I am honored to represent the Brigham Young University Alumni Association at these commencement exercises. And, I have to say, you are an awesome sight! My oldest daughter, Mackenzie, is graduating today, so I\u00a0am especially grateful to be here to express my appreciation for this university and the personal joy our family experiences through having children attend BYU.<\/p>\n
Kathy Christensen, the recipient of a scholarship at BYU, thanked her donors by expressing this thought:<\/p>\n
I felt an intense gratitude warm my heart. There is nowhere else I would rather be. BYU has provided an environment in which I have been able to flourish. I have been challenged academically, pushed physically and stretched spiritually.<\/i>\u00a0[\u201cYour Gifts Bless Generations,\u201d insert, Annual Giving quarterly mailing]<\/p>\n
I hope you feel, too, that you have been inspired and enlightened by your BYU experience. President Hinckley called BYU a remarkable place. I know it is. I hope you feel that as well.<\/p>\n
Congratulations on being a graduate of BYU. You have worked hard and passed many\u00a0tests\u2014some academic and some in other\u00a0aspects of your lives. As alumni of BYU, it now becomes your responsibility to take BYU with you, to stay engaged with the university, and to return your talent and resources to BYU.<\/p>\n
It was 5:30 a.m. on a day in December 2004 when<\/p>\n
Bronco Mendenhall, then the second-youngest Division I head football coach in America, stepped into his office on the still-dark second floor of the Student Athlete Building for his first full day on the job. There was nothing on his desk or shelves. \u201cIt was a surreal experience. I was wondering, \u2018What have I done?\u2019 and, \u2018What do I do now?\u2019\u201d he recalls. \u201cI found myself on my knees within minutes.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Sometime around 8 a.m. a knock interrupted his prayer. At his door stood the patriarch of BYU football, LaVell Edwards (EdD \u201978). Edwards set a\u00a0chair directly in front of Mendenhall\u2019s chair, and the two sat down, knee to knee.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201c[LaVell Edward\u2019s]\u00a0first words were \u2018You have a tough job.\u2019\u00a0 Then there was a pause and silence,\u201d says Mendenhall. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t very comforting to hear that. But then<\/i>\u00a0[LaVell]\u00a0just said, \u2018But it\u2019s a great job.\u2019 I didn\u2019t know what he meant by either at\u00a0the time.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Mendenhall has come to consider<\/i>\u00a0[Coach]\u00a0Edwards a mentor and an advocate. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have someone who has done the job better than anyone, who clearly understands what it\u2019s like to be a head coach here.\u201d The relationship has helped Mendenhall frame what a BYU football team ought to be.<\/i>\u00a0[Peter B. Gardner, \u201cThe Bronco Way<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0BYU Magazine,<\/i>\u00a0winter 2007, 22\u201323]<\/p>\n Coach Edwards was a mentor for Coach Mendenhall. Mentoring is one of the best experiences a student can have at BYU. It can happen anywhere, and it is very powerful. For those who will be staying close to the university, contact your colleges and offer to mentor students. For those who will be farther away, stay close to students when they are home for vacations or to work between semesters. Just an arm on a shoulder, some encouragement and advice, and showing that someone cares about their success is a terrific way to take BYU with you. Be mentors.<\/p>\n I have a BYU ring that I always wear. I was on vacation in Southern California last fall, and it was amazing how many people saw it and told me they were BYU alums or supporters. It was a small thing\u2014only visible if someone saw my hand\u2014yet it generated a lot of discussion and inquiry everywhere I went. That one small ring had a huge effect on connecting people to BYU and to each other. You can have just as much impact and be significant in connecting people for good\u2014just like my ring was to those people I encountered while on vacation\u2014if you \u201cwear the Y\u201d wherever you are.<\/p>\n Wear the Y<\/p>\n in your countenance<\/p>\n in your speech and communication<\/p>\n in your example<\/p>\n in your choices<\/p>\n in your attitude.<\/p>\n You will find that \u201cwearing BYU\u201d will allow you to share the gospel and stay connected for good to the university.<\/p>\n Here are three more ideas to consider: contribute, connect, and serve.<\/p>\n First, contribute annually with your monetary resources. One thing I have learned in my service to the BYU Alumni Association is that every gift to BYU\u2014large or small\u2014is important to the university.<\/p>\n Erlynn Lansing, a grateful alum who graduated in 1974, said this:<\/p>\n Our experience [at BYU] and our associations at the university have helped us as parents, in our Church callings, and in [my husband\u2019s] professional duties. . . . The only way we can adequately thank the Lord and all those who have helped us is to give back so that others may have wonderful experiences like we\u2019ve had.<\/i>\u00a0[Erlynn Ensign Lansing, \u201cFunding Futures<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0BYU Magazine,<\/i>\u00a0summer 2010, 58]<\/p>\n Robbie Ross Tisch, a strategic planning and organizational effectiveness consultant, shared these thoughts on giving:<\/p>\n Being generous takes people out of narrow, fearful\u00a0places of scarcity and returns them to the spaciousness of connection and concern about others, into \u201cwe-ness\u201d rather than \u201cme-ness.\u201d\u00a0<\/i>[http:\/\/www.managementassistance.org\/ht\/a\/GetDocumentAction\/i\/11015]<\/p>\n Because of donations, thousands of students receive an outstanding education. Show your appreciation by supporting the financial needs of BYU. Your monetary resources are vital to the work of the university.<\/p>\n Next, stay connected to BYU by attending BYU-related events, allowing you to enjoy the fruits of what BYU students and alumni have to offer in the way of excellence in sports, performance, and intellectual knowledge. And update your records so we can keep you informed about BYU. Let us know where you are, because we want you to be \u201cconnected for good\u201d to the university and to alumni everywhere you go.<\/p>\n And, finally, serve and volunteer.<\/p>\n Linda Palmer, executive director of the Alumni Association, said:<\/p>\n