The gift that keeps on giving

In 2001, I attended a year of school at the University of California, Irvine. There, I studied International Studies (which was awesomely abbreviated as Intl'l Stud) on a UC Regents Scholarship, lived in a dorm, was a member of CHP (Campus-wide Honors Program), got good grades (despite my roommate's, and others, best efforts to keep my time occupied with video games(long live DCI !)), and enjoyed the sunshine, beaches, Disneyland, and cheap carne asada burritos from this place that was open 24 hours.

Then, after a summer of international travel (Mexico and Taiwan), I took leave from school and prepared to go on my mission. I moved "home" to V-Town, worked at this old VW bug parts shop, and left for the exotic land of Portland, OR (by way of the Provo MTC) in June 2005.

I spent an amazing two years among the people of the Portland Metro Area. To this day, I remain friends and in touch with many of the people that I met and taught. Spending those two years in the service of others shaped my life, taught me many things, strengthened my faith and testimony, and helped me develop and refine many different gifts, talents, and skills. As much as I may not have deserved all the wonderful blessings, they truly came, and continue to come. Funny how that works.

While I was finishing my mission, I had the opportunity to work very closely with some wonderful individuals who continue to this day as friends and mentors. One of them suggested as I was preparing my paperwork to return to UC Irvine (which I completed and heard back from everyone--CHP, School of Social Sciences, my graduation counselor, my scholarship, housing--except for the registrar) that I consider applying to the BYU's.

So I did. To be honest, I wasn't very excited about the prospect. I liked that I hadn't gone to a Church school, and wasn't sure how I felt about changing partway through. I received acceptance letters from both BYUs to which I applied. Oddly, that was kind of disconcerting, because since I hadn't heard a word from UC Irvine, I figured I'd just go to whatever school took me first. Now, I had to make a choice. I told myself I'd go to the school that offered me a scholarship -- that'd help me make my decision, I thought. Yes, just what you're thinking: they both offered me a scholarship. So, my self-imposed winnowing process didn't work.

I then turned to the tried and true process that I've used throughout my life (and should probably use more often) of seeking knowledge (in this case, through the school literature, my peers, and my leaders), making a choice, and then turning to the Lord.

Ultimately, I decided to enroll at BYU-Idaho. To keep from boring you, I'll summarize the great things that happened since I made that choice:
* Met, dated, and married a wonderful woman
* Developed many wonderful friendships
* Was blessed by more great mentors (Leadership, English, Political Science)
* Graduated at the right place and at the right time: landed two great internships right out of school, which put me on my current path
* Got both me and Jill the jobs we have today

Now, in a little more detail.

Met, dated, and married a wonderful woman
Marrying Jill is the best decision I've made in my life. It ranks among the triumvirate of essential decisions: joining (and remaining faithful to) the Church, serving a mission, and marrying in the temple. I could go on and on about her, but will save my additional gushing for future posts. We have a crazy, exciting, amazing roller coaster of a life, don't we?

Developed many wonderful friendships
I am blessed with many friends whom I respect and with whom I (try to) keep in touch. I know once I start pointing out people I run the risk of leaving people out, but here's just a sampling of some of my friends: (1) The law school friends, with whom we've spent many hours playing, learning, and debating. (2) The political science friends, who keep me up to speed on different facets of current events, introduce me to new things, and take a chance exploring the wonderfully crazy world of politics. And the ones who "stake their reputation" by "endorsing" me... (3) The Ward friends who write funny blogs and are hip on Twitter. (4) And others!

Was blessed by more great mentors
Like friends, a list of mentors I gained in Rexburg runs the risk of falling short of all the people who had an impact on my life. Some mentors helped develop skills in teaching and leading. Another got me started on my current path after college by referring me to two great internships. Another challenged my abilities to think and reason and in so doing helped me be a better "thinker". Some introduced me to different theories, ways of thinking about government, and case studies of actual events - providing a chance to think how you would act in certain situations. But all in all, they were encouraging, yet challenging; glad to guide, yet demanding.

Graduated at the right place and at the right time
As I mentioned before, my choice to go to BYU-Idaho helped me get internships that were unique and things in which I wanted to participate - but didn't know how to get involved. The way I planned my courses allowed me to get started at an ideal time, and stay "out there" across the country. I had, and continue to have, lots of wonderful experiences through my internships and the jobs that have followed. It also allowed me to make new friends; friends who "dragged" us from Boston to DC (with a chance to keep working!) and have been great to us since we've met.

Got both me and Jill the jobs we have today
Since this is probably the longest post I've written (it may be topped by my East of Eden reviews), I'll try to keep these descriptions short...
BOSTON: My internships were possible because of the connections I made. Jill got an interview that landed her in her first non-profit job because (1) she worked in Alaska, and (2) she was from Idaho [AKA Boise, since they all associated Boise with Idaho] -- and none of them had ever been there. Or seen real mountains. Or met a Mormon.

DC: Part 1. My first job here was made possible through a good friend at my previous job. Jill got her job because her boss, a former HBS professor, knew that BYU-Idaho was where Dean Kim Clark went to become President Clark.

DC: Part 2. Ran into my boss [RADM.P] today and spoke for a few minutes in the hallway. He asked me how my background check was going, and if I knew if anyone was running around Rexburg checking up on me.

I told him, Yes, I had actually received a phone call from the agent out there.

RADM.P then said, "I told you I visited there once, right? I was out there with my assistant--he was about your age--and we were walking around town. And I thought, this just isn't real. These people are too nice. All of them! What a great town."

I replied, "Yes, sounds about right. My wife actually grew up there."

RADM.P concluded, "Yeah, good town. I was very impressed. That's why I decided to hire you."

So, here I am.

Rexburg/BYU-Idaho: The Gift that keeps on giving.