Ricks Collge/Brigham Young University Idaho

I graduated from Cocoa High School, Cocoa, Florida, in 1977. A few weeks later, my family and I took a long trip around the Western United States. One place we went was Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was very impressed with the church, and for the next year and a half, I continued to learn more about it.


Once we got back from our trip, I worked and attended the local community college. I really didn't know what I wanted to do, so I just took general education classes. Then, April of 1978, one of my good friends from high school (we will call her Beth) came back from college for the summer. She had been the only Mormon in our high school, and had gone all the way out to Idaho to a church college. For the next six weeks, we hung out a lot going to the beach, etc. She spoke of her wonderful time at Rick's College. Between all the good things she had to say about Rick's and my interest in the church, I soon knew that I wanted to check this school out.

In June, 1978, our family went to Colorado to visit with my grandparents and extended family. Since we were only a days drive from Rick's College, we decided to check it out. While on campus, I felt something I'd never felt before. It felt good. My parents agreed, and when we got home, I immediately started to apply for Rick's College. A few weeks later, I was accepted. Everything went so quickly, I couldn't believe it! Then, I had a few minor medical issues I had to take care of and was unable to attend the fall semester.

January, 1979, after a very warm Christmas in Florida, Beth and I headed to Rexburg, Idaho, home of Rick's College. The first few weeks took some getting use to, as I saw 48 BELOW temperatures. The amount of snow was incredible. Nothing I'd ever imagined, let alone seen before. But, I loved it there. Yes! I loved the people, the atmosphere, and the Spirit; the Spirit of Rick's, as everyone referred to it. 

To make a long story short....January 31, 1979, I was baptized a member of The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have never regretted that decision, and am grateful everyday for the opportunity I have had to learn and know about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am also grateful that I had the privilege to attend Rick's College. The experiences I had at Rick's helped me to grow beyond anything I every thought possible. 

Today, Rick's College is known as Brigham Young University-Idaho, or BYU-I. Our youngest son is a freshman in the engineering program. He is doing very well, and has made a lot of new friends. 

Before we took Benjamin out to Idaho, I wondered if the Spirit of Rick's was still there. My husband, who is also a Rick's College graduate, and I had not been to Rexburg is almost 25 years. When I stepped on campus for the first time in many years, I could still feel the wonderful feeling I had so long ago. 

Much has changed since we were students, as the campus has grown a lot! Instead of a two year college that fed into Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, it is now a four year university! BYU-I offers approximately 18 associate and 70 bachelor degrees.

There are so many wonderful things that go on at BYU-I. I don't have the room to talk about all of them. If you want more information, just swing on over to byui.edu or you can wikipedia Byu-Idaho. I know a lot of you don't like wikipedia, but it has some pretty intersting things to say about the college over there.

I share all this with you, because my husband and I are now representatives for BYU-I/Rick's College. We are Alumni Ambassadors for our area. According to the BYU-I Alumni website, 

"The mission of BYU-Idaho Ambassadors is to represent the university by 'perpetuating the Spirit of Ricks' in their local communities. Individual ambassadors accomplish this by:
1. serving as local contacts for the university
2.Encouraging students with high standards and values to attend         
   BYU-Idaho
3. Connecting with local alumni and friends of the university."

It is our hope that we can help anyone who may have questions about the university. It is a great place to get a superior education! So, if you have any questions, ask away. If we can't answer them, we will try to do our best to find it.

Oh...by the way....
Did you know that BYU-I has a student body of about 15,000 students from all 50 states and over 60 countries? There are some other interesting facts you can find if you click here.