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This story appears here courtesy of TheChurchNews.com. It is not for use by other media.
By Rachel Sterzer Gibson, Church News
Going back to school in her mid-40s was not originally part of Jori Peña’s plan.
But after a divorce, the mother of four from Safford, Arizona, realized she needed to find a way to support her family.
With only one year of college and no job experience, Peña gathered her courage and enrolled in BYU–Pathway Worldwide.
“I had started to think, ‘Maybe I am worth this, maybe I deserve to do this,’” Peña told BYU–Pathway Worldwide newsroom.
Peña recalled vacations where she spent the time in another room completing assignments or doing homework while holding a grandchild in her lap.
Despite struggles, Peña finished BYU–Pathway Connect and earned a bachelor’s degree in family and human services through BYU–Idaho online.
Peña was among the almost 3,000 graduates honored during BYU–Idaho’s summer commencement, held in the I-Center on the Rexburg, Idaho, campus on Thursday, July 25.
Of the 2,975 graduates, 1,284 — such as Peña — were online students, and 1,375 began at BYU–Pathway Worldwide.
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Almost 3,000 graduates were honored during BYU–Idaho’s summer commencement, held in the I-Center on the Rexburg, Idaho, campus on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Photo by Jeron Thompson, BYU–Idaho.All rights reserved.Speaking to graduates during Thursday’s event, Sister J. Anette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, noted the different journeys each student had taken to graduation.
For some, the journey was fraught with financial hardships while others might have had to grapple with mental, emotional, physical or even spiritual challenges that made progressing more difficult.
“I can imagine that part of what kept you going, kept you moving forward despite difficult challenges and setbacks, was a vision in your mind of this very day — of being here with beloved family members, friends and classmates who would see you receive the diploma you have worked so hard to achieve ...,” Sister Dennis said. “And now, I would imagine most of you are feeling that all the effort to get here — the blood, sweat and tears, so to speak — was worth it, and you are grateful you kept going even when at times you may have felt like quitting and doing something else.”
Individuals’ journeys back to their heavenly home will be similar, she said. “I am sure on that day we will all feel that the great effort to get there — the challenges, the trials, the heartaches, the work, the tears, the uphill climb — was all worth it, and we will be eternally grateful that we kept going even though many times the journey was incredibly difficult.”
Just as they kept a vision of their graduation day in their minds, Sister Dennis encouraged graduates to intentionally “keep a vision in your minds of that future day when you will arrive at your heavenly home surrounded by loved ones and friends — angels — who cheered you on and helped you from both sides of the veil.”
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Sister J. Anette Dennis, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency speaks at BYU-Idaho graduation Commencement on July 25, 2024. Photo by Lauren Bushman, BYU–Idaho.All rights reserved.Be Leaven
Many graduates will end up living in places where there are few members of the Church, Sister Dennis noted. “And that’s good because the Lord knows that His covenant children can be like leaven.”
Leaven, such as yeast, is what makes bread dough rise. Just a small amount of yeast — half a teaspoon — can cause a large lump of dough to double in size, Sister Dennis explained.
“So, why would the Lord want His covenant sons and daughters to be like leaven, like yeast? What does the Lord hope and expect of you as you go out into the world?”
President Russell M. Nelson declared in a worldwide youth devotional: “Our Heavenly Father has reserved many of His most noble spirits — perhaps, I might say, His finest team — for this final phase. Those noble spirits — those finest players, those heroes — are you!”
Sister Dennis testified, “You are some of our Father’s most noble spirits, His finest team. You are latter-day covenant sons and daughters of God, children of the promised day. We need you. The Lord needs you. The world needs you.”
She encouraged graduates to “go out to be leaven, to lift and influence the world for good as covenant children of God and as disciples of Jesus Christ. Don’t allow the world to negatively influence you. Don’t go after the world’s idols as the children of Israel so often did.”
Nothing the world offers can compare to what Heavenly Father has in store, Sister Dennis declared.
There will be times when the path forward may feel rocky and uncertain. “But just as you kept the vision of graduation day in your mind to keep you going, as you are intentional about keeping the vision of your eternal destination firmly in your mind and keep a firm hold on the rod of iron, you will make it, just as you made it today,” she promised.
Be a Light to the World
In his remarks, BYU–Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III reiterated the Savior’s plea to His disciples, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
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BYU-Idaho President Alvin F. Meredith III speaks to almost 3,000 graduates during BYU–Idaho’s summer commencement, held in the I-Center on the Rexburg, Idaho, campus on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Photo by Malia Vick , BYU–Idaho.All rights reserved.President Meredith told graduates, “You depart this special place with a charge to be a disciple-leader wherever you go. You leave with a duty to strive to make the world a better place, to build and lift and inspire those you interact with. As you do so, you will be a light to the world. And you can go forward with the assurance that the Lord will be with you. He is the Light.”
R. Kelly Haws, assistant to the commissioner of Church education, also briefly addressed the graduates. A choir made up of graduates performed “Homeward Bound” and “It Is Well With My Soul.”
Graduate Spotlights
Another example of the varied journeys to graduation described by Sister Dennis would include Wayne Herridge, from Portsmouth, England, who earned a degree in applied technology from BYU–Idaho online.
At age 36, and with a wife and three children, Herridge felt stuck in a dead-end job. “Going into mainstream university would have cost too much. We were looking for ways I could get a degree in the cheapest and most effective way possible. BYU–Pathway gave me the lead-in to get a degree,” he explained to BYU–Pathway Worldwide newsroom.
Although tackling new programming and web development principles could be overwhelming, Herridge said the support of his classmates and other resources helped him complete his assignments, one at a time.
Herridge, who also attended Thursday’s graduation ceremony in Rexburg, said his degree will help open doors for his career. “I wasn’t good at school before,” he said, “but now I know I can work under pressure, meet deadlines and complete different tasks at the same time. I have become resilient and determined.”
For Emma Spears, the journey to graduation took her to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, before a decision to simultaneously pursue flight school took her back to her home in Texas.
Needing a flexible way to finish her degree, Spears joined BYU–Pathway in 2022, where she was able to transfer all of her credits from BYU to BYU–Idaho online.
The flexibility of her online program enabled her to juggle flight training, work, classes and homework.
Spears, who received her bachelor’s degree in applied business management on Thursday, told BYU–Pathway’s newsroom that pursuing her degree and other passions simultaneously wouldn’t have been possible without BYU–Pathway.
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Two BYU-Idaho graduates speak to a little girl. Almost 3,000 graduates were honored during BYU–Idaho’s summer commencement, held in the I-Center on the Rexburg, Idaho, campus on Thursday, July 25, 2024. Photo by Malia Vick , BYU–Idaho.All rights reserved.Copyright 2023 Deseret News Publishing Company.