The David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies conference room hosted one of Renata Forste’s final activities as Brigham Young University's international vice president on March 13 : a disciple-scholar lecture for students and colleagues.
Forste delivered one of her most personal lectures, starting with her first encounter with the Book of Mormon and explaining how it has inspired her to achieve her goals and follow the path of Jesus Christ.
“I prayed and studied the Book of Mormon, and I remember very distinctly, you know, as a teenager in my bedroom, praying,” Forste said. “And I knew that this was what the Lord wanted me to do, and how I was supposed to live my life.”
Then she recalled another milestone in her life that had a significant influence on her academic career as she moved toward BYU: Title IX.
“Title IX was (in) 1972, and certainly it had an influence on sports, and for women,” Forste said. “Starting because of Title IX, they began to give (scholarships) equally to men and women. And so, when I applied for scholarships at BYU, I was chosen as a semifinalist for the Kimball Scholarship.”
Forste shared many other details about her career, including her time in Argentina as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, her Ph.D. studies at the University of Chicago and her role as a mother.
However, she emphasized the role of women in the Church and the importance of providing them with education, recalling a difficult experience she had in Argentina.
“While I was a missionary in Argentina, I remember one woman we were teaching, and she could neither read, write nor count,” Forste said. “She just worked cleaning people’s homes. When her employer sent her to the little kiosk, she just put the money out in her hand and hoped that the clerk would give her the right change back.”
She quoted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s strategy for gender equality, which states that when girls are educated, the lives of their children, families, communities and countries improve. This inspired her to pursue her passion.
“And I focused, primarily, on maternal and child health and well-being in Bolivia,” Forste said. “So, we had several different groups of graduate students, and we went down to South America and focused on family interaction and child health.”
Her remarks were heard by many attendees in the conference room, including Kennedy Center colleagues and students. Professor Jenny Pulsipher was among them.
“It was very inspiring and wonderful to hear the example of her life as a disciple scholar, and the wonderful things that she's done,” Pulsipher said. “It is a reminder that God loves his daughters, and that he also loves his sons, and has provided a perfect example for us through Christ's interaction with women and men.”
Another attendee of the lecture, professor Marie Orton, shared her thoughts on the activity and commented on Forste's retirement from the Kennedy Center.
“She has always been interested in ethical issues because she's so committed to the gospel,” Orton said. “We wish Renata would be here forever because she blesses everybody's life; the university will not be the same without her.”
Forste's career at the Kennedy Center as BYU's international vice president will conclude on Aug. 1. Afterward, she will go to the Missionary Training Center in New Zealand to work with the Church in the Pacific Islands.