Education Week pulls in people from around the world

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    By MARISA GRIMMIUS

    Many people travel great distances and stay in all different types of housing in order to attend Education Week at BYU.

    Neil Carlile, director of CES South and Campus Education Week, said during last year’s conference, people traveled to BYU from 49 of the United States, and 15 foreign countries.

    The 1998 Education Week conference attracted 29,000 participants from all over the world, two-thirds of whom were women, Carlile said.

    He said because the program participants are becoming more diverse, 20 hours of the conference will be broadcast in Spanish and English and eight eight hours will be broadcast in French.

    Although advertising for Education Week is primarily done through a mailing list, this year, the CES Web Site has been a huge tool in attracting those who live in other parts of the world, Carlile said.

    Jenny Heap, 47, from Mesa, Ariz., is attending Education Week for the first time this year.

    “I have wanted to go for so long, and now I finally have the chance,” Heap said.

    Heap, who will be attending the conference with a group of friends, said she expects the nine hour drive to Provo to be well worth it.

    “My friends have told me that the inspiration and information they receive during the week lasts a whole year, and helps them to be a better person for an entire year. I expect it to be everything they say it is,” Heap said.

    Once participants have arrived, Provo must accommodate the housing needs of the additional 30,000 people. Heap will be staying with relatives, while a few of her friends will be renting an apartment for the week.

    Heap said she has heard The Goodman Family perform before, and is now looking forward to seeing them again on Tuesday.

    Even though many participants come from outside of Utah, Carlile said last year, 64% of the people were from Utah.

    Judy and David Tew, from Bountiful, have attended education week a number of times. Although the trip to Provo was relatively short, Judy said because campus housing and local hotels were full, they camped at a nearby campground during the week.

    “I would do it again because I think the program is really neat,” Judy said.

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