Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Thoughts on the Heber J. Grant Program (from Christine Velasco, Regional Rep for the West Region)

Heber J. Grant Scholarship
Hello fellow BYU-I Alumni Ambassadors! I am Christine Velasco, your regional representative. I started just like each of you--with a desire to share the excitement about BYU-Idaho to those who live in my area and now we have the privledge of getting a polo shirt and some pass-along cards to make us look more official! :)

Today I had an "Aha! Moment" and thought I'd pass it along to you. Today's plug is for the Heber J. Grant Scholarship at BYU-Idaho. Please check it out at www.byui.edu/heberjgrant. This scholarship seeks applicants who:have low income,whose parents who didn't graduate from college,were raised in a single-parent home,whose parents are not active LDS members,were raised in an area where few attended college,or have overcome other long-term disadvantages.

The "Aha! Moment" came when I realized that anybody as young as 13 years old can apply for this scholarship. What a brilliant idea! Once these young students are accepted for the scholarship, they are eligible for individual advisement in admissions, financial aid, and contact from current students, alumni (like you and me), until they are old enough to actually apply to BYU-Idaho. They still have to apply and be accepted to BYU-Idaho, but imagine the difference this can make in a teenager's college planning knowing that they already have a scholarship waiting for them IF they keep their grades up, continue attending seminary, etc.

So my PERSONAL VISION FOR 2009 is to find FOUR youth in my stake and help them apply for the Heber J. Grant Scholarship.

I have typed up the HBJ essay questions on a separate word document. If you would like them, simply email me at losvelasco@gmail.com and I will pass them along. This way the youth can prepare their answers before actually going online and applying for the scholarship.We have a unique opportunity to be sharing the excitement of BYU-Idaho with these youth.

Now, more than ever, we need to be enlightening them on the benefits of having a solid education to back up their marketable skills.

Sincerely,Christine Velasco, San Jose, CA

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Resources for Alumni Ambassadors

In the process of learning what our roles are as Alumni Ambassadors I have come across some valuable resources that might help make your job more effective.

First, if you are planning to host a BYU-Idaho event in your stake, whether it be an information night, fireside, etc, please contact the BYU-I Admissions Office Area Representative for your state. Your representative has access to the official printed materials, pamphlets and catalogs you might want to use at your event. To find the Area Representative for your respective state please click here. They also enjoy knowing what is going on in each state and how BYU-Idaho's name is being received.

Also, if there is anybody in your stake even remotely interested in attending BYU-Idaho please direct them to this website: http://www.byui.edu/prepare/. This is new website developed specifically for prospective students trying to get a feel for what BYU–Idaho has to offer them.

Finally, there are BYU-Idaho Student Ambassadors assigned to your area, who are current BYU-I students that have volunteered to connect with prospective students and help them get a student’s perspective on BYU–Idaho. You can contact your Admissions Area Representative to find out the name and contact information for these student and how they can help you in talking with prospective students. Some of us haven't been on the BYU-Idaho campus recently and this might be helpful in informing potential students what Rexburg and BYU-I are like today.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Hello from the Martinez Family, Farmington Hills MI


Dearest BYU-Idaho Alumni Family-

We are excited to get to know our fellow BYU-Idaho alumni and serve as the regional alumni ambassadors for the Midwest region for the next couple of years. Both my husband Derek ('05) and I ('04) are proud alumni of Ricks College/BYU-Idaho and truly feel that our time in Rexburg helped us to build a solid spiritual foundation for our family. While students we had the opportunity to work in the Alumni Relations department and to participate/serve with many wonderful people. We gained a strong testimony of the divine role that BYU-Idaho plays in preparing young adults for the challenges and trials that inevitably come with life and also in bringing them closer to Christ.

Shortly after graduation, our family moved to Provo, Utah while Derek attended BYU for his masters degree in Neuroscience. While there we also felt it would be the best opportunity for me to fulfill my educational dreams and I went back to school to get my MBA in '07. It has been a rollercoaster of a ride and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. Today we live in Farmington Hills, Michigan while Derek is pursuing his MD from Wayne State University in Detroit. In every place we have lived and every step along our educational path we have seen the Lord's guiding hand and the time that we spent in Rexburg has been an integral part of our educational and spiritual success.

Our goal this year as Alumni Ambassadors is to let our stake youth/leaders, friends and family know how much we loved and enjoyed our time at BYU-Idaho. Some ideas that we might incorporate this year include a Stake Youth fireside educating young people and their parents about BYU-Idaho. We have also started passing along our Scrolls to youth in our ward who are interested in attending BYU-Idaho.
Like many of you, we have experienced the "Spirit of Ricks" and know of the joy that comes from attending that university. Thank you for all that you do and please use this forum to share ideas on how you have been successful as alumni ambassadors.

About Me

Hi, I'm Amy Bateman. I'm the Alumni Ambassador for the Nebraska Omaha Stake. I attended Ricks College from Fall '93 to Summer '95 before transferring to the University of Idaho to get my BS in Elementary Education. That's where I met my husband (I tell him he went to the wrong school since he was at CSI in Twin Falls before transferring). As you can see, we have 5 children - Annelyn, 11; Jessica, 10; Alex, 8; Lyndsey, 6; and Melissa, 2.

We are recent transplants to the Midwest as we've been in Omaha for almost 2 years and lived in Boise, Idaho, before that. We've quickly grown to love it here. I grew up in Rigby, Idaho, so I always said I wouldn't go to Ricks since it was too close to home, but I ended up there anyway and loved it. I'm a strong encourager for others to experience the "Spirit of Ricks" and I hope some of my children will follow in my footsteps. I'm anxious to go back to Idaho this next summer and hope to take a day to spend some time in Rexburg and exploring campus.

Our family blog can be found at: mabatemanfamily.blogspot.com

2009



As I make a retrospect of the 2008 year several things were pressed on my mind as within a year I've visited and/or lived in Provo, UT; West Lafayette, IN; Chicago, Nauvoo, IL; Strasbourg, Grenoble, Paris, France and Freiburg, Germany.

It was a year of service (redered to me and vice versa). It was a year of doudt and anticipation. It was a year of stress accompagnied with vistas of joys!

It was a year of mental freedom. It was a year of personal choice.

The 2009 year will simply be a continuation of progessive discoveries of oneself and of others, of new cultures and adaptation; of academic success and work success as I wrap up my last semester as a Master student in French Literature from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

I will make the most out of it and invite you to do your best to make it a year to remember!

I, Johanne D. Martial, am a 2005 alumna of BYU-Idaho with a B.A in Communication-PR.

Chris & Emily McQueen

Hi everyone, we're the McQueen Family.  We graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2005 and are living in Okemos, MI.  I got my undergraduate in English and Emily graduated with a B.S. in Elementary Ed.  The two handsome boys (with hair) in the picture are Alex (4) and Aaron (2.5).

We love BYU-Idaho and have tried to encourage and educate the youth in out Stake to look at Church schools.  I don't know if anyone is seriously considering anything but BYU Provo right now, but we keep trying to point them in the right direction. ;-)

Both Emily and I blog (she more than I); you can find our blogs here:

Welcome and a Request for Introductions

Welcome to the new blog for BYU-Idaho Alumni Ambassadors in the Midwest Region. Derek and Audrey Martinez are your regional reps and they, along with Val Carpenter of the BYU-Idaho Alumni Relations Office, stand ready to help you in your role as Alumni Ambassadors.

To get this blog started of right, please take a few minutes to introduce yourselves. Just some basic information and perhaps information about your time in Rexburg. Also, if you are a blogger, we would love to have a link to your personal blog.

We have made this blog private for security purposes. We will be passing on some of the great ideas we learn from you to the other regional blogs and even share them with all Alumni Ambassadors in our monthly news letter.

Also, please take a few minutes to vote on our poll below. We are looking for a new name for our Alumni On-Line Community.

Thank you for all you do.