BYU-Idaho is full of various groups and societies that all work to achieve different things on and off campus. The Child and Family Advocacy Society works to ensure the safety of children and families, as well as to teach students a variety of related topics such as healthy dating, the dangers of addiction in the family and how to raise a family in an ever-changing world.
The CFA Society is led by students who put on engaging events throughout each semester full of meaningful experiences. Many of these events are great chances for family studies majors to create networks with professionals in their field.
Aside from networking events, they also hold educational ones. For example, they have an upcoming dating event where students can listen to and learn from a marriage and family therapist.
Beyond hosting events, the society students are also involved in family advocacy work on a global scale. Timothy Rarick, the faculty supervisor of the society, travels with students to the United Nations in New York City to engage in family advocacy. There, students can get firsthand experience and learn that they don’t need to be majoring in the subject to be passionate about it.
“I lead a panel discussion of what they learned, what they saw and take home messages for people, meaning that you don’t have to go to the UN to be a family advocate, but there’s some lessons that you can learn and implement in your daily life, regardless of where you live and what you’re studying,” Rarick said in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio.
Erica Battezzato, the current President of the CFA Society, joined in the fall of 2023 because she wanted to be part of a group that was making a real impact on people, both on and off campus. She quickly fell in love with the society and the work it did and is glad she took a chance on the society.
"As soon as I joined the first meeting I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m supposed to be here, because of the work we do and because we’re involved in defending the family and supporting children and protecting them,’” Battezzato said.
Savannah Nelson, the current vice president of the CFA society, says the society is meant for anyone, whether this is something students are majoring in or not. She believes everyone can benefit from learning about the topic because everyone came from a family of their own or will one day have their own, so they can learn great things by attending.
She says anyone can attend their events, students at BYU-Idaho, students from other schools, faculty members, community members, whoever wants to join are welcomed with open arms.
“Students [need] to understand that this event is for them, even if they’re not within our program or even our department or even our college,” Nelson said. “[We] are trying to help students understand that everybody has a family, everybody came from a family and the lessons that our events teach are valuable to each person.”
The Child and Family Advocacy Society is committed to its mission and goals, to advocate for positive change, to promote healthy relationships and to help individuals to have personal growth. To learn more about the society, find it on Facebook at BYU-Idaho Child and Family Advocacy Society, on Instagram at byui_cfas and find its events on I-Belong.byui.edu or the I-Belong app.