Adrian Bautista, a BYU senior studying psychology and pursuing a Ph.D. in social work, discovered that the only person holding him back from becoming more is himself.
Bautista’s high school motto was, “Do the bare minimum, and people will expect less from you."
Bautista is a first generation college student and has immigrant parents. When he entered college, he realized that his expectations for himself had to change.
Bautista said he remembers feeling lost and having to learn discipline. He felt isolated by his ethnicity but also by his mindset towards education.
“I feel like for most minority students it's weird because there's a lot of white people and I'm the only brown, but for me it was just like there's a lot of students and I’m me,” Bautista said.
Mental health struggles were also a battle for Bautista. He dealt with loss early on in his college career, and he shared that it was difficult to move forward.
“I bet a lot of students can relate to me where it's like you need a break, but you can't take a break because life goes on,” Bautista said. “When do I take a break? When is it okay for me to break down a bit to move forward?”
Developing academic skills did not come easily to Bautista, but his interest in psychology was “another miracle” and motivated him to grow in writing, reading and analytical skills, Bautista said.
Relying on faculty mentors helped Bautista adjust to college academics. He met Amy Soto, the associate director of the University Advisement Center, and said her belief and investment in him helped things click.
“Holistically, she was just building me up, providing me with information, helping me see that I could do things on my own as well,” Bautista said. “A lot of people care that you don't see.”
Bautista discovered the opportunity to study rhetoric abroad in Italy and Greece during the Study Abroad Fair at BYU.
“I've always had this fascination with Italy. I don't know why. It's just like the culture just fascinates me a lot. So I was like, 'I'm gonna go see what they're doing over there,'” Bautista said.
Soto said that Adrian applied almost immediately.
“He came back from that event just pumped. He had narrowed it down to like two or three that he could have gone on. He's like, ‘I think I can do this,’” Soto said.
There were many unknowns as Bautista prepared for the abroad trip. He said he was not sure if he would be accepted to the program or how he was going to afford it.
Ben Crosby, a professor of rhetoric and faculty member of the study abroad program, said he remembered clearly the first impression Bautista made at a group interview for the program.
“It was a no-brainer right after that meeting that we wanted Adrian there, because in a group, a large group setting, you want people who are going to be positive and social and bring good energy,” Crosby said. “It was clear he would.”
Bautista said that to gather funds for the study abroad, he went to every office he could to find scholarships. The information he received started to “trickle down” and help him find every opportunity possible, Bautista said.
Bautista was told to do "anything you can to afford it and not just waiting for money” to be given to him, Bautista said.
He received funding from six different resources at BYU, as well as from people he knew that wanted to support his growth, Bautista said. Funds allowed him to study abroad and be secure financially in his life at BYU afterwards.
It was scary to wait for the money to come in, Bautista said. Some money he did not receive until the week before he left to study abroad.
“They say members shouldn’t gamble, but that's the biggest, that's like a big gamble,” Bautista said.
Soto was thrilled when it all worked out for Bautista.
“Students like Adrian, they sometimes doubt if certain things are for them,” Soto said. “I just know he's so deserving of the opportunity and funds just because of who he is as a person.”
Bautista described the study abroad as “surreal” and “life changing.” The feeling of flying to Greece was dream-like, Bautista said.
“I remember getting to Salt Lake airport early, early in the morning, and not being tired at all,” Bautista said.
He added that “even the bad times were the best times” while studying abroad. Some of his favorite parts were trying new food and witnessing archaeological science.
Bautista took advantage of every opportunity he had. His mother always wanted to travel to the places that he did on the trip, so “it was neat, living her dream for her,” Bautista said.
Bautista recognized that the study abroad changed him and so had his experience at BYU. His awareness of the world and “appreciation for cultures” expanded, Bautista said.
Soto noticed that “his confidence has soared in a more professional, educational way.”
Bautista recognized this in himself as well.
“I flip rocks over, and if there's something I need, I’ll look for it, and I find it,” Bautista said. “It's just something I don't think I used to do before.”
Bautista is now learning Italian, finishing his undergraduate degree in psychology and applying for graduate programs to be a therapist and social worker. His ultimate goal is to be a professor, which he discovered was a possibility while studying abroad.
Conversations with faculty abroad, whether at archaeological sites or in a garden overlooking the city of Venice, taught Bautista what being a professor is like.
“Seeing how passionate they were and how casual they were about everything,” helped Bautista make a life goal to become a professor one day and bring in any student that “needs help that needs to figure stuff out,” he said.
Bautista also shared that his progress to get where he is in life right now was only possible because of the help he received from others.
“I acknowledge that it hasn't been just me,” Bautista said. “My life goal of anything is just to be able to do it for someone else.”
Bautista has a “why not” attitude as he finishes his undergraduate education.
“Sometimes you ignore your potential. And you say no, this is dumb, I could never. Me thinking about a Ph.D. program even right now, that’s a lot,” Bautista said. “But like, why not?”
Crosby commented on Bautista’s character.
“He loves learning, he loves people and I think he's kind of fearless,” Crosby said. “Perhaps we could all be a little more like that, try to follow his example and just bring a little extra positive energy to our relationships from time to time.”
Bautista encourages students to take advantage of opportunities available to them at BYU.
“College is the time to figure out who you are and what you can be. If you don't look for opportunities to do that, then odds are you stay the same. And who wants that?” Bautista said.