"Celebrating the Spirit of Ricks" at BYU-Idaho
June 27, 2002
Susan Bednar
©2002 by Brigham Young University-Idaho. All rights reserved
Welcome to Education Week as BYU-Idaho celebrates the "Spirit of Ricks." We hope you will have a wonderful time here on our campus the next few days; that you will be uplifted, edified, and rejuvenated; and that you will leave this place with the conviction that the "Spirit of Ricks" is alive and growing stronger at BYU-Idaho. I pray now for the Spirit to accompany me today as I deliver the message I have prepared.
I don't know about you, but the transition to a new name has been a bit difficult for me. Do you have trouble referring to this institution as BYU-Idaho? I know I still have a slip of the tongue once in a while. I remember when our name change became official last August. My husband and I learned of the experience of one of our campus employees who answered the phone on the first day we were officially known as BYU-Idaho by saying, "Ricks . . . I mean BY . . . Oh, I don't know who I work for!"
I reflected back to a time many years ago when I was teaching first grade. For most of the school year I had been Miss Robinson, but after my wedding in March, I was all of a sudden Mrs. Bednar. My little students had such a hard time getting used to the change. They would start calling me by my familiar name and then would get the giggles and try in mid-sentence to change. But you know, even though I had taken on a new name, I was still the same young woman. And the same is true here on our campus. Even though we have changed our name from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho, the values, principles, and characteristics for which this institution is legendary are still a part of who we are. We will always celebrate the "Spirit of Ricks" at BYU-Idaho!
Another interesting event took place that year I was teaching. Shortly after school had begun in the fall, a student brought a black and white and yellow striped caterpillar in a large, netted box to our class. As we spent time examining this unique creature, I explained to the students that this caterpillar had started out as a small egg laid by a monarch butterfly on a milkweed leaf and would someday turn into a butterfly. For now the cells of the egg had been programmed with hormones that had enabled the egg to become a caterpillar--a hungry caterpillar with a ravenous appetite. Because these children were concerned about the well-being of this starving caterpillar, they gathered milkweed leaves every day on their way to school and deposited them in the container for the caterpillar to eat. The caterpillar munched continuously and grew so much that it had to shed its skin several times during the time we had it in our room.
One day when we came to class, we noticed that the caterpillar had spun a mat of silk on a twig in the container, had attached itself to that silk, and was hanging upside down, perpendicular to the twig. The final metamorphic process was commencing. The caterpillar's last layer of skin was shed and a beautiful emerald green chrysalis accented with golden dots began to form.
We observed the chrysalis daily and soon noticed something unusual was taking place. The chrysalis was changing, and we could detect distinct orange and black patterns appearing inside the chrysalis. One afternoon a student exclaimed, "Teacher. Look! The chrysalis is turning into a butterfly." During the day we watched in suspense as the butterfly gradually slipped from the transparent casing that had enclosed it during this final change. The butterfly hung to the bottom of the casing with crumpled, moist wings pointing downward in preparation for the drying, expanding, and pumping process that was necessary for flight. We knew when the butterfly was ready. We carried the box outside, gently lifted the lid, and stood in awe as we watched this magnificent insect take flight. What an incredible change had taken place from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, each stage an integral part of the process.
I have thought of my monarch butterfly experience several times over the past two years since President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that Ricks College would become BYU-Idaho. Like the monarch butterfly, this institution has undergone a metamorphosis. From its humble beginnings as a small log cabin elementary school; to an academy offering expanded academic opportunities for high school students; to Ricks College, growing slowly to become the largest private junior college in the United States; we can discern that each of these developmental stages has been a vital and important preparation for the most recent evolution that has transpired. We now have Brigham Young University-Idaho emerging as a four-year, baccalaureate degree granting institution.
Two years ago my husband invited me to attend a meeting in Big Sky, Montana, for all Ricks College deans, department heads, and administrators. As these men and women sat in a room and reviewed the changes that had been announced just seven weeks previous by our prophet, I observed firsthand the metamorphic process of the chrysalis. These campus leaders deliberated on how they could best plan and then implement the changes that had been briefly outlined by the Board of Trustees to make Ricks College a four-year institution. New buildings and additions needed to be designed, approved, and funded to meet the growing needs of academic and ecclesiastical programs. New four-year majors required the creation of hundreds of upper-division level courses. The magnitude of the details of this project were mind boggling. It was like lining up rows and rows of dominoes that intersected with one another. A decision in one area could cause dominoes in another unrelated line to topple, generating an unexpected chain reaction. Over a period of days, I witnessed inspiration and heavenly direction attend and guide those campus leaders. From the chrysalis of that meeting room I saw the quiet emergence of a monarch butterfly as it slipped out of its comfortable protective case, wet wings and all. Though none could have ever predicted this outcome from the small beginnings of Bannock Stake Academy elementary school, this institution was becoming what it had been destined to become from the beginning—a university known as BYU-Idaho!
The Board of Trustees' blueprint for change had programmed carefully within it safeguards to maintain the "Spirit of Ricks." There is no faculty rank, and we have an innovative year-round calendar at BYU-Idaho. The enrollment for this present summer term is the largest ever as we serve an increasing number of worthy and capable students. We have hired 67 new faculty members the past two years and expect to hire even more in order to maintain our low teacher/pupil ratio as we expand classes into four-year majors. Students who leave this university always comment about the meaningful personal relationships they have established with faculty members because, as the students put it, "My teacher knows my name." We have an enhanced student activity program where this summer students can "choose their own adventure" from a variety of outdoor activities. These protections, in combination with modest increases in enrollment, will ensure that BYU-Idaho can always celebrate the "Spirit of Ricks."
Most people who come to our campus can define what the "Spirit of Ricks" means to them. The definition differs with everyone you ask. A woman I visited with last week said to her the "Spirit of Ricks" is kindness. Not long ago, a teacher on our campus related a heartwarming experience to me. While he was working in his office last semester, he was prompted to walk over to the Manwaring Center to grab a bite to eat. While eating his lunch, this faculty member noticed out of the corner of his eye a young man who appeared to be struggling. He shrugged off the thought to approach the young man and continued eating his lunch. The impression came again. "Go and visit with this young man." Well, he got up from the table and walked over to where the young man was sitting. After asking a few questions, it was apparent the student was having trouble registering for courses in his major and was extremely frustrated because he couldn't get his class schedule to work out.
This teacher happened to be the perfect solution to the student's problem because he not only advised students but also taught classes in the young man's particular major. After the teacher and student finished lunch, they returned to the teacher's office and sat down for about two hours to work out a schedule. The student left the teacher's office feeling comfortable and confident in his choice of classes and his major. This is not an isolated incident on our campus. In fact, it is an everyday occurrence. We continue to celebrate the "Spirit of Ricks" here at BYU-Idaho.
The "Spirit of Ricks" is a discernible feeling that permeates this institution. Elder Bednar and I were aware of this special spirit the day we set foot on this remarkable campus five years ago. We feel it daily as we look into the friendly and eager faces of the students we meet. This spirit is magnified by the dedication of loyal employees who are seeking to build the kingdom of God by serving students. We notice this special feeling as we attend campus events and activities with patrons and alumni such as you. This spirit is real, it's tangible, it's a part of who we are. And we are committed to preserving, enhancing, and celebrating the "Spirit of Ricks" here at BYU-Idaho.
In conclusion, I would like to return to where I began—my experience with the monarch butterfly. Monarch butterflies don't like cold weather. In the fall they migrate to warmer climates in California and then come back to the Rockies in the spring, making only one round-trip before they die. The great-great grandchildren of the monarch who laid the egg make the trip south the following fall. These future generations have designed within them a type of homing device which assists them in finding their way south even though they aren't escorted by a butterfly who has made the trip before.
Students at BYU-Idaho have a homing device, too. We call it the "Spirit of Ricks." It's embedded in those who attend and work at this institution. Past generations have experienced it, and future generations will possess and perpetuate it too. It's a power that moves us to learn and to grow and to serve, to recognize and develop our God-given potential, and to expand and strengthen our wings in preparation for our journey home. It's our hope for the future.
The "Spirit of Ricks" is also knowing that our Father in Heaven lives and is involved in the details of our lives. It is remembering that we have a Savior who loves us and cares that we return home to His presence. It is understanding that God speaks today through living prophets and that the chairman of the Board of Trustees for this institution is His prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. May the "Spirit of Ricks" be a part of our celebration here this weekend as we seek to become better servants, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.