John said, “The reason I came to
Brigham Young University Idaho is because I prayed about it on my mission and
felt impressed that this is the school in which I should attend. Previous to
that prompting I had felt like I wanted to attend the University of New Mexico
in Albuquerque New Mexico.”
Little did I know that I would
become friends with him and get involved with Disciple Leader Conference and
have all the experiences both he and I would have because of the choice to be
here at Brigham Young University Idaho. Being a part of this school and
specifically being on this campus is a huge blessing and the spirit on a school
campus isn’t found anywhere else. The rules and values here keep the students
held accountable and are a higher standard than any other campus. From big
rules of only being able to miss a few days of class per semester to smaller
rules such as curfew and not being able to wear flip flops and shorts on campus.
John is my friend that I met last
semester while on a double date. My date was Durant, and John was mission
companions with him, and he had a date. We hiked up R Mountain and had s’mores.
It was a lot of fun. As a result of this double date I ended up seeing John
around campus more. Eventually we became good friends. I ended up volunteering
for Disciple Leader Conference that is put on by students every semester.
During spring semester this past year, one of my roommates got me to go to a
meeting where they talked about the different student support groups and I
became interested in the Disciple Leader Conference one. I helped with Blitzing
last semester and decided to do it again this semester. John and I worked
together this semester as we went blitzing for the conference and let people
know about it.
John has a special place in his
heart for the Rigby building because that is the building where student support
happens. He participates in a lot of different student support organizations
that are all located within the Rigby building. The Rigby building is a refuge
for the students and a joined place of the spirit. Get Connected is an organization that helps new freshman and
transfer students acclimate to the school to learn the campus, make friends and
have fun. First Year Mentors is an
organization that is specifically focused on mentoring the new freshman and
transfer students during the semester. As Get Connected solely focuses on the
beginning of the semester, First Year Mentors focuses on the wellbeing during
their entire first semester of attending BYUI. Heber J. Grant purely is focused on students attending BYUI that
have a higher risk of not graduating. There is also Peer Mentor where they develop school curriculum which will one day
be a required class for all students to take as a foundation class. There is
also Visit Day Ambassadors which
give visiting parents, friends and family of future students a tour of the
campus. Last there is Involvement where there sole purpose is to invite people
to volunteer and get involved with student support. In accordance to the Rigby
Building John said, “I go there every day Monday thru Friday, for one to two
hours to help plan, prepare for the current semester, and the following
semesters Disciple Leader Conference.”
“When I first started Disciple
Leader Conference, I had been selected to teach. While attending those
meetings, I still had the common return missionary ideology that I should still
be serving a mission, and that I should be in my previous areas continuing to
teach the people I once taught. I didn’t know why I was attending BYU-I at the
time and couldn’t just get an extension of the mission. It was at that point
where I had a spiritual experience in one of the meetings. At the end of one
such particular meeting, a prayer was offered by one of the leaders of the
group. In the prayer, she prayed for
each of the members of the teaching group by name, and prayed individually for
their needs. The spirit was so strong and the spirit testified to me that being
home and helping with the students at BYU-Idaho was my purpose.” Disciple
Leader Conference is not just an organization of the school, where students
help students, but it is to help students come closer to the Savior. The topics
every semester for the conference are based on Christlike attributes and how
each of us as His children can come unto Him. Faculty and staff, President
Gilbert and other keynote speakers along with student-led discussions all focus
on those topics of how we can be better Disciple Leaders.
John was a leader over blitzing for
the Disciple Leader Conference this semester. I volunteered for blitzing, and
every week we would go out together and tell people about the upcoming
conference. We had some pretty good experiences. John recalls an experience he
had while blitzing. “We had prayed beforehand that the Lord would guide us of
what to do and where to go. The Lord kept His promise. We were guided to people
in the MC and Library that were truly interested in going to Disciple Leader
Conference and to people who were willing to help with Student Support.”
When you first walk into the Rigby
by the North East Main entrance you are immediately greeted with a staircase, a
door, and a list of offices and what specific offices are on each individual
floor. The first floor is mainly comprised of the English faculty and staff. One
the second floor contains more offices of faculty and staff of the English
department, officers in the army representing the ROTC program of the college
and the student support rooms for faculty, staff and volunteers. Half of the
second floor is set apart purely for student support faculty, staff and volunteers.
Depending upon your organization and position is a key factor in how much time
you will spend in the Rigby building. As a fulltime faculty member you can
expect to work Monday thru Friday, 30-40 hours a week. Staff members (mostly
comprised of hired students) can be expected to work 18-26 hours a week.
Volunteers, however, are expected to put in five to 10 hours a week depending
on their council position. All other volunteers may only be expected to
volunteer for 2-4 hours a week. John said, “This is my favorite building and I
spend time in it every day, so I know it well.” He loves to spend time serving
there because he knows it makes a difference in his life, but also the lives of
those that come and are a part of the conference every semester. Some of his
greatest friends have come because he chose to get involved and sacrifice many
hours in behalf of the greater good of the school.
The Rigby building was named after the settler and prominent church leader William F. Rigby, in Eastern Idaho. It was dedicated on December 11, 1963 by Elder Marion G. Romney of the Council of the Twelve. The building was originally a dormitory made up of 120 rooms with two boys to
each room (total of 235), except for five single quarters for senior resident
students who aided in the supervision.
Rigby was born in his grandparents’ home to his mother Margaret
Littlewood on January 29, 1833, in Saddleworth, England, a small town near the
manufacturing city of Manchester.
Factory worker and farmer, pioneer and missionary, civic leader
and religious leader, prisoner and statesman, William F. Rigby lived in a world
of contrasts. An energetic worker who never put off any task however daunting
it may seem, Rigby’s list of accomplishments are impressive. He helped
establish over 44 communities in Idaho and Utah. He built up not only
households, but ranches, nurseries, sawmills, mercantile, and waterways in
three different states. He served time both in the Utah Territorial Prison and
in the Idaho State Legislature. For 17 years, he labored as the found father
and Bishop of Newton, Utah. He then served another 17 years in the Bannock
Stake Presidency of Idaho, one of the largest stakes in the church at that
time. In his personal life he was personal life he was a husband and father.
