Editor’s note: This article appeared in the September 2021 edition of The Daily Universe Magazine.
BYUSA President Paul Victor started BYU in the summer of 2015 and is now a senior studying business strategy. Victor grew up in Cottonwood Heights, Utah, but his family’s roots stem from Andhra Pradesh, India. Victor broke a Guinness World Record for the longest time spinning a plate on a finger and he also started his own Indian food catering business. Victor has dreams of one day running for a political office, working as a business consultant and traveling the world.
Q: Out of all the possible options of a college to attend, what led you to choose BYU?
A: I applied to BYU at the last second because my uncle told me to apply. It really wasn’t on my radar and I already got accepted to the U. After I found that BYU accepted me, it made more sense for me to go there.
Q: Since being a BYU student, what have you learned about faith? How have you applied that faith to your academic learning, spiritual learning and just in everyday life?
A: BYU has helped me grow my faith in a lot of ways. The biggest principle is always have prayer before you study and during my exams, I pray to remember the things which I have studied for. I also have faith that the Lord will guide me day by day to people that I can reach out and be a friend and see how I can help them. I’ve been able to interact with a lot of people and bless many others because the Lord is directing me wherever I go.
Q: How has attending BYU impacted your faith?
A: If it weren’t for me being accepted to this university I probably wouldn’t have gone on a mission and been able to do the things that I am currently doing. The environment here, where many people who share the same values, uplifts and inspires those around us and help me to also be an example to others. I also am impacted by the fact that most of my classes start with a prayer and this foundation has really helped me to strengthen my own testimony of the gospel and that it is by divine design that we all are here at BYU.
Q: In your role as BYUSA president, what would you like to see students do to accomplish the Mission of BYU?
A: In my role I would like to see students apply the principles in our mission statement which is to create meaningful connections, provide meaningful leadership opportunities, as well as striving to be an all inclusive, family-friendly campus. If we can all do our part to make campus smaller by reaching out to those around us and fellowshipping them, it will really have such a positive impact on this university.
