As I waited in my seat for Daniel’s graduation exercises to begin, I realized that I graduated from BYU 30 years ago. 30!
It surprises people that I have a degree in biology teaching because I don’t fit the mold, and I never used my teaching certificate. I don’t spout off the scientific names of trees and animals unless it’s appropriate, like when we stop in Yellowstone to watch the Bison bison. The emphasis for my degree was in Zoology, and I can boast that I have dissected just about everything. I have even worked with cadavers. I studied in labs and large lecture halls, and I did a lot of field work in my degree, too. I don’t talk about my good memories of catching insects and identifying trees, but I was good at the study of biology and I loved it. I also loved teaching high school. I could feel when my students understood a concept, and I enjoyed the challenges of a classroom of teenagers. I really liked my students. I loved making interactive lessons where we would get away from our desks to learn, and I enjoyed the hunt for visual aids and the adventures of collecting wood, insects, and leaves. It was a challenge to find creative ways to teach photosynthesis and the Krebs cycle, and through such challenges, I discovered that I had a gift for teaching and wonder.
I finished my BYU course work during the first semester of our married life, and did my student teaching at Mountainview High School in Orem the next semester. We learned we were expecting Paige just before Christmas, right before I was to begin my student teaching, and we were so happy. I experienced morning sickness during the first weeks of observation in the classroom, so I smuggled in saltines which I broke into tiny pieces to sneak into my mouth. I didn’t tell my cooperating teacher I was expecting a baby, and he was surprised when I shared happy news from my ultrasound in April, just before I completed my semester with him. I didn’t want my pregnancy to influence his opinions of my teaching.
I graduated in April 1996, and I remember President Gordon B. Hinckley smiling at the parade of graduates as we came across the bridge and walked right in front of him to enter the Marriott Center. I remember the faces of my parents when I looked up at them at the Smith Fieldhouse after I received my diploma, especially my dad who was beaming. I remember my little sisters coming down to see me when it was over, and how they looked at me. I wish I could have been at their graduations to repay the support they showed me. I remember Richard taking me to the Provo temple grounds (the place I always want to go on the way home) and making sure to take several pictures to mark the day.
I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the College of Biology and Agriculture with a degree in Composite Biology Teaching with a Zoology emphasis. I also came away with a strong background in scripture because of the religion courses I took. What a treasure.
BYU prepared me to serve my family, my community, and my church. The older me wishes to tell the younger me that my education was both a gift and a real achievement. I have been able to use every class and BYU experience as a mother, member of the Church, seminary teacher, home educator, and friend.
