Rylee Anderson knew that she needed to transfer to BYU Provo.
As a BYU Idaho student serving a mission, she had a strong impression that she needed to apply, even though she hadn’t been accepted her senior year of high school and was enjoying BYUI.
“I had lots of friends and was doing well and was very happy,” Anderson said.
It was a hard decision that she struggled with for months.
“It felt like this really heavy thing,” Anderson said. “I just didn’t know what my future was going to look like.”
What helped her decide to apply again was her trust in God.
“For me, to 'become BYU' means that you’re willing to look outside yourself and accept the Lord’s will for you instead of your own,” Anderson said.
After submitting her application in 2022, she was accepted. She would come to BYU after returning from her mission.
“The day that I found out, I just got this overwhelming feeling of peace,” Anderson said.
Now in her third year at BYU and majoring in public relations, Anderson still relies on her trust in God every day.
“Since I’ve been here at BYU, it’s been one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Anderson said. “Like, it’s challenged me and stretched me way more than I ever thought that I could stretch.”
Brock Anderson, Rylee Anderson’s husband, said that she is extremely resilient.
“She has been through a lot of ups and downs in her life, but she always pushes through and comes out of those situations a better person,” Brock Anderson said.
When Anderson struggled to find her place at BYU, she said that she made it her goal to get along with everyone she met and was grateful for the people that she got to know better.
“It goes back to trusting in God. Trusting that He knows better than us and, even if we feel unsure, if you just try to have faith, it will work out,” Anderson said.
Anderson faced other challenges after transferring to BYU that she overcame.
She said that she was really struggling in one of her general education classes and scheduled a meeting with the professor. It turned out to be a huge blessing when the professor said that he would work with her so that she did not fail the class.
“It was the biggest blessing to me,” Anderson said. “As I sat across from my professor that day, I felt like I was sitting across from the Savior.”
In “Becoming BYU: An Inaugural Response,” C. Shane Reese, president of Brigham Young University, said that the student experience is key to becoming BYU.
“To this end we strive for every student to have an inspiring learning experience,” he said.
Anderson said that her experience has been inspiring.
“It’s helped me to overcome challenges and remember that I don’t have to be perfect,” Anderson said.
Anderson said that she has two semesters of the public relations program left and is looking forward to attending cosmetology school after graduation. Until then, she said she is enjoying learning about other people.
“Being able to talk with people and tell their story or an organization’s story allows me and also the world to get to know a person on a deeper level like Jesus Christ would,” Anderson said.
She said she continues to be grateful that she trusted the prompting from God that led her to BYU.
“If we trust Him, that’s how we find those experiences that we need to become our greatest selves,” Anderson said.