This past weekend was quite eventful!! I GRADUATED from BYU-Idaho and Zach walked with me (he only has four more credits to complete this summer and he will be done too!). Both of our parents and my sister along with her family traveled all the way up to Rexburg for this special event. We loved spending time with family and hosting people in our home for the very first time!
During the commencement and convocation ceremonies, Zach and I both felt very excited, but also sad at the thought of leaving this place behind in just a few months. I found myself reminiscing the big events that happened throughout my time here at BYU-I: all of the friendships I made, getting my job on campus as a peer advisor, the ups and downs of dating experiences, studying abroad in Europe, meeting Zach, and marrying Zach. And then there were the little things like signing up for classes, moving from apartment complex to apartment complex, going to devotionals on Tuesdays, driving the hour to and from Idaho Falls just to go to Chick-Fil-A, dance parties, movie nights, eating in the MC, walking up the hill to the Ricks, and the list could go on and on. I really am going to miss this place so much. It has been my life and my world for the past three and a half years.
My very first class during my very first semester here at BYU-Idaho was Book of Mormon. In that class, my teacher, Brother Riggins, explained the learning model of BYU-I to me for the very first time: Prepare, Teach One Another, and Ponder and Prove. During this class he stated that unlike other universities where students clamber and compete against one another to get the top grades and to become the very best in the school, BYU-Idaho does not have those goals. The goal here is that we all grow and share and help one another so that we ALL can become the best people and the best students we can possibly be with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our focus. We all work together to create a Zion community where God, not man, is at the top.
I have never forgotten that lesson throughout my eight semesters in Rexburg. And I have seen this goal in action many times through implementation of the second step of the Learning Model: Teach One Another. I hope that I can bring this goal into my family life as Zach and I get ready to have children in the future. I hope that we will learn and grow together as a family with the gospel as our focus and that I will be able to teach my children to help others become the best they possibly can be. In my final class at BYU-Idaho just one week ago, my teacher read the following quote from C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun--not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else."
I know that if we allow Christ and His gospel to become the focus of our lives, we will be guided and directed in a way that will allow us to keep the commandments and to choose the right throughout our lives. Nothing else is as important. This is what BYU-Idaho has taught me above all else. And I will always be so grateful for the time I have spent here.
During the commencement and convocation ceremonies, Zach and I both felt very excited, but also sad at the thought of leaving this place behind in just a few months. I found myself reminiscing the big events that happened throughout my time here at BYU-I: all of the friendships I made, getting my job on campus as a peer advisor, the ups and downs of dating experiences, studying abroad in Europe, meeting Zach, and marrying Zach. And then there were the little things like signing up for classes, moving from apartment complex to apartment complex, going to devotionals on Tuesdays, driving the hour to and from Idaho Falls just to go to Chick-Fil-A, dance parties, movie nights, eating in the MC, walking up the hill to the Ricks, and the list could go on and on. I really am going to miss this place so much. It has been my life and my world for the past three and a half years.
My very first class during my very first semester here at BYU-Idaho was Book of Mormon. In that class, my teacher, Brother Riggins, explained the learning model of BYU-I to me for the very first time: Prepare, Teach One Another, and Ponder and Prove. During this class he stated that unlike other universities where students clamber and compete against one another to get the top grades and to become the very best in the school, BYU-Idaho does not have those goals. The goal here is that we all grow and share and help one another so that we ALL can become the best people and the best students we can possibly be with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our focus. We all work together to create a Zion community where God, not man, is at the top.
I have never forgotten that lesson throughout my eight semesters in Rexburg. And I have seen this goal in action many times through implementation of the second step of the Learning Model: Teach One Another. I hope that I can bring this goal into my family life as Zach and I get ready to have children in the future. I hope that we will learn and grow together as a family with the gospel as our focus and that I will be able to teach my children to help others become the best they possibly can be. In my final class at BYU-Idaho just one week ago, my teacher read the following quote from C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun--not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else."
I know that if we allow Christ and His gospel to become the focus of our lives, we will be guided and directed in a way that will allow us to keep the commandments and to choose the right throughout our lives. Nothing else is as important. This is what BYU-Idaho has taught me above all else. And I will always be so grateful for the time I have spent here.
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