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Intern Works for U.S. Speaker of the House in Washington D.C.
As part of BYU's Washington Seminar this summer, Diane Bailey, an international relations major in the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences, interned with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs as well as the Interparliamentary Affairs Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Bailey assisted with research and at hearings. She says she learned valuable lessons in the nation’s capital. "People in government work really hard and are truly trying to do what is best for us," she says. "I may disagree with certain policies, but I’m so impressed by how they put their hearts into their work."

The seminar is a semester away from Provo in which students from all academic fields participate. "It was great to see the positive in our government. It makes me want to do my part."

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Communications Student Receives Prestigious Ed Bradley Scholarship
College of Fine Arts and Communications student Jennifer Borget was awarded the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation’s Ed Bradley scholarship for 2007. The scholarship provides Borget with $10,000 and a trip to the foundation’s annual conference. "The competition for this scholarships is quite vigorous," says Barbara Cochran, president of the foundations.

The scholarship assists minority students pursuing careers in electronic journalism. It is named for Ed Bradley, long-time correspondent on CBS's 60 Minutes program, winner of 19 Emmy awards, and the first black television correspondent to cover the White House.

Says Borget, "As a student I have had professional reporting experience—I couldn’t be where I am today without the generous donations of those who give. Thank you!"

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Studying Floods in Mexico, Student Engineer Rekindles Enthusiasm
In 2006 Joshua Draper, a civil engineering major in the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, conducted research on flooding in Mexico. Draper, his BYU peers, and colleagues from two local universities built a computer model to map potential flood areas, which was then used to predict flooding's effects.

"The project rekindled my enthusiasm for being a civil engineer. I gained new insight into working with people from another culture and a profound sense that I can make a positive difference in people's lives through my career," he says. Draper returned to Mexico this past summer as a teacher’s assistant.

About his mentor, Jim Nelson, he says: "Jim has shown he cares about me and my career. A good mentor doesn’t do your work for you; he encourages, pushes, supports, and guides you."

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Recent Alumna Returns to the Law School as an Assistant Professor
D. Carolina Núñez will return to the J. Reuben Clark Law School as a visiting assistant professor in January 2008—she graduated from the law school just four years ago. "My law school experience helped me explore the options that lay ahead," she says. As an undergraduate and law student at BYU, Núñez says: "Donations to the law school fund a variety of programs and activities that allow students to practice their legal skills, serve their communities, and rub shoulders with scholars and attorneys from all around the world. Additionally, donations allow the law school to provide for deserving students. Thank you for all you make possible."

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A Team of Two BYU Students Places Second in National Competition
After placing second in BYU’s 2006 Business Plan Competition, Adam Robertson, Marriott School of Management MBA student, and Tim Wessman, a student in the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, won second place in the fourth annual Fortune Small Business magazine (FSB) business plan competition. Help from donors eased the burden on Robertson’s family while he worked with Wessman to develop their business plan. Robertson says: “I left a picturesque life and career in northern California so that I could make a bigger impact in the world around me. I returned to BYU with my wife and five children to make a difference and to start a company. A generous scholarship greatly eased the sacrifice required of my family. BYU’s MBA program has been wonderful in helping me fulfill my goals.” The complete results of the nationwide competition are available in the November issue of FSB magazine.

Biophysics Research puts Book-Learning in Perspective for BYU Student
Two years ago physics student Hiram Conley joined a research team whose mentored work integrated two fields that were of interest to him: biophysics and nanotechnology. Today Conley is grateful for the research he’s conducted as an undergraduate at BYU. In a College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences lab, Conley creates three-dimensional images of ribosomes—microscopic, protein-building subunits of cells.

Last fall Conley received an award for presenting his work at an American Physical Society section meeting. “I think research puts education in perspective,” he says. “Classes can be hard and take a lot of time, but research reminds me why I am getting a degree in physics and directs my passion for the subject.” To BYU Annual Fund donors he says, “Thank you. Mentoring has been an important part of my education. You have given me the opportunity to do what I love.”

Undergrad Reads Between the Lines of Anti-alcohol Literature
As an undergraduate, Adam Owens led a research team that compared literature from public health groups that discourages underage drinking with literature from the alcohol industry on the same subject. He concluded that alcohol industry literature gives fewer reasons why teens should not drink and often ignores public health perspectives. Owens says of his mentor, Professor Gordon Lindsay, “He not only helped me to get funding but also he supported me through the ups and downs of a research project; he was always enthusiastic about my research.” To donors Owens says, “I am so grateful for the funding that allowed me to focus on my research, giving me the time to complete this meaningful project.” Owens recently graduated with a degree in public health education from the College of Health and Human Performance.

Humanitarian's Fluency in Swahili Facilitates Travel to Kenya
After serving a Church mission, anthropology major Braden Duncan decided that he needed to learn a language to travel the world. He was surprised that the College of Humanities’ Center for Language Studies (CLS), which is funded in part by donations, offered Swahili, a nonmainstream language that intrigued him because of his interest in Africa. He took courses and then traveled to Kenya. “Having a basic understanding of the language helped me escape paralyzing culture shock and have a more meaningful experience,” he says. Duncan is preparing to return to Kenya on an undergraduate field study of an HIV/AIDS prevention program. “I am grateful that CLS offers Swahili, despite the small number of students who take the course,” says Duncan. “I am also grateful for all those who make learning these languages possible.”

Student Publishes Winter Quarters History on the Internet
Tiffany Taylor compiled data and histories of those who lived in Winter Quarters, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, between 1846 and 1853. Because of a mentored learning grant she received, Taylor published her work on the Internet, making it available to Church and family history enthusiasts. Winterquarters.byu.edu includes maps, cemetery data, and personal histories. She was mentored by two professors, Shauna Anderson from the College of Life Sciences and Susan Easton Black from Religious Education. Last year Taylor demonstrated the Web site at the Mormon History Association’s annual conference. She is grateful to those who made her mentored learning possible. “You are investing in the future—even when it involves stepping into the past, as is the case with the Winter Quarters project.”

McKay School Student Makes the Grade, Hopes to Be a Professor
For Natasha Ball, education’s costs have been a barrier. With no financial support from her family, she has had to work to finance school, balancing both. Next spring Natasha will graduate from the David O. McKay School of Education with a degree in secondary education. In the future she would like to go to graduate school and eventually teach at the university level. Earlier this year she received a scholarship that made it possible for her to do her student teaching. Expressing her thanks to donors, she says: “Like me, there are real students with real needs that benefit from your generosity. Without my scholarship I would not have been able to attend BYU. I am grateful that good people believed in me and that I could attain my goals. Please don’t stop giving; your gifts often go far beyond what you will ever see.”

Conversing with humanity
While searching for herbs I suddenly lost my way, Surrounded by one thousand peaks and the autumn leaves. Then I spied a monk returning from fetching water; At the edge of the woods, smoke for boiling tea rises. —yi yulkok, chinese poet

Not long ago at Korea's Oksan Confucian Academy, I sat on the wooden floor, which has been planed smooth by four centuries of students' comings and goings. There I listened as associate professor Mark Peterson, who teaches Korean at Brigham Young University, recited the above 17th-century Chinese poem by Yi Yulkok.

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Elite Craftsmanship School Accepts Student Mentored in BYU’s Library
One-of-a-kind documents are disintegrating, and craftsmen trained in archival bookbinding and conservation are just about as rare as the documents they preserve. The North Bennett Street School in Boston has North America’s only full-time program dedicated to this highly specialized field, and Tim Oliverson, a recent BYU graduate, is one of only six new students accepted into this fall’s program at the school.

Oliverson says his experience in the Harold B. Lee Library Conservation Laboratory provided the hands-on experience that tipped the scales for him. His work at BYU, supported by donations to the BYU Annual Fund, included the preservation of several of Max Steiner’s original scores. (Among Steiner’s compositions is the music for Gone with the Wind.) Mark Pollei, director of the lab, mentors student conservators. Oliverson says, “When Mark found out that I was genuinely interested in a book-conservation career, he got me started in the lab, taught me how to conserve books, and went to a lot of effort helping me apply and get accepted to the school.”

Alumnus Finishes Degree, Thanks to Anonymous Couple’s Donations
Sherry Bingham graduated from Brigham Young University last year, just two days before her son received his diploma from Brigham Young University–Idaho. “I am truly grateful for the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) Program,” she says. “It afforded me many opportunities to learn and grow.”

Like Bingham, many BGS students began university studies but, for a variety of reasons, discontinued class work. Some of these adult students are now single parents, widows, or caregivers to their disabled spouse. For many, resources are limited. During the past 20 years an anonymous couple has provided financial assistance—blessing lives, lifting spirits, and making educational goals possible for hundreds of students. This assistance is distributed through the BYU Division of Continuing Education.

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