How alumni use their BYU education to serve their communities, neighbors, and families.
Recipes for Togetherness
Two lessons Jason Wallace learned in his BYU cooking class – keep it fun and be patient – come in handy when he bakes cookies with his young daughters.
My last semester at BYU, I finally squeezed in the Introduction to Cooking class I’d been wanting to take. The best lesson was the day the teacher brought in her 5-year-old granddaughter to help teach us to make bread. That day became not just a lesson on dough but on how to involve small kids to make cooking fun instead of frustrating. (Top tips: Be patient, don’t worry about the mess, and don’t try it on a deadline.) Now that I’ve got three young daughters, I try to involve them whenever I can. Whenever I pull out the mixer, at least one will immediately drag over the stepstool so she can help. Now my biggest problem is figuring out how to mediate when all three girls want to help make the same batch of cookies—and then all lay claim on the bowl afterward.
—Jason G. Wallace (BS ’06), Ithaca, N.Y.
More Than Having Fun
As a mother of four wild boys, I won- der how to help them reach their potential in a world that seems obsessed with entertainment and fun. The most fulfilling relationships are not the ones based on constant fun together but ones where we have worked, laughed, loved, and struggled together.
This year, we will no longer ask our kids if they had fun. We will instead ask, “Did you learn or create something?” “Did you try your best?” “Were you a good friend?” “Did you make the world better, even in a small way?”
BYU taught me more than how to read, write, and edit; it taught me to live so that each day the answer to at least one of these questions is “Yes!” Now I want to give my kids that same gift, because that’s when life gets really fun.
—Brooke Olsen Romney (BA ’01), Kaysville, Utah
Tip: Talk to Your Reflection
As a business management major, the one class I dreaded was Public Speaking. I knew I would have to conquer my fear of speaking in front of crowds during the weekly class presentations. Thankfully, our professor gave us a great tip: “Practice your entire presentation—every gesture and movement—in front of a mirror.” While I initially felt silly talking to my reflection, when it came time to present my material, I was confident and prepared. When my children began giving oral reports at school, I taught them the same tip I had learned. It has helped them gain confidence in their speaking abilities and overcome their timid tendencies.
Share Your Story
How has your BYU education helped you better serve others in your daily, nonprofessional life? Send us stories of the specific things you learned at BYU that have proven helpful in your home or community. BYU Magazine pays $50 for stories published in Learning for Life. Submissions may be edited for length, grammar, appropriateness, and clarity. Send stories to magazine@byu.edu.
