Graduation from BYUI: Flashback from my last 3 1/2 Years

Well as many of you know I have graduated from college!! I have completed the requirements for my Bachelor's Degree in Social Work. Here is a little flash back from my 9 semesters at BYU-Idaho! It only took me 3 years 4 months to complete my degree and after all of that we are debt free (thanks to scholarships and financial aid)! NO Student Loans!!!

1st Semester: Fall 2010
My first semester at BYU-Idaho was definitely very memorable. I got to meet a lot of new people, I had awesome roommates, and outside of homework I got to do a lot of new things. I lived the dorms my first 2 semesters and was thrown right into being Relief Society President those semesters as well. It was hard, but very fun at the same time.

My 1st Semester Roommates: 

L to R: Rebekah (Oregon), Laken (Kentucky), Hanna (North Carolina), and Me (Wisconsin)

We went bridge jumping for the 1st time. It was very scary and the water was freezing!

The weather was beautiful!! 

L to R: Abigail, Lily, Hanna, Me

Flag Football Game

L to R: Mackenzie, Me, and Lily

Then the snow hit.....Rexburg winters are miserable let me tell you. After you get piled with all this snow the wind blows and makes it 10x's colder. 

2nd Semester: Winter 2011

Still in the dorms but new roommates. 

L to R: Hanna, Katelyn (Maine), Brooke (Arizona), Me

Although Hanna and I had been roommates before it was fun to throw 2 others in the mix. Winter Semester was very cold but I was only taking 7 credits because I was off-track. 

3rd Semester- Spring 2011

I couldn't find very many pictures of me and my roommates from this semester but this is the semester I met Steve. We finally moved out of the dorms and moved into Nauvoo House Apts. It was a lot nicer than the dorms and we didn't feel as if we were "locked in" all the time. 

I met Steve the day before the semester started and we started seeing each other every day until he asked me out 1 1/2 weeks later. We did so many things together this semester. 

Steve took me to this river outside of town and we just talked and got to know each other. 

Teaching me how to Long board (I biffed it really bad) 

Steve took me home to meet his parents Memorial Day Weekend. We had only been dating a little over a month. 

He also took me to Seattle!

We went with a big group of people to the Ice Caves. They were so cool!! 

We took a day trip to Jackson Hole, WY. This trip was a blast. 

Going back to that river before the semester ended. 

Steve and I had to part ways as the semester ended in July. I went back to Wisconsin where I worked for 7 weeks and he went back to Washington where he worked for his Dad. He was also off-track in the Fall Semester so we knew we wouldn't be seeing each other for a while. :( After the long 7 week break he came up to Rexburg to see me before the next semester started. He proposed to me the day he came :) 

Steve drove all day with his sister to come and propose to me. His sister Stephanie left a bouquet of flowers at the door and inside an envelope there was a note: 

I was freaking out because I knew he was proposing to me and I started running towards the temple which wasn't too far away from our apt. On my way to the temple I saw Steve in his car. He didn't know he was going to run into me on the way up and was going to keep driving but felt to bad so he pulled over. We hugged because we hadn't seen each other in the 7 weeks and he continued to drive me up to the temple. We talked around for a little bit making small talk. Right when I was in the middle of a thought he cut me off and asked if I would marry him. I of course said yes and cried when I saw the ring. I couldn't believe I was engaged and most of all to the best guy in the world. This picture was taken not too long after he proposed. I really wish we had pictures from our proposal, but I guess writing about it will help me to remember. I scheduled a photographer to take our engagement pictures even before he came because we both knew he was coming to propose. It wasn't a surprise that he was proposing because I knew it was going to happen, the surprise was the way he did it. We took engagement pictures the day after he proposed. 

After Steve proposed he made the trip back to Washington where he worked til our wedding in December. I planned our wedding during one of my busiest semesters and still managed to pull off a 3.0. We set our date at December 28, 2011. I did get to visit him that semester during Thanksgiving and then our wedding was a month later. I didn't get to see him on Christmas which was a bummer, but our wedding was only 3 days later. 

4th Semester: Fall 2011

Back tracking a little because all the engagement was during the Fall Semester (AKA the semester Steve was in Washington). I loved my roommates this semester. Rebekah and I pretty much had all new roommates and we got to do a lot of things together before I was to be married. 

Top Row: Cailan, Me, Kailey. Bottom: Janessa, Rebekah

MeKell not pictured

Rebekah's mom came into town to visit and took us to Yellowstone! We stayed at this timeshare place in West Yellowstone and had a lot of fun!

Us at Yellowstone again! 

Mekell's grandparents live in Driggs, Idaho and we were able to take their 4-wheelers out and go for a ride up in the hills. 

L to R: Cailan, Kailey, Janessa, Rebekah, Me, MeKell

Yellowstone trip again. We went to this Pizza Parlour in West Yellowstone! Very good pizza!!

I don't have many pictures from these last few semesters as I was married and don't remember when they were taken. 

Winter Semester 2012

This was my 1st Semester being married. Steve was busy doing an Internship this semester and I was off-track so I worked full-time and didn't take any credits! 

5th Semester: Spring Semester 2012

Steve was in the IBC (Integrated Business Core) Course this semester which took up a lot of his time. He and his classmates were split up into groups and had to run their own business and sell their product for the semester. I took a full load of 15 credits this semester. 

6th Semester: Fall Semester 2012

This was my first semester in the Social Work Program. I took a full load of 17 credits and got my feet wet into Social Work and what my major was all about. I was in the Social Work Society this semester as well and really enjoyed all of my classes. 

7th Semester: Winter 2013

This was my 2nd semester in the Social Work Program! I took more of my core classes and was again in the Social Work Society. 

8th Semester: Spring 2013

Steve and I were in Texas for this semester. I was doing my Internship at the Children's Advocacy Center for Denton County near Dallas, while Steve was selling Pest Control door-to-door. This was a very fun experience for us as we got to live in a new state, do something we've never done, and live somewhere warm! Though we ended up leaving in late-July, I still finished my requirements for my Internship as this semester ended in July. 

9th Semester: Fall 2013

This was my final semester at BYU-Idaho. I participated my final semester in the Social Work Society again and did 20 hours/week at my Internship at Jefferson County School District in Rigby. For work Steve and I both did early morning custodial from 4-7 am. I'm glad we only did this for one semester because it was very tiring. This is the semester that I found out I was pregnant and we visited Steve's family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I also graduated this semester! 

Us with our family: 

L to R: Diana (Steve's mom), Steve, Me, Lonnie (Steve's dad), Bryson (Steve's half-brother), Brenda (Steve's Step-mom)

It was so nice of everyone to come and brave the cold in Rexburg!

Steve and I

Steve and I with Bryson 

Me and 2 of my Social Work Classmates (Megan and Ciara)

Steve and I and our friend Taylor! She graduated in Teaching.

Steve and I with our diploma "covers" in hand. I will get my diploma within the next month or so!

Well that is it! That was my college career at Brigham Young University-Idaho! I was so happy to have gone to school here and to have such good influences along the way. This school shaped me into a better person and I met so many people along the way. I don't really miss Rexburg because it is soooo freezing and it is a college town flooded with students, but I do miss our close friends from there that still go to school. We will probably visit sometime in March! 

My LAST Semester of My Undergrad

This is a little bit of a long post, but it's just a little bit of what we've been up to since I haven't updated this in 2 months!

This semester marks the last semester of my undergrad at BYU-Idaho! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be done and move on with my life outside of school! I am so excited to see what the future brings! This semester has been kind of crazy with my Internship, being Social Work Society Secretary, classes and a part-time job.

I am doing my Internship at Farnsworth Elementary School in Rigby, ID and I love it! I love interacting with the kids and getting to know them. I have been doing about 20-25 hrs/week and going every day so I can get ahead on my hours so I don't have to go every day towards the end of the semester. We need a total of 250 hours per semester and right now I have 192 hours :) NEXT week I start going MWF which will be nice so I can sleep and not use as much gas. I am doing this Internship with 3 others from the Social Work Program so we carpool and I have been having to drive every 2 weeks or so. It has been nice to have others so I am not guzzling all my gas and racking up my miles. I have learned so much so far and am looking forward to the day when I can use my skills in a real Social Work Job. A little bit of what my Internship has involved: structured recess, behavioral groups, teaching classes (Red Ribbon Week/Drug-Free, Second Steps - Violence Prevention Curriculum), one-on-one help with homework/spelling words, RTI (response to intervention), etc. I loved my last Internship in Texas a little more because the Crime/Child Abuse side of things interested me more, but I still love this Internship and the new opportunities it has given me.

I am taking 9 other credits to fulfill all of my requirements for Graduation. I am taking Abnormal Psychology, Research Methods, and Diverse Clients. All of those classes are going pretty well and the work load is manageable so it's not too bad.

I am working 15 hours a week on campus doing early-morning custodial. I wake up at about 3:30 am M-F and start work at 4 am and go til 7 am. I got this job about 3 weeks ago and it has been ok. The pay is good so it is worth it, but my lack of sleep has been catching up with me lately. I am in the Smith Building which is 4 floors and there are 13 of us split up (2 on each floor and others scattered doing bathrooms, stairs, entryways, etc.). We switch duties every week so their is variety and it's not as repetitive. A little bit of what I have been doing is cleaning teachers offices and cleaning classrooms. Steve also got the same job but in a different building. He has to work every Saturday so he gets 1 day out of the week off.

I am part of the Social Work Society for the 3rd Semester and this semester I am the Secretary. A little bit of what I do is send out emails about upcoming meetings, take notes from meetings, and update the website. It is pretty easy going and we only have meetings every other week so it is not very time consuming, but still fun to be apart of.

Well that is a little bit of what is going on in my life right now!! We are awaiting some offers for Internships for Steve for the Winter and he's looking for something in Business Marketing preferably paid starting in January. For those of you that read my blog we are still looking for one so if you know of anything available let us know! Looking ANYWHERE (preferably warm)!! He has 2 Interviews with companies set up so far (1 in Fruitland, ID and 1 in Boulder, CO). His 1st Interview was yesterday and we're waiting to see how it went. Our top pick is with John Deere where my brother works so pray something works out for us.

Other than school and work we have had a little bit of time to play and have fun....some things we have done this semester include:

• Going to Utah for General Conference weekend to see my Dad and 2 brothers
• Green Canyon Hot Springs
• Haunted Forest
• Yellowstone National Park 

Here are some pics: 

Left: Steve and I in Yellowstone! We had a lot of fun exploring things we've never done before in Yellowstone and this was probably the last time we'll visit Yellowstone for quite sometime because we're moving!!
Right: Steve and I with my Dad and 2 brothers (Landon and Evan) at Tucano's Brazilian Grill in SLC over conference weekend.
Middle: Steve and I with some friends at the Haunted Forest
Bottom Right: Steve and I on Halloween (I'm Katniss from Hunger Games and Steve is a Fisherman)

The Semester is Done

Well I survived my first semester of the Social Work Program!!! I have loved it and am so glad I chose this major. I have learned so much and I know this coming semester I am going to learn a lot as well. Everyone asks me what I want to go into in the field of Social Work and as of right now it's either Child Protective Services or Foster Care/Adoption! This may change depending on if I like my internships or not :) 

As of right now I have 1 more semester of just classes and then my last 2 semesters I just have my internship and 1-3 classes with it. Steve and I will graduate exactly 1 year from now!!!! Steve got an internship offer down in Orem, UT in April with a company called RPM drivers. We are not sure if we want to move down there yet because it would cost a lot to move down there and then come back up for the next semester. We called Steve's parents yesterday seeing if we could live with them in April while we do internships, if we find them, and they said yes!! We are now looking for Social Work and Business Marketing Internships in the Snohomish Area (1/2 hour north of Seattle)! It would be so much cheaper to live over there that way we wouldn't have to bring all of our furniture, kitchen stuff, etc. Please pray for us to find something over there in April!! 

I am anxious to find out my final grades for this semester as some of my teachers haven't put in all my grades yet! I am just waiting on 1 class and for my teacher to put the remainder of the homework in. For sure I know I got a 92.8% in my Ethics and Values class, a 90.84% in my Practice Individuals class, an 85.23 in my Human Behavior in the Social Environment class (I really didn't like the scoring in this class, we had 4 tests, 2 papers, and 1 presentation- I really wish we had some homework so we could boost up our grades),  a 89.86% in my Criminology class (wish she would have just rounded to a 90%), and I got a 99.31 in my Doctrine and Covenants class. This semester I took 17 credits and it definitely didn't feel like it. This next semester I will be taking 15 credits and my goal is to get straight A's! 

New Semester

The new semester started on September 10th. And yes I've already been in school about a month!!! Time flies! I really had mixed feelings about this semester because I didn't know what to expect but so far so good! I am taking 17 credits this semester here are my classes:
                         Criminology- 3 credits
                         Social Work Practice I- Individuals- 3 credits
                         Doctrine & Covenants- 2 credits
                         Social Work Values & Ethics- 3 credits
                         Human Behavior and the Social Environment- 3 credits
                         Social Work Policy- 3 credits

After this semester I will have earned 87 credits which means only 3 semesters left!!!
One of my favorite classes so far this semester is my criminology class. I have learned so much and everything in that class is so interesting (like why people commit crime, how much crime there is in the town I am living in, etc.) School is starting to get really stressful with all of my papers, presentation, homework due dates are coming up. I haven't really had much time for a social life lately and volleyball starts for me in exactly 2 weeks today!

In the mix of all my classes I work part-time on-campus still. I have worked as a Receptionist for over a year and I still love it. I love my co-workers and the flexible hours. I work MWF from 2-5 and T/Thurs 11-2. It worked out perfectly for me to work this semester which wouldn't have been possible if one of my co-workers Amberly didn't have opposite schedule as me!

Steve is busy working 40 hours/week at ArtCo still and is loving it. As it is getting colder sometimes I just feel really bad and take him to work sometimes instead of making him bike. It is getting a lot colder at night and I have gone to our car in the mornings and it is frosted over the past few days.

Happy Tuesday and I will be updating you all soon on our trip to Utah this past weekend as well as our trip to Yellowstone!

Done with the Semester & New Jobs

We're all done with our classes and finals for the semester!! We are both glad to be done and have a break from everything!

I have been looking for jobs everywhere in the area and finally got one on Thursday!!! I will be working full-time at Le Ritz Hotel & Suites in Idaho Falls for the break. I started training today and have training until Friday. I will start my normal shift by myself on Saturday. I will be a Front Desk Agent which includes: checking in/out guests, paperwork, phone calls, reservations, etc. The hotel is so nice and everyone is very friendly. The overall training today was a bit overwhelming because there is so much to know but I can't wait to be able to do everything I am learning.

Steve got a job today and will be working at ArtCo until mid-December. He's been looking for full-time for the summer and also until he goes back to school in the Winter and finally found something that pays good. He starts work on Monday and he will be calling existing customers to buy more products. It is kinda like Melaleuca because your not really telemarketing (these people want to be called) and you get commission.

We are going to have an overall busy summer but still want to get out and go places in the area for fun. We have been so blessed lately and grateful for all the opportunities we have been given.

Fresh Start

So this semester I'm back taking classes and working part-time on-campus. I haven't really had much homework lately which I wasn't expecting. I am taking 15 credits this semester and my classes are: Foundations Capstone, Family Foundations, Race and Ethnic Relations, Social Problems, Natural Disasters and Issues in Social Climate Change. After this semester if all my classes go well I will officially have my Associate's Degree, but that isn't enough for me I want to get my Bachelor's Degree with no excuses. I start the Social Work Program next semester which I am really excited about and will be taking 17 credits! This semester I am working on-campus again at the Academic Discovery Center as a Receptionist and love it! I work just 15 hours a week but it's something.

As for Steve he is doing the IBC (Student Run Businesses Around Campus) this semester. He has been pretty busy so far and it's killing me because I don't get as much special time with him, but school-work is important. This week Monday-Wednesday afternoon he is going to Badger Creek (School Owned Woods/Camping Area) with groups in the IBC. He has 4 different guys in his group and then 2-3 groups join and form a company which will sell a product around campus. He's only been gone 12 hours and I miss him a lot already and it'll be weird to not have him around for 2 days. These are times where you really find out how much you love your spouse and how much they mean to you.