Regardless of where they start their journey, BYU-Pathway helps students lift their sights to a brighter future
Most BYU-Pathway students do not follow the typical starting path to education.
Several thousand miles away in Texas, USA, CJ hit a roadblock in his career when he realized he couldn’t progress unless he got a degree. When the missionaries told him about BYU-Pathway, he knew it was his chance. But although he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, CJ hadn’t attended church in a while and was hesitant about the religious aspect of the courses.
Then in Utah, USA, Ann struggled to find the support she needed to continue on to college. On two separate occasions, she was told, “maybe you just aren’t college material,” and later by a college professor, “maybe you shouldn’t be here.” Doubtful and heartbroken, it took Ann over 17 years to summon the courage to look into returning to school.
Analogy of the slope
In the October 2021 General Conference, Elder Gilbert addressed challenging starting situations, like the ones Patrick, CJ, and Ann have experienced. Using a basic graph, Elder Gilbert explained how the y-intercept, or a point on a vertical axis, could represent someone’s starting point in life. Some people are born into favorable circumstances, whereas others’ may be more difficult. This is certainly true within BYU-Pathway, which serves students in 160 diverse countries.
Elder Gilbert said, “We all have different intercepts in life — we start in different places with different life endowments. … Our future will be determined far less by our starting point and much more by our slope.”Lifting their slope with BYU-Pathway
Students lift their slope by following the Savior, which is not limited only to the spiritual possibilities of what they can achieve; remaining focused on the Savior will also bless their education, career, financial, and relationship goals.
BYU-Pathway maximizes these blessings by pairing traditional academic
Finding a way out and a way up
Patrick, CJ, and Ann were able to discover this as they began to lift their slopes through BYU-Pathway. Despite his challenges, Patrick focused on directing his life upward. When a friend invited Patrick to join BYU-Pathway, he jumped at the opportunity and is currently pursuing a degree in
The Savior repaired my broken heart.
Because of the spirit he felt in the gatherings and the things he was learning in his courses, CJ gradually began to pray more often and eventually returned to church too.
CJ, who is currently pursuing a degree in
And confronting her past with education, after Ann’s husband mentioned BYU-Pathway, she looked into it and decided to enroll and was surprised at how much she enjoyed her first year, especially the support she received from her gathering group. She even enjoyed her classes so much she decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree from BYU-Idaho, supported by BYU-Pathway.
But her challenges weren’t over yet. She said, “My first semester at BYU-Idaho brought a math class…. One day, I tried to create a formula in Excel but couldn’t figure it out. I reached out to my class peers, my old gathering group, my husband, [and] my sister,” but no one answered. Determined to not let her doubt control her, Ann continued to work the problem. It took awhile, but she did it! “I burst into tears, knelt [down], and thanked Heavenly Father.”
Still working toward her bachelor’s degree, Ann gained the confidence to achieve her goals because she lifted her slope toward the Savior.
Like many BYU-Pathway students around the world, Patrick, CJ, and Ann all faced challenges as they sought to improve their lives. But rather than allowing their circumstances to define their potential, they found a way to lift their slope toward Christ through BYU-Pathway.