By Kathryn Green
Eleven BYU alumni are coming to campus for Homecoming Week to give something back to the BYU community.
After successful professional lives, the alumni plan to deliver messages to help students follow suit.
“Pursue the idea of following your dream,” said Gary E. Smith, a BYU graduate from the College of Fine Arts and Communications. “You”ll need perseverance, time, organization and a little luck along the way.”
Smith pursued his dream of being a professional artist after teaching at BYU for three years. He said there were times when he used his last $10 to put gas in his car so he could drive to Salt Lake and find a client to buy his paintings. Interest picked up on his work, and things began to get better and better, Smith said.
“I use the analogy of climbing a ladder to describe my experience,” Smith said. “And I still haven”t seen the top.”
The Overland Gallery in Scotsdale, Ariz., displays Smith”s work. He said his work has been nationally renowned for more than 15 years.
Smith is currently working on what he calls one of the most important projects of his career — murals for the walls of the Nauvoo Temple.
David H. Bailey will also be an honored speaker this week. He will speak to students of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences about computers.
“Students need to start looking at how computer simulations can be used in their field,” Bailey said. “Computers are the wave of the future.”
Bailey”s career has involved working with the Department of Defense, Stanford Research Institute International and the NASA Ames Research Center. He now works as the chief technologist for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Another honored alumna, Patti Herrington, will address students in the David O. McKay School of Education.
Herrington was named superintendent of the Provo City School District this summer and has worked in teaching positions at elementary, middle, high school and college levels for almost 25 years.
“Teenagers are more fun than most people realize,” Herrington said. “When you see how dedicated and motivated they are it makes me excited for our future leaders.”
Herrington said her education at BYU added a richer dimension to her understanding of education.
“Children need help to understand where they”re from and that they”re children of God,” Herrington said. “And BYU is the only one that gives that perspective.”
Other honored alumni to speak this week will include Rella Christensen, Mysore Nagaraja, Brenton G. Yorgason, Glenn R. Potter, Ester Rasband, David Nuffer, Reed N. Dame and Eileen Cannon Healy.
All lectures are scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m. in the individual colleges.
