LANCE FRY / Scroll Illustration Some girls choose to follow the tradition of coming to BYU-Idaho because their mothers’ attended college here.

Girls choose to follow moms’ example

by Kirsta Williams WIL02023@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

And the reason they are doing so is to learn.

Many students who have mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters who attended Ricks College, and now these students have the opportunity to come and partake of the same academic bounty.

“My mom came to school here before she served a mission. It’s cool coming to school and knowing that my mom went to classes in the same buildings that I am now,” Celeste Mower, a freshman from Gresham, Ore., said.

Not only attending classes in the same buildings, but also having some of the same experiences their mothers had, from frightening dating experiences to enduring the fierce Rexburg winters.

“My mom and I have talked about the weather here, especially the wind. And we’ve talked about the experiences of going away to college for the first time and finally growing up and getting away from the family,” Emily Grow, a freshman from Meridian, Idaho, said.

Listening to stories or seeing pictures of their moms’ school experiences also excites students.

“My mom was in the choir when she was here. We went through her old yearbook before I came up here and it really made me excited to come. It was fun,” Mower said.
Although her mom had a lot of good things to say about BYU-I, that wasn’t what made her decide to come to school here, Mower said.

“The real reason I came here was probably the same reason my mom did; I felt like it was the right place for me to be at this time,” she said.

The same spirit that drew students here before is creating an environment that is enticing new students.

“I really liked the environment here when I came to visit my older sister. My mom was really excited when I decided to come here because she knows that this is a great environment for me and my sister,” Grow said.

And now during Mothers’ Weekend, moms have a chance to come back to their old stomping ground and visit the old hangouts with their children. But who will show around whom?

“My mom’s excited to come back. She remembers when her mom came to visit her back in the day, and now it’s her turn,” Mower said. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to take her around or if she’s going to show me where all of her favorite spots were, but I think we’ll have fun no matter what we’re doing.”