KRISTIE MOSS / Scroll Illustration

In June 2005 the Post Register printed an article about the expanding effects BYU-Idaho has had on Rexburg. The article emphasized the point that with more students, the city has also seen an increase of permanent residents as businesses have moved in and faculty have been hired by the university to cater to the growing student population.

With the myriad of opportunities for hands-on experience available at BYU-I, including an aggressive internship program, more students are staying to finish their four-year degree in Rexburg and local companies now have a greater pool of qualified candidates to choose from for high-end jobs.

Andrew Bailey, a regional sales specialist for Melaleuca, said, “I really don’t think I’d be working here [Idaho Falls] if I hadn’t gotten my bachelors up there [Rexburg].”

Bailey said that many companies now look strictly to BYU and BYU-I students for their trainee programs because they are impressed with how they act in the work place.

Hugh Staiger, project engineer for Mechanical System Solutions in Idaho Falls, said that after he graduated he wanted to stay in the area. That would have been unlikely had he moved elsewhere to finish his degree.

Originally from Ucon, Idaho, Staiger is grateful for the education he received. “Now I feel like I’m giving it back to the community where I’m from,” he said.

Jeff Cummings graduated from BYU-I last August and now works as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist at the Children’s Center. Cummings believes that the field of mental health in Idaho is perhaps one of the greatest benefactors from BYU-I graduates.

Cummings said that while the majority of states in the nation take a more therapeutic approach to mental health, the state of Idaho is one of the few that advocates psychosocial rehabilitation, Idaho Falls being the largest center for this treatment.

When asked if he would have come back to Idaho Falls had he graduated somewhere else ,Cummings said, “Definitely not.”

“I probably would have continued on to receive my Master’s instead of stopping to gain some experience first,” Cummings said.

Cummings said that while the industry tries to pull new graduates from BYU and ISU, it’s harder for those students to relocate to Idaho Falls, especially people from as far as Utah.

“The bachelor’s program from BYU-Idaho has worked well for the agencies here. I regularly see graduates in different agencies who used to be in my psychology classes,” Cummings said.

Cummings, who originally started as an engineering major, said that when he started the engineering program, “you were told to expect to get a job outside of Idaho, but now there are more job options than there used to be.”

Some business may be lost in Idaho Falls as students continue to have more to choose from in Rexburg, but Kipp Hicks, executive director of Grow Idaho Falls, said, “I don’t think that we would perceive it as a threat. What is good for Rexburg is good for Idaho Falls.”