An Answered Call

You know, I'm sometimes amazed at the way the Lord works. He is a funny guy, I tell you what.

At Institutional Assessment, I usually don't like to answer the phone. Normally people are looking for statistics and numbers which I do not have access to--or at least lack knowledge of the process to obtain such information. I have to take message or forward people to voicemail or give them Tracy's email address because I can't help them out. Therefore, why bother answering the phone if I'm going to forward them to voicemail anyway?

I got two calls at work this morning. One was from a lady wondering if her Alumni Questionnaire she received a year and a half ago and forgot about would still be useful to us. "No, we actually have collected and analyzed all the data for that, so... Thank you for calling though."

The second call I didn't want to answer. It was Matt's turn. Matt turned and asked if I was clocked in. I responded that I was, and he said that he wasn't, so I had to answer it. He gave me a little "neener neener" kind of sound. I answered the phone: "Institutional Assessment, this is Janae." (Let me add that sometimes I want to answer the phone "Blockbuster North Provo this is Janae just because it's an automatic sort of thing.) On the other end was a man curious about the numbers that make BYU look good--ACT scores, how many undergraduates go on to graduate school, etc. I directed him toward the website for some basic information that makes BYU look fantastic. I also gave him my manager's e-mail address so he could get those specific numbers he was looking for. He told me that he was trying to get his kids to come to BYU instead of UCLA. He said she was concerned about all of the Mormons and everything. Hm. This piqued my interest.

Among the colleges I got into, UCLA was one of them. Holy cow! UCLA! I wanted to go there so badly. Do you know how many geniuses have gone or go to UCLA? Do you know how hard it is to get in there? I worked my butt off in high school, took International Baccalaureate classes, enrolled in SAT prep classes, and was involved in extra curricular activities, all so that I could get into a school like UCLA. Sweet! I had earned the prestige I worked so hard for.

"I want you to apply to BYU," said my mother. "What the? I don't want to go to BYU! I wanted to go there in like fifth grade when I didn't know how horrible Utah was, Mom!" "Janae, it's a good school and it's cheap, please just apply." "Oh gosh, fine." So I applied. I took the ACT carelessly one time, without any preparation. Why did I have to take the ACT? No other colleges I wanted to go to required it. Then for whatever reason, my application fee didn't go through and therefore I hadn't received my letter from BYU when it was almost the end of the school year. I had to make a special call to the admissions office to check the status of my application, after the fee was paid. After much waiting and hassle, Darrin Eckton had personally reviewed and approved my application. I was accepted to BYU, he told me on the phone. I was ecstatic. Why the heck was I ecstatic? I didn't even want to go to BYU.

I had weighed my options. It was cheap. It was close to family. It was far enough away from the family. It would only be four years. OK.

So I came up here. I didn't accept my opportunity to enroll at the oh-so-prestigious UCLA that I had worked my butt off for. Needless to say, getting accepted to BYU is no easy task (although the occasional imbecility and ignorance of students in my classes pops this prestige bubble).

"Just so you know, as a personal note, I am from Southern California, and I got into UCLA too, and I go to BYU." "Really? Are you a member of the church?" "I sure am." "Great! Could I get your number so my kids can talk to you?" "The number at this office that you have works fine, actually." "OK, well, let me put you on the phone with one of my daughters. I have twins who both are trying to decide what school to go to." In the distance I heard, "This girl is from California and got into UCLA and goes to BYU. Talk to her." "Hello?" "Hi, who am I talking to?" "Megan." "Hi Megan, I'm Janae! Are you graduating this year?" "Yeah." "Cool, from where?" "Granada." "Oh, OK, well I'm from Los Angeles and went to Charter Oak. I don't know if you've heard of it. I guess your dad wants me to convince you to come to BYU." She laughed a small courtesy laugh. Talking to this girl gave me an opportunity to recount all of the reasons I did come to BYU. I didn't know it at the time, but there are a million reasons.

I told her one of the first things that comes to my mind is the environment. I told her it gets stifling and annoying at times. I told her about the term "Zoobies," and laughingly told her how kids greet each other with goofy high fives. But, I had to mention, it is such a blessing being in BYU approved housing. The curfews, the "no boys in the bedrooms" rule, the lack of alcohol, that you'd never have to wonder if your roommate is going to bring a boy into the room or what they're going to do or when you can come back in... It's so nice not to have to deal with that. Also, four years is up in no time! I said I understood where she was coming from, California, being a place of diversity and not wanting to come up here. She laughed in affirmation. I told her that in spite of that, it was a great and positive environment. The spirit on campus is so unique and good. "The thing is, that as a Californian, you've already experienced all of that crap--people who live differently than you. You've experienced it and therefore don't need to keep living with that challenge. People from Provo who stay in Provo and go here might have a problem not experiencing the real world. But you don't need to."

I told her the Honor Code is great because professors trust you. I told her about how I had just recently mistakenly turned in the wrong research paper to one of my professors and how gracious and nice he was about it because he could trust his students.

I said the campus is beautiful, everything is really nice, and that we have the third best library in the country (it's true!).

I told her to be mindful of the price, that this really was a great school and that she would graduate without debt. "A degree is a degree, and your GPA doesn't go on your certificate. What are you going into?" "Biology." "Oh, see, I don't know much about that department at all. But I took a biology class for a general, and it was a really good class. I'm horrible at biology, but really, the teachers and classes here are so good and just as challenging as they would be anywhere else. Your education is totally what you make of it."

I asked her two or three times if she had any specific questions to ask me. She told me, "No, it's just hard to decide. There's good and bad about both places."

This concerned me, that she had no questions. This is the point I was at in high school, and fortunate for me, I made the right choice. High schools want to push you to do well so you can go to a college with a good name! Go to the school you've earned! What about everything else? How will this school challenge you mentally? What is the reputation of the program I am going into? Is there an institute close by? What will the environment and the students be like? Uplifting or distracting? What kinds of clubs and programs are available on campus that I can be involved in? How are the dorms? How much is tuition? What am I going to do with my degree, and will it make a difference where my certificate is from? What is the weather like? Is family close? Do I WANT them close? How high is cost of living? Do I want to date a lot or look to be married before or by the time I graduate? Do I do sports? What kind of athletics programs are available? Will it be fun? Does it matter if it's fun? Spiritually speaking, will I learn and grow here more than anywhere else?

Those aren't the kinds of questions high school counselors train you to ask yourself. But those are things I've had to weigh and look at over the years. I've realized that there was a LOT I needed to learn by coming to this school. I was lacking in preparation for marriage and motherhood. I was lacking in spiritual knowledge. I needed to be on my own and run my own life and finances and apartment. I don't know that being anywhere else would have challenged me in the ways that BYU has. It's shown me that a lot of things I once took to be casual and unimportant actually really matter the most. And yeah, BYU makes me mad. And yeah, Provo upsets me. But so what? No one said I wouldn't feel that way. But I have learned, and I have grown in all of the ways that matter.

Maybe BYU isn't the right school for everyone. But the Lord knew it was the right one for me. And maybe the Lord in all of His wisdom had me answer her call for once for a reason. I told Megan from Granada to pray about her decision--that maybe BYU wouldn't be right for her. I hope she's willing to hear the answer like I was.