A BYU-Idaho education is all about getting students ready for the next step—life after graduation.

Each of our seven colleges nominated Spring 2024 graduates for us to feature, and we got the chance to interview them about their experiences, hopes for the future, and advice for incoming students. Read their responses below—these graduates are ones to watch!

College of Academic Success and Interdisciplinary Studies

Emily Irwin

Interdisciplinary Studies Major, emphasis in Architecture, Event Planning, and Photography

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
With Interdisciplinary Studies, there are a lot of great opportunities. Our college is very good about helping you find a place here at BYU-Idaho, which has been a big focus recently. They’re good about grouping us together, making us feel like homies.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
The cool thing about Interdisciplinary Studies is that I was able to customize my degree. I’m doing architecture, event planning, and photography. I wanted to do interior design, and architecture gives me everything I need in the way of programming; event planning gives me the way of design and organizational skills; and then photography I’ve done since junior high. Now I have this rounded skill set to be able to go out into the field.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
Get involved. They say it all the time, and this is one thing I ignored when I was a freshman or sophomore. They’ll always tell you to come out and get involved, be a part of the societies, be a part of campus life. It’s so true. I didn’t do that until probably last fall, so the beginning of my senior year, and I regret that a lot. You make so many friends, and you can build your community around you here. Get out of your comfort zone.

Spencer Doman

Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasis in Photography, Personal Training, and Entrepreneurship

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I love the feeling of this campus. Walking across campus, I just feel safe and secure, and I feel like I’m getting a good education. I feel like the teachers care and are willing to work with you. That’s been one of my favorite things is they’re willing to help you learn, not just give you a grade. There are great people here. There are so many things to do. There are so many ways that you can get involved and try new things. It’s a good place.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
My emphasis is photography, and I’m getting certificates in personal training and entrepreneurship. Interdisciplinary Studies lets you build your own degree and work with what’s going to help you in your future.

I’m looking forward to being able to gain first-hand professional experience and to really work outside of myself to offer the world something that I’ve learned here and take those skills that I’ve learned and share that and build a career that I can be proud of.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
I would say push through the winter. You can make it. If you can make it through the winter, you’ll love it here. And it’s a great time; you’ll learn so many things and make so many cool friends if you just put yourself out there and try. I think something I really learned here is that as you try your best and try hard in your classes, it works out. And you’ll be able to discover that you can do more than you ever thought you could.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Bekah Russell

Public Health Major

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I think my favorite thing is that in a world where information is so convoluted and there’s so much “truth,” I don’t have to worry about finding truth here. I know that the sources are good because they are backed by not just the data, but also by the Lord. I love that I can go to school and trust what I am hearing and not feel like I am hearing somebody's opinion; I’m genuinely getting information that I can trust and move forward with.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
My education taught me to value good information. It taught me to make sure I am doing all my research from the right sources. You can do a lot of research and still get the wrong information. But if you are doing research coupled with the Spirit, your information will be more accurate, and then you can use it to guide your life.

I’m going to teach seminary, which is so random, but I am planning on being made better by the people that I am with and then making them better at the same time. I learned how to be a better leader, and how to be a better student, and so I am excited to go lead and learn.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
BYU-Idaho is a haven from the rest of the world because everywhere else is going to feed you mixed truth with a lowercase T. If you have questions and you’re not sure where you stand when it comes to your faith or your testimony, you should surround yourself with as much goodness, and light, and truth as possible, and BYU-Idaho fosters that.

If you are considering BYU-Idaho but you’re on the fence, go. The worst thing that would happen is that you would change your mind. You’re not stuck just because you are making a decision; in fact, you’re progressing. Move forward with faith and trust that the right things will fall into place.

College of Education and Human Development

Erica Battezzato

Marriage and Family Studies Major, emphasis in Child Development

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I’m not from the United States, so my experience with education was different than now. The teachers were kind, yes, but they didn’t care as much as they did here at BYU-Idaho. The faculty know what they’re teaching, and they teach with love, and they see the one. Throughout these years, I really felt they were seeing me and hearing me. And they really taught me with passion and with love.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
I look forward to making a difference, first in my own family. The knowledge and skills I’ve gained are already helping me because I’m married, and I try to apply the things that I’m learning while I create a family with my husband. But it’s even more than that—it’s communities, it’s family, it’s children.

BYU-Idaho prepared me to make a difference because of the principles that we learned here. I was able to develop a bilingual language, meaning you don’t have to share God or Jesus Christ all the time; based on your audience, you have to address it with a different language. I was able to learn research, studies, and data to show why I’m trying to defend the family, and that has been very helpful for me.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
Follow the Honor Code. It’s like your mission; you get the blessings if you are obedient. I think the Honor Code really helped me prepare to enter the professional field because even if you work for a company or firm, you have to follow some rules. And I think the Honor Code and following it and striving every day really helped me to develop the skills to obey the rules and be professional.

College of Language and Letters

Brookelynn Green

International Studies Major, emphasis in Economics

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I think the mix of both the secular and the spiritual, and the power that has to help guide us to build the kingdom of God better. I was very nervous about my major because I didn’t think it could be profitable, and being here at BYU-Idaho, I’ve met so many people who had amazing experiences and were able to mentor me. Professors were able to be great mentors to me and push me toward what I’m currently doing. And being able to have spiritual promptings the entire time interlaced with my education was just an amazing experience for me. It really changed who I am as a person, to be honest.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
My professors are amazing. The professors here are so caring, and they want you to succeed, and they are so willing to sit and talk with you, explain things to you, and mentor and guide you. And I think the professors at BYU-Idaho are honestly top of the class. I absolutely have learned so much from them in all areas of my life. They have been extremely impactful for me. My current plans are to attend graduate school so I can continue my education.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
In a devotional, President Nelson talked about education and the opportunities it provides us. He said, “Education is the difference between wishing you could help other people and being able to.” I think that anybody who’s coming in to get an education should know that.

Don’t sell yourself short, work hard, do your best, and then use your education to build the kingdom of God. At such an affordable price, you can get an education that will bless you and your family for the rest of your life and, if you let it, bless all the people around you. A BYU-Idaho education is just amazing.

Nathan Smith

English Education major

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
In English, where the class sizes are small, I really got to know my teachers and received a lot of help. And I love the topic that I’m studying. I think as soon as I graduate, I’m always going to want to go back to college because it’s been so fun for me.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
I’m really excited to start teaching and to start making money instead of spending money. But also, I got into English Education because I found that English changed me as a person. It helped me to express myself, it made me a better person, it helped me to understand others. And the opportunity that I’ll be able to have to help other students learn how to use English as a tool to improve themselves, understand themselves, that’s priceless. I’m really excited to have that as my career.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
If you’re looking to go to BYU-Idaho, you should do it. It’s as cheap as you’re going to find a college and the teachers are going to care about you a lot more than anywhere else. So absolutely do it.

College of Performing and Visual Arts

Kaise McLane

Art Major, emphasis in Illustration

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I’ve had lots of good mentors and people who just took me under their wing, cared about my work individually, and cared about me succeeding. It’s nice that it’s a smaller university and smaller class sizes, so you get more individual attention. And I just ended up making good friends with my professors.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
I’m not exactly sure what’s happening yet, but I’m excited because there are lots of possibilities. I also know that I have people I can fall back on if life takes a turn that I wasn’t expecting, or plans change, or if I just need help with figuring out what I want to do.

I feel like our art professors here in the Art Department are very knowledgeable and have had lots of experience, and so I feel like I got a good art education for an affordable price and with spiritual aspects.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
I would say be involved and meet lots of people, especially in your department. Classes are so much more fun when you know people and you can work on things together. Also, find good roommates. The people you surround yourself with are going to make the most difference for your college education.

College of Physical Sciences and Engineering

Brianne Weaver

Mathematical Sciences Major, emphasis in Applied Statistics

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
The biggest thing, at least in the math department, has been the people. I’ve always felt really supported by the teachers and professors here on campus. They really did just want me to succeed and were doing everything they could to help me succeed. If I was willing to put in the work, they were willing to get me where I wanted to go. It’s been nice to have that support system.

And the peers I’ve had here in the math department have been amazing. Lots of friends, and we can all help each other and support each other. You just know that there’s somebody there who just gets it. It’s been nice to have that community here.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
The next step for me is to go get a master’s in statistics at BYU. Different professors helped me make sure I was doing what I needed to so that I was prepared to apply to grad school. For me, that was kind of a last-minute decision that I was worried I wasn’t going to be ready for, but then I realized my professors had my back along the way. I didn’t realize I was ready to go. I had the resume I needed, I just had to finish taking the GRE, and I got accepted.

Hopefully after a master’s, I think I’m going to go on to a doctorate in statistics; we’ll see what happens in the next few years.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
Get to know the people. People are super friendly here; that’s been super nice. It’s a small enough school that you can build a community, both within your peers and professors. They really do care and work 1-on-1 with their students, so definitely take advantage of the mentorship that’s available because there is a lot.

And then another general piece of general advice for college is, if you can, start mixing your 300-level and 400-level classes a little bit earlier into your classes and spread out some of those 100-level and 200-level classes throughout so you have a healthier balance of easier classes and harder classes.

College of Business and Communication

Arianna Schurr

Finance Major

As you look back on your experience as a student, what stands out the most?
I think definitely the quality of professors. The professors knew what they were doing. They had all this amazing experience in the industry, and they took that experience and brought it here to teach us what we actually need to know to be successful in the world.

Looking to the future, how has your education here prepared you for life after graduation? What are you excited about?
They gave me a lot of hard skills that I can use, like different programming languages. And I’m excited to take all of those hard skills I learned and apply them in ways that help people and businesses improve and be more successful. I want to find a good business and help make it better.

What advice do you have for someone who is considering going to BYU-Idaho?
Dive in. You might be nervous about coming, or you might be worried if it would work to come, but just come and dive in and get involved and make friends and experience things that are here. There’s such a unique experience you can have here that’s so valuable. It can set you up for a successful future and also just help you have a really great time and great memories. If you come and dive in, you won’t regret it.