Education Week

I’ve been working on BYU campus off and on since 2001, but my world is small. Like deer, the path I travel is the same, day after day, year after year -- McKay to bookstore and back again. This week I broke the pattern.

First, I decided to attend Campus Education Week after a 38-year absence (I went once for one day before moving to Kentucky). Second, I selected classes that were held in a wide variety of classrooms from Marriott to Benson. Remember: I graduated from BYU in 1965. Some buildings didn’t even exist then! Yes, classrooms and pathways have changed a bit, forcing me to get off my beaten path and WALK through, in, and around classrooms and buildings I haven’t been inside for years. I love BYU. Students not only get a great education, but they do it in an environment where the grounds are immaculate, and the classrooms are now cushy, comfy, efficient, and techno-savvy. (There are still areas where the chairs are hard and stiff, but I quickly learned to avoid them.)

I got thinking about campus changes and my curiosity took me to an unsuccessful Internet search for photos during my college glory days (1961-1965). Fortunately, memory can be enhanced by a photo – if one can be found. I didn’t purchase any yearbooks during college, so that resource was unavailable. Eventually, I ended up in the Lee Library Special Collections section looking through old Banyans. Voila! There were some great aerial photos of the entire campus in these old yearbooks. I had some of the original photos digitally reproduced and emailed to me, but I had to sign a form stating that I would only use them for my personal history. I’m not sure whether or not a blog is considered a personal history, so until I find out I won’t “blog” them. I’m so honest, I am. They’re definitely a blast from the past, and I LOVE history...and I love to share!!

Back to Education Week – Oh, that I could gain a world of knowledge in just one week. Both Merrell and I tried, but we were essentially brain dead when we returned home late each evening. My young brain during my glory days didn’t get as tired as it does now, but it also didn’t have the desire to learn, just the desire to finish. I now belong to a group labeled “Livelong Learners” where I choose my workload, subject, and depth of curriculum based on my desire. There are no meetings, and no dues. Anyone can join. Ain’t it great?