Dave Waddell on Faculty Connection, Mentorship, and College Retention Strategies

 In this episode of Y Health, Dave Waddell shares how experiential learning, faculty connection, and mentorship in higher education are transforming the student experience at BYU and beyond. We explore why the second year of college is statistically the most likely time students drop out—and what universities can do to better support at-risk college students during that critical period. 

Dave discusses BYU’s Second Year Success Program, a research-informed student success initiative that helps students clarify their course of study, build confidence, and develop a clear vision for their future. Through peer mentor guides, meaningful faculty relationships, and intentional outreach, the program is already showing promising results in GPA improvement, reduced course withdrawals, and increased student belonging. 

We also dive into new student orientation, loneliness in college, and why faculty connection—championed in recent university leadership initiatives—may be one of the most powerful college retention strategies available. Drawing on John Dewey’s theory of experiential education, Dave explains why students don’t just learn from experience—they learn through directed reflection. From study abroad programs to mentored research and significant learning experiences, reflection turns good experiences into transformational growth. 

If you care about student engagement strategies, mentorship, experiential learning, or helping college students feel seen, supported, and spiritually grounded, this episode offers practical insights and inspiring takeaways for educators, administrators, parents, and students alike. 

Recorded, Edited & Produced by Averee Bates, Christy Gonzalez, Harper Xinyu Zhang, Madison McArthur, Kailey Hopkins, and Tanya Gale

Transcript

Introduction

 
Cougar: Welcome to Y Health, a podcast brought to you by the BYU Public Health Department. I'm Dr. Cougar Hall, a professor here at Brigham Young University where you are a student. Parent or BYU fan. This podcast will help you navigate the world of public health. Our podcast strives to help individuals receive accurate information regarding public health, so whether it's global or local, we will discuss how it pertains to you.  Just kick back and relax as we talk about Y Health.
 
Dave Waddell, welcome to the Y Health Podcast, my friend. 

Dave:Yeah, thanks a lot. It's great to be here. 

Cougar: And I say my friend, we met 10 minutes ago now we've had a little bit of email exchange through our student podcast leader, so to speak. But I, not just for our audience, am I gonna ask for [00:01:00] a background but a little bit for me too so that I can get to know you. 

Dave's Background and Journey to BYU

 
Cougar: So will you just take a minute or two and take us as far back as you like and all the way up through your BYU journey and today? 

Dave: Sure. Sure. So I started at BI came to BYU after I went to Rick's College. This is a long time. I went to Rick's College. Rick's College, yeah. I don't, I dunno how many people even know what that means anymore. BYU Idaho. For those of you who are a little bit younger, it was a two year program, right? It was two year school, so I transferred here. This was after my mission. It was Portugal. It was a great mission. 

Cougar: Oh, cool. 

Career Path and Professional Development

 
Dave: So I studied history because I really loved history but I had no clue what I was gonna do with that where I was gonna go with a career. But I did meet my wife there, so that clearly was a good decision to make. And so I finished with my bachelor's degree and I went out and became an electrician.

So I had no right. After a couple of years, I decided that, I would try a professor route. So I got into a master's program here at BYU studying [00:02:00] history, and I was asked by the department and the dean to take on a project to develop online resources for social science liberal arts majors who had no clue what they were gonna do when they grew up.

Cougar: Which was really crazy for me because I was the wrong, right? I knew, I had no idea, what kind of options were available to me. And I certainly didn't know how to develop web content. Anyway, great educational experience. I had to dive into that and become acquainted with the resources and the opportunities for liberal arts majors and as well as how to develop technical tools on, and that this was a, so long ago.

Dave: Web development now is right. I couldn't put together a webpage anymore. But, from there I worked into some special projects for the dean there in family Home and social Sciences. I was hired at career Services and I worked with students from, actually from here in Life Sciences as well as in the Marriott School.

Cougar: With their career development, we'd reach out to employers, we'd work with them on self-marketing, [00:03:00] resumes and that kind of a thing. And then I was hired into humanities as an assistant dean to, to reshape their advising, their academic advising into, an integrated career and academic advising.

Dave: Operation, with a program the dean had instituted called Humanities Plus. And that's so all these students could get, experience in addition to the coursework. They would be, working with fact, right? Mentored research and, taking classes outside of their majors so they could develop extra skill sets and perspectives and that kind of thing.

Cougar: Few years in, what was it, five years in. We joined the dean in Family home and social sciences asked if we could join up with them. So we combined our advising functions and made it about three times as big as it was before. And, but it was this integration process of the career and academic development and,

Dave: about two years into that, president Worthen gave his inspiring learning speech, right? That initiative that's been so influential on campus for the last about eight years [00:04:00] and a committee was put together to develop, create an office of experiential learning. And I was on that committee and it was a really interesting experience to hear what experiential learning meant to other committee members from across campus, really enlightening.

Cougar: Anyway I was hired to to direct that office and spent four years, the first year or so, we just tried to get to know what was happening on campus, what does experiential learning look like on campus? And, and that that was a really enlightening and we'll get into that in more detail here probably in just a little bit.

Dave: And then for the last about three and a half years, I've been in the office of first year experience. And I was brought over there to start a second year experience and we'll talk a little bit about that as well. And that's what I've been doing for the last yeah, couple of years. Very cool.

Cougar: What a path. Okay. I have to ask what year you were at Rick's College? Maybe we were classmates. Okay. So I'm sure I'm older than you, but. I was I served my mission from 90 to 92, so Okay. I was there 93, [00:05:00] 94. Yeah. Very cool. So I was at Rick's College started in 1990 and I just did one year. Then I served a mission from 91 to 93.

Dave: And then, this is a funny story. I got back, I had only taken 31 credit hours. And I want, I loved Rick's College, was anxious to go back and they said, oh, you actually need to reapply because technically credit hour wise, you're still a freshman. So they asked me to write these essays and I was like, oh, okay.

Cougar: My dad said just call BYU. He was always a fan of me coming to Provo rather than Rexburg and for whatever reason. And so I called BYU and I said, Hey, I am back from my mission. Do I need to reapply? And they said, oh, it looks like we accepted you two three years ago. Do you want to come? I said, sure and no essays.

Dave: Oh, that's great. That's why I came straight to BYU. But I loved Rick's college and the ex, it was so important for me. And we're gonna talk about [00:06:00] first year experience. I would've washed out in four weeks if I had come to Provo. I was not a great student. I was still learning how to learn. And Rick's College was small enough.

Cougar: The classes were small enough. And boy, I just think there's gonna be a segue here from the wonderful experience I had as a first year student at Rick's College to what I've seen happen, as you mentioned in the last eight to 10 years here in Provo. So many wonderful efforts to help students feel like they belong here and they can succeed here.
 
And that we are here to help them succeed. So yeah, so thanks for letting me in. It sounds like we're about the same age, having about the same experience as far as careers, just things unfolding. Really cool. 

Office of First Year Experience

 
Cougar: So tell us about the fir your experience with the first year experience.

Dave: Mine was similar to yours. I had a fantastic experience at Rick's a great place to start my college education, and I too would've. Really floundered had I come straight here with the [00:07:00] size and the scope. Yeah. Et cetera. But the office of first year experience has really been focused most recently on supporting the UNIV 1 0 1 program with mentors.

Right? There are. What is it close to 300 something sections now? Yep. Of of UNIV 1 0 1. And our office places mentors in each one of those courses. So they're working to support the faculty. And you've had this experience twice now. Yeah. And you had a mentor there and now they work with faculty to help students.

Cougar: Acclimate to BYU and get to know the resources that are there, support them with the concerns and questions that these first year students have. So it's been a really eye-opening experience. I had to become aware of what this, what students were experiencing. When they enter BYU, there's a lot of concern.

Dave: There's a, they've never done this before. They're on their, they're on their own. And then we have certain populations that struggle with this even more. And maybe [00:08:00] struggle is not the right word, but the challenges are. Are more substantial, for example, for for first gen students.

And those are coming, who are coming from some less privileged backgrounds. They have even less context for what this experience is gonna be like. And they're navigating the best they can and they just tend to be really resilient. But they still face a lot of challenges. And so that's been, that's an overview of

of what I've. So far learned about the first year experience. I also work with new student orientation, so we have a focus on getting students ready for the first few weeks of class, right? We have a couple of days, three days with them. They get to listen to the present and see some of the resources, activities on campus.

We do a big pep rally, I guess that's what it's called. That's what they used to be called.

Cougar: Yeah. But this is where we have all the incoming freshmen in Cougar Stadium in the, I've always seen the photos every year. They, on the west taking the y Yeah. Yeah. Taking the Y picture. Yeah. Taking photo.

Yeah. Cool. But [00:09:00] what I mean, what a welcome to campus, a little bit of a party as you're saying, pep rally. But man, getting them geared up and feeling okay the first day of school doesn't need to be quite as scary as I thought it was gonna be.

Dave: That's right. The data tell us that students are most concerned that very first day those first few days with loneliness.

And not knowing where to go. Those are the two primary. So they're looking, number one, they're looking for a friend. Yeah. And so we try to facilitate that, putting 'em in small groups with a mentor right. To to help them navigate and become friends with people in this small group right off the bat.

And then to help them see some of the recent just give them a taste of what the resources are, what we've started recently. Our an emphasis on college experiences. So we provide a several hour period of time during NSO, during new student orientation where students are [00:10:00] given an opportunity to interact on a deeper level with faculty.

What we do know is that a faculty connection is absolutely, there's nothing. There are very few things that can be as powerful for a student's success in college as a faculty connection. And we've increased that during NSO where students right here in College of Life Science they've probably they've made more sort of innovative moves in that direction than most other places on campus.

Where students are able to come in during those few hours. And Jamie. Jensen, for example. Yeah. Dissects a shark and these students, this is what it means to be, a biology student. Yeah. And that kind of experience with a faculty member is just so powerful. So we're trying to incorporate more of that Cool.

Into the new student orientate new student experience as well.

Cougar: I, if I can just, I really appreciate that. 

Faculty-Student Relationships

 
Cougar: I was scared to death by professors and I would occasionally go and knock on the office door [00:11:00] and I could see, I can see under, between the floor and the door that the light's on in there, but no one answered.
 
And I'm like, oh man, I'm bothering this person. What am I doing? I'm interrupting them. That is just not the way we see this anymore. It's still an appropriate relationship. My, my students, especially those that I'm working with on a regular basis, they're calling me by my first name. We're meeting together, we go get pizza together at lunch every so often.
 
Like it's a different relationship. And I think that started with President Worth and this idea that, hey, every single BYU student is gonna have a meaningful relationship with a faculty member. And can I tell you how much easier it is to write a letter of recommendation? For students when they graduate.
 
'cause we've all read that kind of just generic, yeah. The generic letter of recommendation. But now I can say, oh, in working with Kaylee, the, these are the experiences we had. And it's, it [00:12:00] pops, it comes alive because you actually have that relationship. You actually know their strengths.
 
You actually know how they respond to stressful situations or how they problem solve. How they work in a team, like you can actually speak to that. It makes such a difference. And the other thing I have to say really quick, Dave and I'm, you're the guest, I shouldn't be talking. When you just talked about how one of your main roles right now is training mentors, whether for that first year experience or whether it's for a unit of 1 0 1 class.
 
I just want to just share with you my experience with that. 

The Mentor Program

 
Cougar: I assumed the mentor when I taught UNIV 1 0 1 for all the incoming freshmen. I assumed they were a ta. In the training, it became clear within the first 15 minutes, this is not a ta, they are a mentor to your students. And what I found, my first mentor's name was Isaac.

Isaac was meeting with those students every couple of weeks. He was texting with them every couple of [00:13:00] days. He knew them personally. They would meet at a certain place on campus or they would go to the creamery. And then I met with him weekly. Every Monday, and we would look at, the lessons, the discussions we were gonna have that week, and he would report on each student.

It was almost like a bishop meeting with an Elders Quorum president or release society president to ask about ministering efforts and what the needs are in the ward. It is just this normal, natural way of caring for these incoming students. That was not the experience I was expecting. I was like, oh, is he gonna help me?

Grade tests or quiz? No, he's gonna connect with students. Really cool. And what I've noticed is that relationship, while I taught the class in the fall, he stuck with those students during winter semester, continued to meet with them, continued to mentor with them, and even continue to text me and give me updates.

Hey, just so you know, you remember Becky? She just got her mission call. She's going to the [00:14:00] Philippines, like really cool stuff. I love it. So thank you for training the mentors, Dave. Really cool.

Dave: No, it's a fantastic program in a way. Now mentors have been around for some time. Freshmen have been assigned a mentor for for quite a few years now.

But incorporating this into the UNIV 1 0 1 program has just it's made. All the difference to students and mentors, right? Yeah. They're getting this tremendous mentored experience from the supervisors or coordinators that they're working with, and especially the faculty that they work with to make these courses happen.

And these are small classes. That has just never been the case at BY you come in, you're a freshman, you show up with 900 students to your first religion class or your econ class, whatever it is. Every student sits in these classes with 19 other students. A mentor, a faculty member and the kind of, the magic, the inspiration that that's possible in that kind of environment is [00:15:00] really new and exciting here at B.

I'm really great to hear your experience with it. Cool. I'm gonna take this back, right? We're gonna talk about this.

Cougar: I love it. Thanks for all of those efforts, 

Second Year Success Program

 
Dave: national data and and BYU data as well. Tell us that if a student is going to leave college. It's more likely to happen in that second year than just about any other time.

They're more at risk during that period. They've had this tremendous first year with lots of energy and lots of support and it's this new experience. The third year, they've cemented a major. They've got a, an established group of friends, or at least a, a social environment that's connected to their school and the academic work they're doing.

And then of course, their senior year, they're almost done. They're ready to move on. And so that second year becomes really critical because all that support has been withdrawn. We just assume, okay, now you're ready to go. And, and three more years. That can be a long time to think about.

Yeah. And not quite sure if they haven't decided on a major, for [00:16:00] example, they haven't figured that out that just makes that that end point even farther away. So there are and they haven't had time to develop a close faculty connection. Yeah. That's one thing that the unit of 1 0 1 is supposed to help ameliorate,

Is developing a relationship with a faculty member. These are just things that we're working on in the second year success program. That sort of set a, that helped us set a foundation or a goal for what we were going to focus on. So the second year experience is to help at risk students.

So those who have shown that we look at a lot of information about each student and there are some indicators that tell us that. Certain students are dealing with challenges that might keep them from graduating. And so we look at these numbers and we we invite these students to participate.

It's all by invitation. We focus on, three things. Number one, a faculty connection. We want to help them develop a relationship with a professor who, who knows them [00:17:00] personally. A lot of that is just helping them develop enough confidence to go talk to them. You were talking about knocking on doors.

Yeah. And looking at the light underneath the door.

Cougar: And did that resonate with you at all? I was always so intimidated.

Dave: Absolutely. And this idea of office hours, right? Many students think that's, that's the time you do not disturb a fact. Those are their office hours. They're sacred and you don't, yeah, that's, you don't take away from that time.

So number one is a faculty connection. Number two is a vision for their future, which is experiential learning. Wrapping in experiences that help them see how that experience and their education are gonna lead to a long-term goal. And then number three is clarifying their course of study.

Let's get them into a major, let's help them find an identity and then a, and a community there. And so those are our three main foci in, in helping. These students who are a little bit more at risk. But what we also see is those who are at risk, they, 80% of those students that we worked with last year, for [00:18:00] example, are working to put themselves through college.

And when you think about, you're trying to take 14, 12, 14, 15 credits and you're working 30 hours a week and you've got, demands of maybe unique demands of a family somewhere, or you've been through some significant trauma or something like that. So we have quite a few students who are muscling through a tremendous amount of adversity.

So those are the students that we're focused on in the second year success program.

Cougar: That's awesome. And you've already been tracking this because this is a relatively new effort and you're already tracking the progress and the success of those initiatives, it sounds like.

Dave: That's right. And we have initial data that tell us that students who participate in the program, and I'll tell you a little bit more about the program in a second, but we, there's some pretty hopeful numbers that are coming out of the studies we're doing. Students who participated tended to have a higher rise in GPA over students who were invited but did not [00:19:00] participate. Okay. They dropped fewer classes. Which is one of the indicators of of success, right? And and they have a greater sense of belonging and connection to the university through the program.

So the numbers are still right. We're only one year and a half into this. And there's more research to be done, but early indicators are that. It makes a difference for these students and it's run by we don't call them mentors, but they are peer guides. Okay. So it's student, it's peer and student run.

We have seven peer guides who work pretty intensely with each one of the students that are participating in the program. It's much more intrusive than the mentoring program is for the freshmen. So they're doing anything from being a study buddy to walking them to the resources that they need.

They're they'll go to faculty members' offices with them to help them break that ice and develop a relationship with faculty members and then working with them on their personal [00:20:00] goals. So it's a really engaged program. And are the students who participate. Tell us that the, probably the single most important thing that guide provides to them is someone to talk to, to list, to listen to them, to understand it.

So we can't undervalue the peer to peer. There. There are things that they can do for each other, that professional advisors that, that faculty, that others simply cannot. And it can help push just that little. Little bit to help them stick around, persist and transition to that third year

Cougar: makes such a difference.

And you're right in public health, in my classes often say most people don't need a therapist, but they all need a friend. A great way to put it. It's so surprising because again, the. So many of us, myself included we're on the edge, so to speak, at different times in our life, [00:21:00] and we don't need this massive intervention.

We just need a nudge. We just need to know that our efforts matter, and again, most of us aren't, failing to clear the bar by 10 feet. Just, it's a half an inch and what a difference that makes over the course of that lifetime, over the course of that career, if they just get that nudge. I think there was a time when we said you can't, if you can't cut it, you can't cut it.

This is where we separate, the a's from the B'S or the whatever it is. And I love that there's more understanding. Of the human experience and there's more compassion. That is one of the driving elements of what we do in this department of public health is what's the most compassionate way.

And again, we're not some helping hurts. So we're not trying to do things for others that they can do for themselves. They need to do that for themselves. But what can we do to get them to that place where now they can get some [00:22:00] traction and they can be successful on their. On their own efforts, on their own terms, so to speak.

Dave: Yeah. You mentioned just a little bit ago, you've seen over the last eight to 10 years, this increased emphasis on the student experience. I absolutely agree. 

Student Experience Transformation at BYU

 
Dave: There were several addresses given by President Worthen. There's inspiring learning that this is the, you remember that this is the student address

that he gave. Yeah. And the administration has continued to push this. This focus on, on, on the student experience. And and it's interesting because I think it just it pulled the top off of something that was just waiting to become, that I have yet to meet a faculty member who is not just engaged or seeking or really wants to work with and help students.

I and so allowing that energy to just pour out and we're seeing it in, we're seeing it in unit 1 0 1. We're seeing it in the in rise, the increase in experiential learning experience that students are having with faculty members mentored research and [00:23:00] internships. We look at study abroad, for example.

Just an ex just expanded and it's interdisciplinary, right? There's so many evidences of the university's commitment to the student experience and it's I shouldn't be surprised, but, it's happening both from the faculty side and the student side. Yeah.

No, you're energy is from both sides and it's growing together.

Cougar: Yeah. I think from a faculty perspective, I think we're now seeing our role differently. You're right. Multiple addresses most recently from President Reese I, and I don't know that this is. Exactly what he said. This is what the spirit taught me when I was listening to him at a university conference, and it was whatever reason you think you're here, if it's not to help students.
 
You're wrong. Does that make sense? Absolutely. And and because I came to academia from a career in teaching in the public schools there's a [00:24:00] few adages that we've all, everybody's heard them. One is, no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. I think we've all heard that we.
 
We were saying that 50 years ago, but it feels like it's now hitting. And and maybe the other thing, and something that I've been ex, I've been sharing with my students who are soon to be student teaching in the public schools is I want to be really clear that there's two things. One, they need to be content area experts.
 

Teaching Students, Not Just Content

 
Cougar: You need to know your stuff, but if you think you're teaching health, you're wrong. You're teaching students. So approach it in that order. I am teaching young people, I'm connecting with young people. Oh, and I'm an expert in health education, and I'm going to, I'm gonna teach them the, the key concepts, and I'm gonna help them develop the essential skills to live a healthy lifestyle.

But I, it's really important that they understand. I teach students. Then I [00:25:00] teach health. And I that's essentially the message that I'm feeling on campus in the last decade is that, yeah, okay, so this is your discipline, this is your research agenda. But students trump all of that, and how do we weave that together?

And at BYU, of course, how do we also weave, spiritual strengthening and helping our students really? Solidify their relationship with God and with their savior, Jesus Christ. And sometimes you're like, oh, this is overwhelming. But it's not because it all comes together as soon as we understand that focus, which is on students.

So anyway, I'm rambling now and you're the guest. I

Dave: no. I, you point to them or you implied that bringing the spirit into what we're doing in a different way, in a more maybe holistic or natural way. Yeah. And that's, we talk about taking the lid off of something. Yeah.
 
That really happened. And it's taken. It takes a little bit of time for us to [00:26:00] become comfortable with some of these things but the nature of the conversations that are happening between students and faculty, between students and faculty to faculty, and other folks on campus.
 
There's just so much more. I wouldn't even, I think we've always been willing but it seems like the increased encouragement has really helped. Yeah. And I think we see that in. In the initiatives, right? We see that in things like unit 1 0 1, we see it in an emphasis on experiential learning, inspiring learning, right?
 
President Reese talked about every student having, two significant experiential learning opportunities before they graduate. These are more evidence that we're getting that priority with the students the way we really need to. And I think people out there, who may not be as familiar with what's happening at BYU.
 
There are things that that are happening here that that are gonna manifest themselves as soon as when these students graduate. And it's gonna take a little bit of time, I think. But [00:27:00] anyway, it's just ex it's just I wouldn't say exploding. I would say growing, yeah.
 
At a pretty fast rate. 

Study Abroad and Experiential Learning

 
Cougar: You've mentioned study abroad and, boy, I have a second year student right now, a daughter who's here in her second year. I never did study abroad when I was going to school because A, it was really expensive, and B, it was during the time when I needed to be working and saving money for tuition.

So there was two strikes against me, and now as a parent and as someone who has been a co-director for multiple programs. I have just prioritized it above literally everything else. Like also we'll find a way to pay for this somehow. So yeah, my daughter just signed up for a study abroad program and we were really selective.

I don't think all programs are equal, and I really wanted a program where there was a lot of interaction with the director, with the faculty member. So she, and she's just been accepted. She's so excited. But I will say this because I've directed some programs where I thought we did a great job, and then I've directed [00:28:00] programs where I'm like, oh, we nailed that one.

There really are differences. Last summer I took 12 students, nine of which were first gen students, and we went to Costa Rica and be, there's some limitations here because of finances and these are students that are always working as they're going to school. And so we. We benefited from some pretty generous donors who were really concerned and putting some money up to help first gen students have a successful experience at BYU. But it got me into really thinking about experiential learning. So I went to the BYU webpage. It was this aha experience, Dave. 'cause I realized it's not just about taking them to a different country and spending time together and eating together and going, going on these fun excursions together.

The website specifically talked about reflection. And so we changed something in this program and I put together this little booklet where every day there [00:29:00] was a daily reflection for them to think about during the day. And then we met at night as a group and everyone got to go through and share their reflection.

So here's what's interesting. At first I thought, they don't wanna do this. They want to go out and walk around town and do some shopping and what, whatever. At the end of the 12 days, they all said, I think the coolest part of this program, and I'm thinking it's gonna be the Jungle tour. It's gonna be, walking on the beach or doing was the reflection every night.

I just loved the reflection. Here's what dumb guys like me have been missing. Is

that students who have grown up with social media with doom scrolling on their phones with all of these distractions. What they really want is to get together with others and connect on a different level, and they want to talk about their experiences.

So at the end of this program, they said I would probably add more of the reflection stuff, Cougar, like that's, and here I thought I, I. If they're gonna say, could you [00:30:00] add some zip lining? Or Could you add this or that? No. They want more reflection. Isn't that fascinating?

Dave: As a, as an educator, especially having been in the public schools, John Dewey, you probably know, right?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. We studied Dewey. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. He made what was probably one of the most impactful statements about both experiential learning and reflection. And he said something like I'm sure I'm butchering it and somebody will correct me. But he said something very similar to, we don't learn from experience.

We learn through reflection on experience. And if we don't reflect on the fact that our hand was burned. When we touch that hot plate, we're gonna touch it again. And when I say reflect, I don't mean a deep reflection, we just remember, oh yeah, that hurt. But the reflections you are talking about, these are opportunities for a type of thinking that is not natural, that has to be cultivated.

And I'm talking probably more than anything about directed reflection. Yeah. There's a difference [00:31:00] between asking a student. What did you learn and relate what you got out of experience X and how that's going to affect the way you treat others or, yes. So there are many lessons that come that can come through it.

I'm actually working right now on, it's so interesting you bring up reflection. 'cause that's my emphasis. Oh cool. In my. In my program. And there's a lot. I just get excited about reflection. It's such a tremendous and fascinating topic, and so I'm really glad to hear that you are using it. I know other faculty, I don't, or are you, do you know?

Matt Durden and and Jamon Rowan, Matt Durden's, out of experience design. Okay. Marriot School. And Jamon Rowan is an English professor. And here's an an example of interdisciplinarity, but they come together, they've done, an England study abroad now three or four times or something, or writings.

And they've already published a paper on, I think they're working on another one now. But they have really wrapped, it's, so you talked about the reflective exercises you're having them do, they're, [00:32:00] they've been doing something very similar. I think you'd be interested in Yeah. What they're doing, but they're they're looking at the experiences that students have.

This this storytelling, that's another way of thinking about reflection, right? Yeah. This narrative and how experiences move from memorable to impactful writer or, and I can't remember the three different categories but to the transformational

Cougar: Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. It's gotta be transformational at the end, right?

So that, that is, and I've never had. So the website helped me when I looked at there and I said, okay, how do we take this from Good to Great? And it's the reflection. And then as I reflected on that and thinking, how am I gonna implement this, I realized I've never traveled anywhere where on the airplane home.

I didn't take out the notes app on my phone and either set goals. Or describe the feelings I was having because I've been to a new place, met new people, seen new things. [00:33:00] I'm no longer the same guy. And so how has that transformed me and how do I now want to live differently and treat others differently?

And I just had this epiphany. I'm like, yeah, duh. I naturally do that every time I experience things. So and if I'm gonna take these students and they're gonna experience this blue zone on the Nacoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and they're gonna meet with these people and they're gonna taste these foods and they're gonna have this experience, they have to be on every night saying, because of what I experienced today, how am I different?

How am I gonna live different? How am I gonna believe differently or act differently? And it, that was the secret sauce. It's not just about, Hey, let's go have a fun time. And I can't tell you how many people have told me study abroads are just like, let's go have fun and count it as education.

Like it could be that, but it could be way more, it could be transformational.

Dave: You know you well, and you're right, the transformation comes through the [00:34:00] the process you have to go through intellectually. To articulate the experience you've had and the value of the experience you've had. We've had missionaries coming home from missions now for decades, right?

Yeah. Centuries almost. From these year and a half to two year experiences. And for the most part, they can say It was awesome. It was tremendous. Tell me about it. It was great. What did you get out of it? It was so awesome. Yeah. It's this. I can walk on the beach in Costa Rica.

Yeah. I can see a sunrise or a sunset in a way that I've never seen. I can see the turtles. As they're as they're coming out of their, I can see these things and it's just awesome and it's really great and. But it's the reflection. Yeah. It's this requirement to think through that experience that they can then learn to articulate the value of it.

Yeah, and I think as we increase the types of, and the numbers of reflective experiences we're facilitating for students, they're gonna be able to talk about and think [00:35:00] about the experiences they're having in ways that make sense to those. That they're talking to, that, that, that will make more sense to them. And yes, they become transformational.

Cougar: Yeah. Oh my goodness. Okay. Dave, I've taken a lot of your time today, but I wanna give you the last opportunity 'cause we are up against it a little bit. What else from your experience here at BYU, what are the other things that we're doing that, that you would leave here, this discussion and say, oh gosh, I wish I could have said this, or, I wish I could have touched on this, because there's so much that you have done here and so much that you're doing, and I love that it's just continuing to evolve.
 
It feels so responsive to students' needs and this is what we tried and it was really successful. And then we recognized, here's another gap and okay, let's address that. I love that commitment at the university to continue to adjust to, to help students be successful. So is there anything else before we say goodbye that you're like, oh, I just, I have to share this?
 
This has got me really excited [00:36:00] about, coming to work. 

Learning to Be In Tune

 
Dave: I would say learn to be in tune. There is so much opportunity, it's, it can be really hard for students to to choose a direction to figure out what it is they're supposed to be doing. And it's so much nicer when somebody will just tell us what path to get on and what every step.

But we can't do that. We have to move forward by faith and to know that, the gifts we have, the are the interests that we have in certain disciplines. For example, the relationships that we feel naturally inclined to develop the prompts that we get to either reach out to someone or to read a certain book or to go to a certain event on campus.

These are all part of that evolution of that development. And the Lord is trying to teach us how to be in tune enough. That he can maximize what we get out of those things. Wow. And we're here at a [00:37:00] place that is literally set up for that specific purpose.

Cougar: Oh my goodness. Okay. That's a spiritual moment.

To hear you testify of that and to teach that and to help us. We have to hear his voice. We have to realize. That with him, we can do anything including navigating u University life, including figuring out a career in including, matching what I think, I really enjoyed this class, this GE class, but I don't know how, what does that look like as a career?

And you have been doing this for 20 plus years, but then it's more than that. It's Hey, I'm not gonna hold your hand for the next four and a half years and get you through this. Can we as faculty, as administrators, as staff, as a university community, can we help students connect to that divine source, right?

Of inspiration and direction and instruction and guidance as they navigate this. [00:38:00] That's where I feel like if I were at another university and there are some incredible universities, but there's almost one hand behind your back. That's how I felt in the public schools too. Like I'm just, oh, I'm not using all the tools in my tool belt. But we can use all of those tools here. What a blessing. Yeah.

Dave: You might call this our USP, right? Our unique selling proposition. That's great. There is nowhere else on earth. They're the other institute, the other CES institutions, but there's nowhere else where everything, every good thing. Can be drawn upon or tapped for the benefit of his children who are here. Yeah. We have access to more than, we have access, more access to everything, to anything than than anywhere else or at any other time in history.

Cougar: Yeah. I so appreciate that and that is the divine mission and purpose at BYU. But I think what I'm [00:39:00] feeling, having come here as a student in the nineties and now having children come here, and having worked here for 18 years, I feel like we're doing a better job of accomplishing that mission than ever before.
 
And we still have a long way to go. I, as an institution, I we have to be humble. We have to recognize that we have some strengths, but we're still not quite right. We're forever, not quite, but we're, I appreciate you and everyone else across campus who's doing so much to help us get there and to help our students be successful in whatever they're trying to do.
 

Closing

 
Cougar: So Dave, thank you. I'll give you the last word, but thank you so much for joining the Y Health podcast. Anything else on the way out the door?

Dave: It there's, I'm really excited for the future and glad to be here and a part of it.

Cougar: Love it. Thanks again for joining us. Thanks so much. We'll have you back I hope.

Dave: I hope so too.

Cougar: Thank you for joining us today. Catch us on our [00:40:00] next episode and don't forget to subscribe to future Y Health episodes.