States, he headed to BYU-Hawaii with two other childhood friends. The three had promised each other to live together and share their stories after their missions.
After a dream year of surfing three times a days in the pipelines of the North Shore with his buddies, Finnigan ran out of money and moved back home. He worked as a tour guide for Japanese travelers while attending Cal State Long Beach University.
While shouting Japanese instructions to his group in the airport, Finnigan was overheard by another Japanese person who just happened to need someone of his profile and skills.
The man was the president of a company that was producing a live stunt show in Japan using American performers. He was impressed by Finnigan’s fluent Japanese and all-American looks and offered him a job on the spot.
Finnigan helped translate and performed with the team. They quickly trained him with basic stunt techniques. Playing a terrorist in a James Bond-like skit, Finnigan had to jump 15 feet into the air?with the help of a small trampoline?after an explosion on a dock. He also had to fall off a 12-foot ledge in a fight sequence.
The two-month stint, which Finnigan described as “very lucrative,” gave him a taste of show biz. Although he has no delusions of being a star, he is keeping his options open. The choreographer who worked with Finnigan in the show has even mailed him scripts for possible future roles.
Using the money saved from his moment in the limelight, Finnigan went back to BYU Hawaii for another three semesters. Since the school didn’t offer a major in Japanese, Finnigan had to start looking for another option.
His younger brother was playing goalie for the U soccer team and loved the school, so in the end, Finnigan decided to give Utah another shot.
Nearing graduation, Finnigan is now weighing his options. In fact, he is studying for the law school admission test (LSAT). He is also excited about the idea of joining his childhood buddy, Matt Stoker, in a business venture. Finnigan’s diverse interests and ability to connect with people have always impressed Stoker.
“He can relate to people,” Stoker said. “That’s necessary when you try to build a relationship of trust [with clients]. You have to get inside their world. When they’re interested in golf, you have to talk a little golf with them. [Nathan’s] interested in every little thing.”
Finnigan is also preparing to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. He was born in Canada and retained his citizenship there, but his desire to vote has finally encouraged him to go through the efforts.
“He’s more patriotic than 99 percent of people I know,” Stoker said. “He’d comment about [how] this is the best country?that kinda makes me proud to have him as a friend.”