BYU-Idaho is a special place for so many people, including Jason Reeder.
Reeder studied communication at BYU-Idaho and has since worked in many different positions from the Admissions Office to the Alumni Office and University Relations Office. He’s now a faculty member and the chair of the Communication Department. He attributes his success in his career to his studies at BYU-Idaho.
“I feel like I'm a product of BYU-Idaho, is kind of what I will say and share,” Reeder said. “And I was actually a communication major. So, I'm now teaching in the department that I came from. I was happy out in the know doing that, and then always thought coming back here would just be a great opportunity. And I kind of just felt drawn back.”
The success he saw as a student has challenged him to become a better professor and mentor for the students Reeder teaches.
“I care about you, I love you, I want you to be successful, and I'm going to do whatever I can to help you in that path,” Reeder said. “Obviously, you got to put in the work, and we talk about that. And I kind of have this little, I don't know, a mantra or slogan. I kind of say, look, I have high expectations of you, but I promise to follow that up with high love. And it seems to have worked well.”
Reeder’s love for his students runs deep, and he wants every student to fulfill their grand potential.
“It's less about telling people that you can do it and showing them that you can do it by real work and things that you've been putting together,” Reeder said. “So, I think that's a big way to help kind of be successful.”
Reeder says that students can take advantage of the opportunity to draw nearer to the Savior as they choose to live by the standards BYU-Idaho has.
“They'll leave as a more committed, more converted, more dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ, and that they'll come to know him better, through the experiences that they'll have here, and that this place will become a really sacred place for them,” Reeder said.