Brigham Young University and the MPA Program

Tonight Ariel and I attended the Administrator of the Year Banquet which serves as a closing banquet for the graduating MPA class.

The Administrator of the Year, Rulon Stacey spoke of what BYU is, what it means to graduate from here. We have something so unique, having been trained with the skills of the world in a gospel setting. I am completely attached and committed to the mission of BYU. It is an experience one can receive no where else. It has changed my life, shaped my mind and my spirit in entirely new and enhanced ways. Forget rivalries, and sports, and ice cream, and school rankings, and all of the many stereotypes (both the true and false ones)--this school provides something deep and real and unattainable elsewhere. I love Brigham Young University. I will leave this place prepared to go forth into the world of work and make a difference, even change the world.

I am so grateful for the MPA Program. I am so grateful for the knowledge and skills I have gained. The Lord has mercifully directed my life, and blessed me far beyond anything I could ever imagine or comprehend. Inspiring me to go to BYU was one of His most significant, powerful promptings. I had no idea (and still probably have no idea), the magnitude and impact of that decision two years ago.

With the exception of my family, the people in this program truly are the best people in a collective group that I have ever met in my life. I want desperately to be like them in my personal, spiritual, and professional life. They are unstoppable and unmatchable. They are driven to do good, and will do mounds of it. And they are who they are in part because of the MPA faculty, my personal heroes and mentors. I love and admire them and their drive, love, intellect, and leadership.

And of course I cannot forget the brown-eyed girl who first preached BYU to me. She knew all along what kind of experience one could have within these sacred halls, from classes to devotionals. She was certainly right. And she also showed me that it was not about sports or school colors or social experiences—it was something beautifully deep, something impossible to duplicate without being connected to the everlasting gospel.

It has been a remarkable day. I am grateful for the Lord’s blessings in my life. He lives. He loves me. He guides me and all of His children. I have received distinct guidance recently from Him, and I am grateful to know He is watching over me. I am nothing without Him. I am indebted to Him for my life, my family, my education, my faith, my friends, and my many temporal and spiritual blessing. I only want to give Him my will, give Him the glory that He deserves. He is great and kind and loving. I want for all of His children to feel His love temporally and spiritually.
It’s almost time to go forth to serve.