By Erin Kingrey
Senior Reka Nagy loves detective work, especially when it comes to discovering facts about her ancestors.
Nagy, from Budapest, Hungary, majoring in family history and geneology, said she has been interested in family history ever since she joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1991.
“I just feel pushed. It’s as if someone is telling me — this is what you need to do,” Nagy said.
Because family history and genealogy resources are limited in Europe, Nagy decided to come to BYU to study, she said.
Nagy remembers the first time she went to a family history center and opened a book that she hoped would have information on her family.
The first page she turned too contained her grandmother’s pedigree chart.
“It was not an accident,” Nagy said.
Ever since then, she has wanted to do more. Nagy said she knows her ancestors are relying on her; they want their work done.
So far she has traced her maternal line back to 1490.
After she graduates this April, Nagy plans to return to Hungary and open her own business aimed at helping people with Hungarian heritage find their ancestors.
“It’s like detective work; you feel like Sherlock Holmes,” Nagy said. “You cannot finish it.”
According to Ray Wright, professor in church history and doctrine, Nagy is one of only 70 students on campus majoring in family history and genealogy.
BYU is the only university in the country offering training in professional genealogy, Wright said.
He said there are many resources on campus available to all BYU students interested in pursuing their family history.
BYU houses one of the largest family history centers in the world, Wright said.
This semester there are 850 students enrolled in family history classes, he said.
It’s exiting that students can get religion credit for finding their ancestors and preparing their names to be taken to the temple, Wright said.
He said more students are interested in studying their heritage than ever before.
There are many things students can do aside from formal searching for names, he said.
In the family history classes he teaches, Wright also encourages his students to hold family home evenings on their heritage, organize family reunions and stay in touch with their older family members.
The Lord doesn’t expect us to neglect our other responsibilities as we search for our ancestors, Wright said. He only expects us to do a little here and there.
Margaret VanDyke serves as a family history consultant in the Harold B. Lee Library.
She has been involved in family history for over 45 years.
“It’s fascinating,” she said. “You get enthused about it, and it’s hard to stop.”
