Overcoming Obstacles
BYU is known for its academic excellence, and it’s working to become a more inclusive school, but being a minority or first-generation BYU student can be hard. This story features six BYU Honors Program students who have worked to overcome obstacles with an ethic of academic excellence - one of the four pillars of the Honors Program mission. Several of these students shared how the resources and classes in the Honors program helped them take on the challenges of school at BYU—and how Honors, which is open for anyone to join, welcomes all students.
Pictures: 1-Samuel Yeboah, 2-Christian Pearson, 3-Naomi Julian, 4-Amy Hernandez, 5-Michael Forvil, 6-Sofi Velasco-Vega
Samuel Yeboah, an International Relations major, was born in Ghana and his family moved to the United States when he was 14. He’s a first-generation college student. “Always having someone to talk to about school has been difficult,” he said. “Being first-generation, if your parents don’t have that background, it’s hard for them to relate to your struggles.”
Christian Pearson, another first-generation student, had similar experiences. Christian is a Psychology major from Boise, Idaho, although he says he’s “more Californian than Idahoan—I love beaches!” He said, “My parents have been really supportive…but when it came to writing applications or figuring out how to pay for anything, they were as clueless as I was.”
When he got to BYU, Christian says his roommates and ward were supportive, but “there was a disconnect where people expected me to know things that I didn’t know,” including how to navigate a class schedule and exams in the Testing Center. “I had heard different things from different people about the Testing Center and basically wore a suit to my first test, scared they wouldn’t let me in.”
Adjusting to BYU has been difficult, so Naomi Julian, a Sociology major, wants to share her experiences so that other first-generation and minority students can know that they’re not alone. Naomi was born and raised in California. Both of her parents are from the Philippines, and Naomi is the first person in her family to attend a four-year university in the United States.
Naomi said that when she first joined the Honors program, “I didn’t really talk about my cultural background or racial identity. Coming to a white university, it felt like I was outside that bubble. As I’ve continued, I’ve learned how different disciplines work together, and different aspects of my identity can spark passions to contribute to conversations about world issues. For example, this led me to my [Honors] thesis topic of the intersection of race and disability.”
Regrettably, many minority students have experienced racism as they’ve come to BYU. Amy Hernandez, majoring in Molecular Biology, was born in Guatemala and her family emigrated to Orlando, Florida when she was a child. “Orlando is a very diverse place with lots of backgrounds and beliefs,” she said. BYU was a different world: “it was hard because there was immediately a lot of racism that I experienced. It was the first time that I was hyperaware that I was different—my skin color and the fact that I was an immigrant…. I put up with a lot of racist remarks just so I could have friends.”
Amy says that one resource that helped her tackle racism was an Honors Unexpected Connections course. “I wanted answers, so I took an Honors class with sociology as one of the disciplines. It gave me the tools and verbiage to be able to explain my experiences. To see that I wasn’t alone in that struggle was helpful. It drove me to learn more and I decided to minor in Sociology.”
The Honors program alone can’t solve the issue of racist behavior at BYU, but Honors houses resources that can help minority and first-generation students along their path of academic excellence.
For example, participating in the Honors Student Leadership Council gave Yeboah a chance to develop public speaking skills. He speaks with an accent that’s different than many Americans at BYU. “As someone from Ghana…I’ve often wished I sounded different and that people understood what I was saying better,” he said, “but I’ve seen improvement in my confidence a little at a time.”
Sofi Velasco Vega, a Civil Engineering major from Bolivia, has brought her perspective to her Honors Unexpected Connections courses. Sofi is learning about the sustainability of usable water in Utah. Rather than a huge solution, she says, “I think about things differently; sometimes we can start smaller and then work bigger.” Sofi hopes that Honors classes will include more content from international scholars so students can learn from more perspectives and cultures.
“I’ve been able to contribute to Honors by bringing my ways of thinking based on my experiences,” said Michael Louis Berton Forvil. Michael was born and raised in Haiti, then came to the United States when he was 19. He learned English as a third language at the BYU English language center, then was accepted to BYU, where he’s studying Neuroscience. Michael isn’t a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he likes the Christian environment of BYU. He appreciates that “every student is working honestly and trying to be a better person, which attracted me—even if I don’t agree with some things.”
Michael considers himself a first-generation student because the Haitian educational system is so different than ours, and he’s the only member of his family to study in the US. One of the big adjustments to college was getting used to the grading system in the US, but for Michael, academic excellence isn’t about the grades. “I’d be okay getting a C in a class if I could use the things I’m learning in that class to help the community,” he said.
Both Amy and Naomi agreed. “Basing it off your grades isn’t a way to see excellence,” said Amy. “The Honors program has given me the ability to see connections. Intellectually I’ve grown and that’s outstanding to me.” Naomi has realized that the same grading standard doesn’t apply to everyone. She said, “I view academic excellence as something that doesn’t just exist in test scores, but the application of the things in the classroom to turn outward and help people in some way.”
Application is the key to academic excellence according to Sofi. She is working as a civil engineer on a project at BYU. “Civil” means helping people, so civil engineers’ main goal is to solve problems to help people. If the Honors program promotes academic excellence, it promotes lifelong learning and service too.
The Honors program is open to every student at BYU, regardless of their grades or background. Michael said, “Sometimes I talk to friends about being in Honors, and they think I’m so smart and taking hard classes. I have to tell them that it’s for everyone—it’s not hard classes, but classes that help you stretch your thinking.” Christian agreed, saying that Honors isn’t another major, nor is it elitist. “The Honors program really encourages scholarship. There are high expectations but also high love.”
Even with all the resources available through Honors and other groups, college is hard. “For every step that a white, advantaged person takes, minority and first-generation students have to put in twice the amount of work,” Naomi said. “While it’s awesome to recognize the academic success of these students, it’s important not to minimize struggles they’ve gone through to get to this point.” Sofi agreed: “It’s hard.” She added, “Everyone has their own experience and limitations, but if you speak out, there are always people who are willing to help you.”
Yeboah’s advice is to get involved. There are clubs for minority students to interact with those from similar backgrounds. He said there is also value in interacting with people who are very different. “Sometimes in the world you won’t always get to be in places where people look like you. BYU’s not a perfect place; it’s trying to improve, but it’s a good university. It wants its students to succeed.” Yeboah said the Honors program has been one of the great places for him to get involved and thrive academically.
One upcoming event through which to get involved is the Taste of the World event on April 6th. “We are going to be working with clubs around campus to create a night of going around the world,” said HSLC President Diana Gonzales. Come join Honors students and friends. The Honors program will continue to encourage not only interdisciplinary connections, but international and intercultural ones too.