Robbie Stephens

Submitter Statement:

From the time I was small, BYU was my school. It was the only university I applied to as I graduated from high school. I came from a farming community in Kansas where my brother and I were the only church members in the school district.

As a member of a pilot program at the Y called Freshman Academy, I quickly made friends. During my time there as I earned both a bachelor’s and master’s, I met so many amazing people. People who shared their light with me as I shared mine with them. I learned to not fear difference but to embrace it and love all God’s children. I took what I learned, both academically and spiritually, with me.

The phrases ‘Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve’ and ‘The World is Our Campus’, the colleges and the university presidents are on this piece because they influenced me. Those words challenged me to serve and continue to learn no matter where life took my family. President Rex E Lee taught me that at a huge university, he cared for the one. The colleges of Family, Home and Social Sciences and Fine Arts and Communications continue to bless my life. I found that each student I worked with or directed and each show I was in were unique and different. Not one person’s light was the same. Some were bright beacons like that found in a lighthouse. Others were a single candle.

In my life, I have found that the size and shape of the light I have to give changes and evolves. Sometimes it is large and can help many. Other times it is a flicker but even a flicker of light will push away the darkness for those around me.

Entry Description:

Inspired by the Karl G. Maeser building, this column stands firm as a base for all types of light to shine forth. I have included parts of BYU’s past and present on the top and base of the column. Just as each form of light included here is different, every student and alumni of BYU is unique and has their own light to share with the world.