1 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES DECEMBER 2014 l 1

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2014

BYU-Idaho employees share their favorite Christmas traditions» Compiled by Austin Cary

“My family and I have a tradition that we look forward to almost as much as Christmas. Our family are the only ones that live in Idaho. So when we first made this move to Rexburg we asked ourselves what we could do to make Christmas special even though we won’t be able to be around our extended family. We decided to hold an open house Christmas Eve waffle brunch each year.

“Leading up to Christmas Eve we spread the word to colleagues, neighbors, and friends that on Christmas Eve morning we’d love to have them come visit for a little bit and enjoy a waffle. Last year we had over 80 people attend throughout the morning. It’s something we’ve found is enjoyable to us because our friends do come and we get to visit with them.”

Jason Williams Faculty Member, Department of Nursing

“Several years ago I began celebrating Santa Lucia Day—which is December 13—to commemorate my Norwegian and Swedish heritage. The legend is that Santa Lucia is the niece of Saint Nicholas and she helps him by passing out gifts on this day.

“Traditionally the girls serve their parents breakfast in bed and wear little wreaths with candles on them. We don’t do all that, but we do make traditional foods and do other Norwegian, Scandinavian, and Swedish traditions. This tradition has been a blessing to my family because it’s fun and my children love knowing about their ancestry.”

Kriss PondStudent Living Manager, Housing and Student Living

“Each year on Christmas Eve my family and I read and recreate the account of Christ’s birth in Luke 2. When we act out the nativity we focus on the words of the prophets and the promise of a Messiah. It’s a wonderful time to ponder the gift our Heavenly Father has given us through his Son, Jesus Christ. We are reminded that very first Christmas was a very humble Christmas and what matters in life are not material things.”

Fernando CastroFaculty Member, Department of Religious Education

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BYU-Idaho students recently took first and second place as well as an honorable mention in the 2014 National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) GE Charette Competition. BYU-Idaho students took home a combined $10,000 of the $25,000 scholarship awards.

The Charette

is a timed competition where students have three hours to create a solution for a kitchen problem. After reading the information about their “clients,” the students need to produce a floor plan, perspective or elevation drawing, and a design statement.

Solutions must follow NKBA presentation standards, dimensions, and nomenclature. Nearly 200 students from 19 colleges participated in the challenge.

BYU-Idaho interior design majors Kim Donghyuk and Natalie Wood placed first and second respectively, while Eden Hibbert, also an interior design major took home honorable mention honors.

Wendy Harris, NKBA accredited program coordinator at

BYU-Idaho, teaches kitchen and bath design and helps prepare the students for the competition.

“Time management is significant in this competition. The

students have so much information to interpret as they develop a

solution and they have many requirements to complete. They only have three hours, and if they don’t include a required element, their solution will not qualify for the finals,” said Harris.

Harris played an

important role in helping the students prepare for the competition. She held a practice charette the week before the event.

“If Sister Harris

wasn’t there to help us I don’t know where we would have been. I know we wouldn’t have done as well as we did,” said Eden Hibbert, who was a received an honorable mention in the national competition. “She prepared us very well.”

The students’

solutions must be judged by a certified kitchen and bath designer within 48 hours. The top three projects are awarded $50 each. All student entries are then submitted for judging at the national level.

The competition is

only open for NKBA accredited program

students. BYU-Idaho’s program has been accredited since 1993. BYU-Idaho has done very well at the competition since its inception in 2006 taking home three first place awards and multiple top five finishes and honorable mention prizes.

BYU-Idaho was also one of 17 schools recognized by the NKBA

with an “Excellence in Education” certificate. This is the seventh consecutive year the program has been a recipient. BYU-Idaho was distinguished as the NKBA College of the Year in 2012.

Faculty member Wendy Harris helped prepare Donghyuk and Hibbert for the competition.

Kim Donghyuk (L) and Eden Hibbert (R) won first and second place respectively.

Interior design students perform well at national competition» By Clint Urick

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Halden Toy, a sophomore at BYU-Idaho, recently competed in the 5th International Organ Competition honoring Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, an influential 16th century organist. Even though Toy didn’t come in first place, his experience competing was priceless.

Toy grew up with a father who played the organ professionally. His father and the compositions of other organists inspired him to pursue a career as an organist. He didn’t have to go far to find an experienced teacher. He had access to his father and other highly talented individuals his father knew as a result of his career.

With several years of receiving instruction from these professionals Toy came to BYU-Idaho with an impressive amount of experience and a love for pre-Bach composers such as Sweelinck.

So it was very natural for Toy to want to compete in a competition that honored a composer he admired.

Despite his experience he recognized that competing at an international level would require special guidance. To help him, Toy enlisted Daniel Kerr, faculty member in the Department of Music, and together they pulled together an impressive array of pieces that made him one of the eight finalists.

As a finalist Toy was invited to travel to the Netherlands to play for a panel of world

renowned organists on the historical Transept Organ in Oude Kerk, Amsterdam and the Muller Organ in Saint Bavo Kerk, Haarlem.

“Being a finalist gives Halden a really impressive resume item,” said Kerr. “This experience also put his playing in the ears of distinguished organists. He was able to build relationships with leaders in the field that will help guide him in a future career.”

As young as Toy is, being one of the finalists

at a competition of this magnitude speaks volumes about his capacity as an organist. This experience was a step in the right direction for his career.

“The first place winner deserved it—he was a great player,” said Kerr. “But he is also finishing up his master’s degree as an organist. The level of playing in the finals was high and Halden played as well as any of them.”

Student organist places as finalist at competition in the Netherlands» By Austin Cary

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Mark Bennion, a faculty member in the Department of English, recently had a work of poetry published by the Aldrich Press. Bennion’s book, Forsythia, deals with the death of his younger brother in 1978.

The idea started when Bennion was in graduate school at the University of Montana. It was an idea for a project proposal while he was in a creative writing program in 1999.

While in this program the thought occurred to him that he could write a lot about that event and the things that happened in his life.

“I started the project when I was single,” said Bennion. “When I got married the project took a backseat to other things. Then our

son was born and we named him after my brother. At that time I felt very strongly like I needed to finish that book.”

Things just came together for Bennion after that. “I received a lot of support from family and friends. Someone who provided substantial help was my professor at the University of Montana, Greg Pape.”

People and experiences aided Bennion on his journey of writing his book.

“After becoming a parent I felt like I was more able to write with authenticity,” said Bennion. “I was able to imagine what that event might have been like for my

parents. It was a very healing experience. It definitely helped me and I think it helped my parents.”

“An important thing about this book is that it shows my students that I am also doing the stuff I ask them to do,” added Bennion.

“To me, it’s important that students see teachers actively engaged in what they teach. This book was one way to show that.”

News & NotesA monthly publication of University Relations

A D V I S O R Marc Stevens

W R I T E R S Austin Cary, Clint Urick

PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Lewis, Ryan Chase, Leanna Davidson, Tyler Rickenbach

If you have any ideas for future issues, please e-mail newsdesk@byui.edu.

Department of English faculty member publishes book of poetry » By Clint Urick

After becoming a parent I felt like I was able to write with authenticity.M A R K B E N N I O N D E PA RT M E N T O F E N G L I S H

The TED talk by Department of Psychology faculty member Matthew Whoolery is now available to view on YouTube. Whoolery delivered the talk at a TEDx event at Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi earlier this year.

Only two weeks after being published by the TEDx Talks YouTube channel the video has over 3,000 views.

The video can be found at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWjuJxvWdFc

Mark Bennion

Join President Clark and the President’s Executive Group for the Employee Christmas Gathering on Thursday, December 18 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Taylor Cultural Hall.

Enjoy food, live music, visit with and write notes of appreciation to fellow employees, and pick up your fresh baked holiday pie.

Department of Psychology faculty member’s TED Talk now viewable online

Employee Christmas Gathering to be held

on December 18