Ode to Provo

In February of 1998, I was a senior in high school waiting to hear back from the one and only college I applied to - BYU.  As a Southern gal, and one with no familial ties to BYU, my choice was a bit of an odd one.  Thankfully, I was accepted and in the fall of that year, off I went to Provo, Utah, the land of mountains, snow and BYU campus.  

Living far away from home and with complete strangers was an experience. And I loved it!  Freshman year rocked and every year thereafter was just as rockin'.  School was awesome, the people were great and the experiences I had were outstanding.  Every single thing about my four years at BYU was pretty exceptional (both the good and the not-so-good).

When I moved after graduation, I was both sad and happy to go.  Sad that my time at BYU was over and happy and excited to see what life held in store for me.

Flash forward 10 years and now, as one of the co-chairs of the St. Louis Chapter of the BYU Alumni Association (Will's the other chair), I got to attend the annual BYU Alumni Conference at Aspen Grove.  I have to admit, it was a toss up as to whether I was more excited about attending the conference or simply taking a trip by myself while Will stayed home with the kiddos.  Love my kids, but the thought of flying by myself again had me giddy.

In the Emerald Lodge at Aspen Grove - where most of our informational meetings took place.  There's half of my brother-in-law, Logan's, head. (And Paula's cheek)

I'm not sure what I was expecting from the conference, but I was overwhelmed by the reminder of the wonderful feelings I still have for BYU.  It is such a special place!  I don't say this sarcastically or facetiously, but BYU is one of the neatest places on the planet.  Is it perfect?  No.  Are the people who go there all nice?  Nope.  Is there a BYU culture that can be odd and sometimes a little stifling?  You betcha.  But BYU campus and the things that attending BYU can teach are exceptional.  As I told a friend, I fell more in love with BYU than I already was!  I really do feel honored that I was chosen to spend four years of my life at that university.  

Making a "Y" outside the Wilk. Or WSC as it is now called.  No more ELWC for this place! Note my snazzy BYU Alumni shirt.  I'm screaming "cool".

So...the conference.  It was informative and I came away with lots of ideas to implement here in St. Louis.  But the perk was definitely meeting alumni chairs from all over the country.  It was interesting to hear about when they graduated and their major and their most memorable BYU experience.  It seems that no matter when you attend or what you major in, everyone experiences the same kinds of things at BYU and feels that same spirit.  I swear, I'm not trying to be cheesy, I just can't help but go on and on about my experience there this time around.

Of course, it wasn't all meetings and no play.  I was so excited to see some of my old haunts.  Seriously, most of this is only going to make sense to about 10 readers, but here it goes:

The Women's Shop of the BYU Bookstore.  Ahh, many a minute (or hour) was spent in the BYU Bookstore.  Heaven on earth, that place.  The Women's Shop is especially meaningful since I usually tried to bug Heidi there whenever possible.

Aspen Grove is just up the road from Sundance Ski Resort.  I attended a couple of different leadership conferences at Aspen Grove while at BYU and believe it or not, it's changed in the last 10 years.  

I think Fall is the best time to be in Provo.  The leaves were starting to change, the weather was crisp and the sky was so blue and beautiful.

As I cruised around Provo (seriously, what's cooler than a 32 year old mom of three in a rented Ford Focus cruising around Provo before eight o'clock on a Saturday morning? Not much, I tell you.  Not much.), I snapped a shot of the new Heritage Halls buildings.  WOW!

Here's what the new buildings look like when finished:

For all my Rogers Hall ladies, I'm on 9th East taking this picture of where Robinson used to be.  Where Rogers use to be is behind this building to the right.  Sad!

Creamery on Ninth.  Although when I was a Freshman it was what again?  Something Market, right?

This is where Joaquin Elementary used to be.  It's called The Village at South Campus and I literally gasped when I saw it.  Kids these days and their fancy Provo apartments!  What happened to slum living?  Compare this...

With this.  420 North 670 East.  South campus living at it's finest (read: dumpiest).  What is not entirely clear in this picture is the fact that the roof is bowing in slightly above the front door.  Other than that, this place looks exactly. the. same.  Maybe a little less grass.

I know you other alums are dying to know this, but this gem:

now has this:

Free wi-fi at The Wash Hut.  Well, I never!

This is where I called home my Senior year.  Yeah...It's about as nice as you think it would be judging from the outside.  That was our living room window right there on the end, in the middle.  Crown #5.  Memories!

Our Saturday meetings finished up at the Alumni Center, which I had never seen in person before.  GORGEOUS!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.  Here I am, happy as a clam.  

And maybe one day, BYU WILL be a family thing.  A gal can hope, right? :-)  Go Cougars!