Photos courtesy of Vicki Parrish Williams
Vicki Parrish Williams and her roommates.

Mothers recall memories made at Ricks College

Brittney Johnson JOH04054@BYUI.EDU Scroll Staff

When it is announced that a General Authority is coming to speak at BYU-Idaho, most students get extremely excited. Students have been known to get up at all hours of the morning to ensure they get a ticket for the event, and stand in a massive line for hours before the event begins to obtain a good seat.

BYU-I had the opportunity to have Elder David A. Bednar as the president of the school for eight years. Some students can say they went to Elder Bednar’s house for Home Evening. Others took classes from the apostle.

This isn’t an experience new to BYU-I or to the students currently attending the school.

Pam Moon, from Grace, Idaho, took a religion class with a future apostle 32 years ago. In 1974 Pam was 19 years old, attending Ricks College and taking a Book of Mormon class with future apostle, Elder Henry B. Eyring.

“My favorite class was Book of Mormon with Henry B. Eyring. That was an amazing class, he was an awesome teacher,” Moon said. “His testimony was so overpowering. When he bore his testimony, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he believed what he was saying. It was a big class, maybe 50 to 60 students, but it was absolutely spell binding. Nobody moved.”

Moon said because she had Elder Eyring as a teacher all those years ago, she can fully understand any book Elder Eyring writes or any talk he gives. Having him as a teacher has made her able to understand his words and his teaching style.

Even though the times have changed, the name has changed and the programs and buildings have changed or been added on to, the Spirit and ideals of Ricks/BYU-I remain.

Moon said her favorite part about Ricks was the spirit there, and how teachers discussed and taught religion.

“It was so nice to talk about the gospel in all my classes, no matter the subject,” Moon said. That is something that didn’t change as the school went from Ricks to BYU-I.

Looking back at her days at Ricks, Moon has one regret.

“If I could go back and do it over, I would take advantage of more of the activities and classes that were offered. I didn’t do a lot and I wish now I had done more, taken more diverse classes.” Moon said.

Moon is amazed at all the events that go on at BYU-I: dances, musicals, plays, dramas, band and choir events, the list of activities goes on and on. When she attended Ricks, she remembers there were dances and football games, and that was about it. She is very pleased about all the activities occurring on campus and encourages all students to take advantage of them.

When asked what challenges students face now that she didn’t face as a college student, Moon said, “The curriculum in general is a lot harder. As a freshman I took 18 credits. I think 18 credits now would be a much bigger and more difficult load than when I took 18 credits. To get out in the work force is now is also more challenging. When I graduated I didn’t have a problem getting a job. Now I think it is much more difficult for graduates.”

Wanda Poston graduated from Ricks in 1974. The thing she most remembers about BYU-I is that it is where she met her husband.

Other than her husband, a man by the name of Ronald Martin had the biggest impact on her.

“My stake president, Ronald Martin, had a huge impact on my life,” Poston said. “He was my spiritual leader, but he was also a lot of fun. He had a good sense of humor, and he was fun to be with. He was a role model for all of us in his ward and branch. He was very fatherly and treated us like his family. He had a bigger impact on me than all of my academic teachers.”

“There was an Honor Code back in 1974. As far as I can remember, it was just like the questions you’re asked before you go to the temple. We had to be modest in our dress and live the Word of Wisdom.”

Poston said the Internet is the biggest challenge students have to face that she didn’t have to deal with. “The Internet is such a good tool for education, but it is also a tool for Satan,” Poston said. “I think it’s a huge challenge. It is such a wonderful tool, but it can be used for bad purposes.”

Poston believes her generation of college students faced many of the same challenges, but the attack on the family was not nearly so prominent.

Poston loves the growth BYU-I has gone through, and just like Moon, she loves coming to campus and thinks the changes are wonderful and the campus is beautiful.

Poston has always wanted to go back to school, and loves that BYU-I is still around and flourishing. If she does decide to continue her education, she knows BYU-I would be the perfect school to go to.

Moon and Poston graduated from Ricks College about 32 years ago, yet their memories and feelings of Ricks are still strong, and they love coming back to visit BYU-I.

Their memories of Ricks are still with them; their time here has left a lasting impression on their lives and in the lives of their children.

Poston and her husband, Mike, live in Rigby, Idaho, and are members of the Ricks College Alumni Council. They had three children also attend Ricks as well as herself and her husband.

Moon, her husband and two daughters graduated from Ricks. Moon currently has one daughter, Jamie, attending BYU-I.

Through these women, the legacy of Ricks College lives on in the lives of many, just as the legacy of BYU-I will live on through the lives of the women of this generation.