BYU did NOT prepare me for my career

A week and a half ago, I graduated from BYU

I will be forever grateful for all that I have gained from receiving a BYU education. When people not of my faith would ask me why I chose BYU when I grew up in an area full of universities, I would give some explanation regarding cost and how BYU was cheaper in tuition and housing than just in state tuition and living at home. But that isn't the real reason why I chose there. When I set foot on campus as a freshman in high school, I immediately knew that this school was different and special. I felt drawn to it. Instead of my senses being bombarded by cigarette smoke and curse words, I felt peace and serenity. I didn't even have to sit in on a class to know that this school was the one for me. I knew I was going to have to work hard to get in and work hard while attending but I knew it was worth it. 

And it was. There were experiences and educational opportunities given to me at BYU that I would have no other place. With that being said, BYU did not prepare me for my future career. Some might be able to walk out of a university graduation and into their chosen field. That is not me. Occupational therapy asks for a graduate degree, and so that is what I am about to go earn. BYU doesn't have an Occupational Therapy program, and so my BYU educational experience did not prepare me to be an Occupational Therapist. But that is okay. I knew that was going to be the case. I didn't go to BYU to become an Occupational Therapist. I knew BYU could prepare me for so much more.

BYU prepared me for Occupational Therapy school

So I'm not ready to enter the work force as an occupational therapist. That's ok. I am prepared to enter occupational therapy school, in a program that is almost unmatched in its curriculum plan. Throughout my major, I studied the ethical dilemmas that face an occupational therapist. So when these problems arise in my clinicals, I will not only have the education to know how to handle it, I will have the decisions made beforehand as to how I would react. I have an understanding of the nerves work. Which is highly important because those are the exact skills I will be working with. My point is, as long as you do the research on majors, BYU's undergraduate education prepares students to go on professional schools, if they so choose.

I was spiritually prepared for sacred covenants

I basically walked out of the middle of my convocation and walked into the temple to receive my endowment. Ok there was stuff in between but that is pretty much what I felt like what happened. Throughout the session I never once felt out of place or that what was happening was weird. I felt completely like I came home and that I had been there before. Much of that can be attributed to the religious education that I was given at BYU. In my family history class, we spent the last two weeks talking about the history of the endowment, what goes on in the endowment and why we have it. In my Old Testament classes, we talked a lot about ancient temples and worship and how it relates to our times. My church history teacher taught us the history of the current endowment, how it came to be and how it has since been changed. I walked into the temple knowing what I was getting into (as much as I could). I wouldn't have had that ability if I had merely gone to institute and temple prep.

I learned how to put religion and secular education together

At BYU what I learned in my physics class was applied in my Old Testament class when we discussed the creation. My chemistry teacher flat out told us that his class was a religion class, not a science class (What he didn't include in that statement that we had to rely on our ability to pray to pass his tests, rather than our ability to learn.). Our discussion of trials in my Book of Mormon class had application in my basic athletic training class discussion on the principle of overload and adaptation. My Old Testament teacher was able to put a life metaphor to what I was learning in my ceramics class (that's a whole different blog post). Nearly every class, religion or not, started with a prayer. BYU didn't teach me I either had to have science or religion. BYU used science to prove religion, and religion to further scientific application. That is an education you would not be able to get anywhere else.

I was prepared to serve my fellow man

BYU's classic sign says "Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve." I will admit that I did not serve as much as BYU as I should have or could have. The only time I was involved with a service organization was for the blue foam slide, and it was so I could have unlimited runs after the crowd was gone. But I had many church leaders that taught me how to serve in the church. My teachers showed me what it was like to be understanding and accommodating to other's needs. I learned how I could serve in little ways, reaching out to the one with little recognition over the large recognition and not making much of a difference. My chosen field is a service field. I will be able to combine the education on service I had, inside and outside the classroom, at BYU with the OT education in graduate school to best serve my fellow man.

So BYU did not prepare me to sit for the licensing test to become an occupational therapist. No undergraduate degree would have. It requires a masters or better. BYU was not my chosen school because it would make me a better OT. That is a side benefit. I chose BYU because it would make me a better person and prepare me for my life. I feel like I can be of better service to my fellow man and to my Father in Heaven because of my BYU education. Is BYU perfect? Nope. But there isn't a university that is, except the temple. But I am forever a better person because of my BYU educational experience.