Scroll = love

Once upon a time after I graduated from high school and moved away to college, I became part of an organization called the BYU-Idaho Scroll. It’s the student-run newspaper at the college.

Little did I know what I was getting into . . .

What an exciting time it was to be part of this newspaper. I came to school just a month after it officially became BYU-Idaho, and it was quite a time of transition. Programs were just being formed and curriculum developed, the first junior and senior classes were enrolled, campus turned into a construction zone and the population of married students skyrocketed. It was great fun to be on the Campus staff my first semester and cover all the exciting things going on.

Of the eight semesters I was at school, I spent seven of them on the Scroll staff. Yes, I was a dedicated Scrollie. I was a scholarship writer for my first year (meaning I received a quarter tuition scholarship for being on the paper) and spent four semesters as an editor before my last semester when I was the Managing Editor, in charge of overseeing design and production of the paper.

Wow, the hours I spent in this office! And at this desk (as one of the student secretaries).

And this weekend I had the chance to go back! As part of this year’s Alumni Days at BYU-Idaho, they also held a Scroll/iComm (the new Communication practicum group) reunion. It was so fun to see lots of people I haven’t seen since I graduated from school!

There was an open house on Friday night that I attended, a get together at the park on Saturday (see picture below) and a banquet that evening. Oh the memories it brought back! How great are these people?

I thrive on connecting with people, relating to them, hearing about how life is. It was delightful to spend a couple hours in the park with these guys reminiscing and talking about all we’ve learned since our time at school. Many of them are married and are now parents, and it was fun to hear about their family life too.

This is my Scroll mom, Karen. She always took such wonderful care of us. Now she’s retired from that post to become a labor and delivery nurse. I’m sure she’s just as wonderful at that.

I just realized I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures with people. Oops! Here’s one last friend shot. The one in the end in red, whom I’ll call The Ace, referred to me as her first college friend because we worked together our very first semester on staff. She lives in Minnesota now with her husband and kids, so I’m very happy circumstances made it possible for her to come to the reunion.

The campus looks completely different now than it did when I was there, let me tell you. It makes me happy to know I was even a small part of that transition.

Finally, here’s something to put it all in perspective. I frequently think about the wonderful education I received at BYU-Idaho, the teachers who taught me what I need to know for success in my current career, the experiences I had and the opportunities I’ve had as a result of my education. Here’s a sign that puts it all in perspective for me.