FEBRUARY 2013 l 1

EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2013

Statistics released for Winter Semester 2013 show a total local enrollment of 16,354 students, an increase of approximately 4 percent over last winter. This number refers to individuals who take BYU-Idaho courses and predominately reside in the Rexburg area.*

A drop in the student population due to the lowered service age eligibility for Latter-day Saint missionaries did occur as anticipated, with enrollment for Winter Semester 2013 down about 700 students from earlier projections. BYU-Idaho expects the missionary age change will likely impact enrollment numbers through the middle of 2014.

The university continues to see growth in the number of students enrolled in online courses and programs. These students reside across the United States and in several other countries. The number of online students for Winter Semester 2013 is 6,785, compared to 2,493 in Winter Semester 2012.

This semester the local student body consists of 7,566 male students and 8,788 female students (46.3 percent and 53.7 percent respectively). The number of married students is 3,937, comprising 24.1 percent of the total local student population.

*Of the total local enrollment of 16,354 students, 96.2 percent live in Rexburg, with the remaining 3.8 percent residing in locations from Idaho Falls to Ashton.

Winter Semester Stats: LOCAL ENROLLMENT STILL OVER

16,000; SLIGHT DECREASE IN

POPULATION DUE TO MISSIONARY

AGE CHANGE

New theatre degree to be offered starting this fall» By Matt Urick

BYU-Idaho’s Department of Theatre and Dance has announced it will offer a new major starting Fall Semester 2013. The degree, a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Studies, was recently approved by the Church Educational System’s Board of Trustees.

Students who complete the program will be considered generalists in theatre. They will also have the opportunity to focus their studies in one of the following areas: General Theatre Studies, Performance and Directing, Theatre for Youth, or Theatre Design and Technology.

Each emphasis is directed by a committee of theatre faculty who not only mentor students, but also provide frequent feedback on their progress and skill development.

“This new degree is designed to give students different options concerning their future careers,” said Richard Clifford, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. “It differs from the Theatre Education degree in the sense that it’s tailored to address the career or life plans of individual students.”

The Theatre Studies program also offers an Associate of Arts degree, where students can enjoy the same breadth of knowledge offered to those seeking a bachelor’s degree, but without an emphasis.

The program also includes a concentration in theatre arts for students seeking an interdisciplinary degree with a theatre component.

Local enrollment for Winter Semester 2013 is over 16,300 students.

2 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

If you’re getting a call once a week from employers seeking to hire students based on a class you teach, you would probably call that class a success. Kent Lundin, chair of the Department of Business Management, calls it a huge success.

“I would say I average a phone call per week from people asking about students who have taken or are currently taking one of the internet marketing classes we teach in the Business Department,” said Lundin. “They often want to know their availability, if they are employable, and if they will be graduating soon.”

B250 (Web Business Creation) and B451 (Internet Marketing) are the two internet marketing classes taught in the business department.

B250 is designed for any student interested in building a web-based business. Students will go through the necessary steps to build and launch a web-based business that is capable of accepting online payments. The students are instructed how to select online business ideas, create an online business including building a website, choosing a host and domain name, understand administrative and tax issues in an online business, develop and run a pay-per-click campaign, and use web analytics to help track the success of their marketing efforts.

“What’s fascinating about this course is that it’s a true model of the scientific method,” Lundin said. “Students formulate a question, or a business idea so to speak, they create a hypothesis, make predictions,

test their business idea, evaluate it, make the necessary changes, and then start over.”

In B451 students create and manage a pay-per-click campaign, optimize keywords and ad text, make basic search engine optimization (SEO) changes to a website and measure the effectiveness of those changes, and utilize web analytics to identify areas that could be improved.

“It’s a learn-on-your-own type of course,” said Lundin. “The students do their own projects and on their own time, they are forced to learn at a fast pace.” He also stated that it’s a very in demand subject that requires a lot of hands on experience.

Mike Ramsey and Stuart Draper are just two students who have graduated and began successful careers in the online industry. They both graduated in 2008 and each started their own internet marketing businesses based on what they had learned in these courses. Ramsey is the president and founder of Nifty Marketing in Burley, Idaho, and Draper is the CEO of Get Found First in Rexburg.

“The main thing that helped me was setting up my Idaho Potato site online for B250,” Ramsey said. “We had to go through all the steps to set up a legal business, build a website, and accept payments online. Basically, we were forced into entrepreneurship and graded on our ability to accomplish real tasks.”

Ramsey also said the courses made him more marketable because most college students don’t graduate with that kind

of hands-on experience. “Literally, the day after I graduated I had a meeting with a client that I started doing internet marketing for,” he said. “Everything I helped them with was based off of the things I did in my classes. I would have never been able to start like that from just reading a textbook.”

Meanwhile, Stuart Draper, from Vancouver, Washington, was starting his own internet marketing firm right here in Rexburg. Draper is the CEO of the pay-per-click management firm called Get Found First, located just above Gator Jack’s at Hemming Village.

“During the course I had no idea this would be my career,” Draper said. “Marketing majors are a dime a dozen, but these courses differentiated me from the competition.”

Draper added that expertise in programming is not needed to learn this field and excel in it. In fact, he said he could think of over 30 individuals that have all received jobs out of college because they took these classes.

“These classes are the reason I started Nifty Marketing,” said Ramsey. “I didn’t make a ton of money selling potatoes, but I got sales experience and I gained confidence that I could use search engines to sell products. It was exactly what I needed to go through in order to start my internet marketing company. The hands-on experience helped me realize that I was decent at search marketing and with time I could become great.” 

Auto instructors innovate to save students money» By Spencer Allen

Over the past five years, the Automotive Technology Program (ATP) has experienced a significant increase in the number of students participating. Since 2008, Auto 100, the most basic class offered in the department, has grown from 250 students annually to over 1,000. While the growth can be attributed in part to the recent bump in student population,

the real answer lies in the change in curriculum and the unique business decision made by instructors in the ATP.

In keeping with the third imperative mentioned in President Clark’s inaugural response, the ATP, which is part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has significantly decreased the relative cost for its students. Instead of requiring each student to purchase a $100 textbook at the beginning of the semester, the ATP instructors took an

Students finding real world success thanks to internet marketing course » By Matt Urick

continued on page 4

FEBRUARY 2013 l 3

Carefully sketching floor plans and dimensions, students in the Interior Design Program competed with distinction in the 2012/2013 National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) competitions, upholding BYU-Idaho’s strong reputation for excellence.

The NKBA provided three student scholarship opportunities this year: the NKBA/GE Charette, the NKBA Bath Design Competition, and the NKBA Kitchen Design Competition. BYU-Idaho students placed in each of the competitions.

Seniors Hillaree Harris and Chelsea Graber placed second and fourth respectively in the NKBA/GE Charette competition, junior Emily Stevenson placed third in the NKBA Bath Design competition, and junior Chanel Gardemann received an honorable mention in the NKBA Kitchen Design competition.

The NKBA/GE Charette competition is unique because it is a timed competition that takes place on campus. It is three hours long and is open to all students studying at an NKBA accredited and supported program. Within the three hours, students must create a kitchen design that includes a design statement, dimensioned floor plan with specifications, and a one wall elevation or perspective.

“With the GE Charette the challenge is to come up with the best thing you have and to run with it,” Graber said. The NKBA competitions provide students with beneficial experience and training.

“The GE Charette competition is exciting because so many students choose to be involved,” said instructor Wendy Harris, an instructor. “Before we send off their work we copy it so they can include their project in their portfolios. This confirms to future employers that they are motivated and dedicated to become future design professionals.”

For the NKBA Bath and Kitchen Design competition, students submit either a bath or kitchen design (or both) that

includes a detailed design statement, a floor plan with specifications, construction plan, mechanical plan, elevations of all significant views, and a concept board.

“It was a big learning curve, but I feel that entering in the NKBA Bath Design competition has really helped me with my schoolwork,” Stevenson said. Unlike the GE Charette competition, students do not have a limit on the time they spend on their NKBA Bath and Kitchen Design competition entries.

“I’ve tried to take advantage of competitions because they help build your confidence,” Hillaree Harris said. “And when you’re confident, good things happen.”

This is the tenth year BYU-Idaho students have entered and earned honors NKBA design competition since first entering in 1996. This year, Harris, Graber, and Stevenson earned $7,500 combined from their winnings. Stevenson also earned a trip to the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in New Orleans in April.

“It’s really gratifying to see students develop excellent design solutions based on challenging competition criteria and constraints. They develop elevated skills and abilities through their participation,” Wendy Harris said.

Seniors Hillaree Harris and Chelsea Graber and junior Emily Stevenson all placed in one of the NKBA design competitions.

I’ve tried to take advantage of competitions because they help build your confidence.H I L L A R E E H A R R I S , S E N I O R , I N T E R I O R D E S I G N

Interior Design program upholds reputation of excellence » By Abby Stevens

4 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

Excerpts from President’s Executive Group Q&A January 2012

Question: Could you explain the 120 and 140 credit hour policies, the reasoning behind them, and whether or not they will be changed in the future?

President Clark: The minimum required to graduate from BYU-Idaho is 120 credit hours. When students come to the university, they become stewards over their 120 credit hours. If students are wise in that stewardship and graduate in 120 credit hours, more students can attend. So we ask everybody to be wise in order to serve more students. We recognize students face challenges as they make choices about majors and some have real difficulty finishing in 120 credit hours, which is why we allow students to do more. But if they get to 140 credit hours, we ask them to share with us their plan for graduating so we can see there is a line of sight to graduation. And it’s primarily to give every student the opportunity and yet be able to serve more young people.

Fenton Broadhead: We know students will change their minds on majors, so we’ve done some things to help students manage the credit thresholds. In a lot of majors, we have eliminated the requirement for minors or clusters, which freed up some hours. We have started to work very hard on properly advising students and helping them make decisions. Also, there is a check in the form of an appeal if a student wants to change their major after 60 credit hours. Another concern I’ll mention is

the debt that a student incurs while in school. So we work on debt, we work on educational strategy, and we work on the efficient use of resources. That all lends to serving more students and serving them more effectively.

Question: How would you answer recruiters, industry groups, and others who ask what the difference is between BYU, LDS Business College, and BYU-Idaho?

President Clark: I would strive very hard to stay away from comparing the schools. It’s not very helpful to recruiters and not the right message. Give them a little background on the university, talk about the program, and then tell them about our students. They need to understand well what a BYU-Idaho student is like and what they are equipped to do. I would tell them:

“Look, if you hire these graduates, a couple years from now you will see them in your company, and smile and say, ‘Boy, I’m really glad we’ve got them.’ They will work hard. They are well trained. They know how to work with others well. They’re industrious. They are pretty humble—they don’t think they’re supposed to run the company on the first day. They’re willing to learn, and they will make really good employees. Some of them will have that spark that will lead them into leadership positions, but all of them will be very strong contributors and employees.”

That’s kind of who we are. It is true that our programs tend to prepare students very well for practice and, therefore, they are definitely application oriented. I’m sure there are aspects of them that can be stronger, but what we are strong in is very valuable. That’s the message I would convey.

Question: What might be the effect of increased missionaries on individual departments? How will the university respond?

President Clark: We really don’t know all the facts, but we are going to have a group of first-year students that will be different. They will have a pretty significant impact on various departments and services. For instance, fewer students may enroll in beginning language classes. Having served foreign language missions, many more first-year students will want to take advanced classes. Perhaps the biggest impact will be that we will have a lot more endowed students. That will have a tremendous effect on the temple. It’s going to be great. We are just going to be nimble, learn from our experience, and adapt. It’s going to be very positive.

UPCOMING Q&A

The next Q&A session will be held Wednesday, March 6 at noon in the MC Special Events Room.

approach more consistent with BYU-Idaho’s philosophy of frugality.

“A few years ago the department came together to find ways to improve Auto 100. We knew the class needed to be redesigned and be more effective,” said Justin Miller, program coordinator in the Automotive Technology Program. “After discussing the different options to improve the class, we determined that the more effective way to enhance the class was to write our own text.”

The end result is an interactive eBook. The once-required textbook was set aside and the department pulled together to

write its own material. Each instructor in the ATP played a part, with everyone writing their portion. Students can access the eBook at their convenience on iLearn, free of cost. In addition, links and videos are attached to the eBook for students who want to learn more on the given topic.

“This was an exciting project for all of us,” said Miller. “It took a great deal of effort but we are already seeing the fruits of our work. The text is much more effective and efficient and we are saving the students a great deal of money. If we required our 1,000 students to purchase the $100 textbook, that’s a potential

$100,000 we’re saving students. Because of this success, we are currently in the process of transforming many of the other classes we offer in a similar setting.”

In Auto 100, students learn the fundamentals of a car. Learning how the car works, how the engine and transmission function, and how the electrical system operates is only a part of the class. Students also learn tips on how to maintain their car. As a result of the class, students will be more aware as consumers when they have their vehicle repaired, how to buy and sell a vehicle, and how to locate a reputable mechanic.

Auto instructors: continued from page 2

FEBRUARY 2013 l 5

The Outdoor Learning Center (OLC), also known as Badger Creek, is now collaborating with BYU-Idaho’s Department of Teacher Education in the creation of a new practicum course which aims to prepare teacher education majors for teaching in the real world.

OLC’s goal for this new partnership with the Teacher Education Department is to allow teacher education students the opportunity to grow as teachers by letting them participate in and later teach the unique learning model practiced at the OLC.

“It’s like a practicum before you dive into your actual practicum,” said Renee Morgan, a freshman studying art education and OLC participant. “When I participated at Badger Creek, it was my first semester of college. It really showed me that I wanted to be a teacher.”

During Fall Semester 2012, four teacher education students took part in the unique learning model at the OLC, which requires individuals to complete an experiential learning activity that focuses on principles like effective individual and organizational behavior, growth mindsets, and overcoming “bad-apple” behavior.

“Every activity has a purpose, it is more than simply climbing a rock wall,” said Keleny Crompton, a BYU-Idaho student and employee at the OLC. “We aim to apply the things we do to specific needs of the BYU-Idaho students.”

After these teacher education majors participated in the challenging activities at the OLC and applied the activities to their lives, they then become the facilitators and coached local elementary, middle school, and high school students through this unique learning model.

Rick Robbins, Teacher Education faculty member and OLC instructor explains, “the reason we are making this connection with the OLC is that while the activities are awesome, the teaching moments after each activity are profound and easily transferable to any teaching situation.”

During the course of the semester, these four students taught over 900 local school children from grades K-12.

“It is really incredible how much I grew in my passion for learning and my teaching,” said Morgan. “[My experience at Badger Creek] pushed me into the line of fire—right in front of the students’ faces. So I really had to learn how to adapt to whatever they threw our way, whether it was elementary school kids, or high school kids.”

The OLC’s learning model teaches that deeply significant learning experiences can happen outside the classroom.

“I realized that you don’t have to teach everything in a classroom,” said Cyndi

Gardner, a junior studying family and consumer science education. “We have been blessed with a world that has so much to offer. In my future classroom, I don’t want to feel confined to desks in a room and I don’t want my students to feel like that. I believe that the more we can have hands on experiences the more learning will happen.”

The OLC aims not only to collaborate with university organizations like the Teacher Education Department, but any group that could benefit from the learning model taught at the OLC.

Brian Ashton, the director the Outdoor Learning Center, said “The OLC is working to reach out and partner with other campus organizations and departments to create deeply significant learning, leadership, and recreational experiences. Our goal is to create an open access facility that provides quality leadership training and learning opportunities for classes, campus wards, departments, faculty/employee groups, and other campus organizations. We collaborate with group leaders to create retreats and programs that are designed to meet the unique needs of each group that comes.”

Outdoor Learning Center provides new programs for students and community members » By Natalie Seid

We aim to apply the things we do to specific needs of the BYU-Idaho students. K E L E N Y C RO M P TO N

The ORC provides hands-on activities and learning opportunities for students and community members.

6 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

Humanity Looks Good on Everyone is a documentary film produced by BYU-Idaho graduate Rusty Earl.

Rusty Earl, a 2004 BYU-Idaho graduate in theatre and speech education, planned on teaching drama in both junior and high schools. But he never imagined he would fly to Tanzania to film and edit a documentary titled, Humanity Looks Good on Everyone. In fact, film was never an intended career path for Earl.

After graduation, Earl began teaching theatre at a junior high school and high school in Mountain Home, Idaho.

“At the end of the school year things were a bit slow, so my students and I took out a camera a filmed a short horror story, which turned into a bit of a tradition at the end of each year,” Earl said. He began to be more involved with film projects at his schools, and he also started to do his own films with some of his former students.

“In 2010 I wrote, filmed, and edited my first feature film, Sage Riders, and that was something fun,” Earl said. “After that I started to drift more toward a film direction.”

Earl worked in Mountain Home over seven years before he moved to Manhattan, Kansas, as the video

production specialist for Kansas State University in 2011.

Marilyn Kaff, a special education professor at Kansas State University, approached Earl about making a documentary about the humanitarian work she and other teachers and students do in Tanzania each summer. The volunteers work to improve special education and teacher training.

Kaff ’s first trip was in 2008, and she has returned with teachers and students every summer since. In Humanity Looks Good on Everyone, the volunteers teach educators how to both identify students with special needs, and how to teach them.

“I love children with autism. I knew I could make a difference, so I recruited the first group to go over, and we went to two different schools, we saw how incredibly underfunded and under-resourced the classroom was,” Kaff said. “I think we took more away from it than the teachers and the students in that we saw that we could begin to work together to build a partnership, to build the capacity of Tanzanians to work with their special needs population.”

This past summer, Earl accompanied the group during its two-week stay in Tanzania to film a 30-minute documentary on the humanitarian project. He filmed on two DSLR cameras to not stand out more than necessary.

Humanity Looks Good on Everyone is a program that touches the people of Tanzania, as well as the volunteers.

“I have two special needs children of my own, and when we were filming at the autistic schools the whole time I was thinking about my own son and asking, ‘would they have been lucky enough to be there?’” Earl said. “These places were clean, they had good food, they were like heaven from the rest of the country.”

Upon returning home, Earl spent two months editing the documentary. The film was shown at the LDS Film Festival on January 25 and will be featured on BYUTV in the coming months. To learn more about Earl’s involvement with Humanity Looks Good on Everyone, visit his blog at: www.rustychainproductions.wordpress.com.

BYU-Idaho graduate discovers career in film ALUMNUS SUBMITTING DOCUMENTARY TO THE LDS FILM FESTIVAL

» By Abby Stevens

➝ THE BYU-IDAHO GROUNDS CREWA DAY IN THE LIFE

Grounds crew keeps campus looking beautiful and functional» By Spencer Allen

FEBRUARY 2013 l 7

Cuddled on the couch with a blanket and cup of hot chocolate, the weatherman echoes the expected: an approaching snowstorm. With a sigh of relief that the workday is over and a night full of rest is ahead, the last sip of cocoa is savored. As the TV is turned off, sixteen BYU-Idaho employees realize that the pressure is on. Slippers are replaced with snow boots as these faithful few realize the night has just begun.

Over 90 acres of parking lots and roads on BYU-Idaho’s campus sit between Jeff Wynn, BYU-Idaho’s grounds supervisor, and his team of 15 before they can return to the comforts of their homes. An arsenal of dump trucks and plow trucks sit with salt and sand ready to battle the snow-covered hills and streets on campus. “My number one priority during the winter season is safety, both students getting to and from school and employees getting to and from work,” said Wynn. “Working some nights from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. is just part of the job.” With the passing of each season, daily responsibilities shift to maintain the safety and visual appearance of campus.

Spring cleaning

As the last icicle melts in the spring sun, fresh mulch, magnolias, marigolds, and other vibrant flowers begin to beautify the 95 acres of irrigated landscape on campus. Dedicating the entire first week in June, the groundkeepers plant thousands of flowers from the Romney Building to the Ricks. “This school is a representation of the Church. That is important to my staff and I as we do our best to reflect the Church’s image in our work,” said Wynn.

Before flowers can go in, it’s all hands on deck getting the flowerbeds and grounds up to standard. Duties include removing leaves that may have fallen during winter, repairing any water damage, and sharpening the edges of the flowerbeds. The crew also spends time sweeping up

sand that was spread to downplay the winter snow.

Campus lawns also require weekly maintenance. Ideally being trimmed every 5-7 days, Wynn and the grounds crew still find time to maintain their responsibility on the Rexburg temple grounds. Each week the team collectively spends over 40 hours aiding the temple landscape.

Fall-ing leaves

The weather begins to cool as students return to campus in September. The feelings of a new beginning are garnished with leaves changing from green to yellow, red, and orange. As the season progresses, the falling leaves require hundreds of hours toward raking, bagging, and dispersing. However, a recent purchase three years ago has eased the process. Instead of collecting the leaves and taking them off campus, a newly purchased grinding machine mutilates the raked leaves. What remains after the grinder is added to the flowerbeds providing an enhancement of nutrients.

The flowers still surviving the quickly fading summer are also attended to. They are trimmed and cleaned up to extend their lives by 3-4 weeks. Lifeless plants are pulled along with obnoxious weeds.

‘Tis the season

With the thermometer slowly sinking past freezing, the grounds crew begins to turn their efforts to the snow. Regardless of what the weather forecast shows, the grounds crew has at least one employee on the job from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. starting in late November. Solely there for security and added reinforcements against the spontaneous weather patterns of Rexburg, all stand ready at any given moment.

Each morning at 6:30 a.m., Wynn’s coworkers file to their assigned areas on campus to ensure the safety of

the sidewalks. If a walkway seems questionable, a shovel and sidewalk melt are put to action. This past winter over 50 tons of sidewalk melt was dispersed. In addition, 90 tons of road salt assisted by 12,000 gallons of liquid magnesium chloride was spread to aid students and employees driving on campus roads and parking lots.

The end result

Behind the sleepless nights and frustration the weather can bring, Wynn admits why he chose landscaping as a career. “Not only is it therapeutic but it provides an immense amount of satisfaction once a job is completed and you realize what you’ve accomplished.”

BYU-Idaho’s grounds crew works on the campus year-round.

8 l BYU- IDAHO NEWS & NOTES

News & NotesA monthly publication of University Communications

A D V I S O R Marc Stevens

W R I T E R S Spencer Allen, Natalie Seid, Abby Stevens, Matt Urick

PHOTOGRAPHERS Michael Lewis, Doug McKay, Marcus Journey, Lana Strathearn

If you have any ideas for future issues, please e-mail newsdesk@byui.edu

University Communications323 Biddulph Hall • Rexburg, ID • 83460-4660 • Phone: (208) 496-2000

FOR SALE

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THANK YOU

Thank you for the beautiful flowers, notes, and kind words sent to me and my family after the passing of my mom. It is such a blessing to work at BYU-Idaho with such wonderful people.

Sincerely, Mary Taylor

Dear BYU-Idaho family,

Thank you so much for the cards and letters, and the beautiful flowers sent to me in the recent passing of my mother-in-law. My husband and I are so grateful that I am able to work with such caring and giving people.

Linda Mitchell

BYU-Idaho Recycling: Creating jobs from trash

Over the past 50 years recycling programs and facilities across the nation have continued to see expanded growth and innovation. Eastern Idaho is no exception.

In 2011 the City of Rexburg met with representatives from BYU-Idaho to establish a curbside recycling program that would keep taxpayer dollars from going toward landfill fees and to provide a look into sustainability initiatives across the city.

A pilot program for curbside recycling was created in February 2012 to test the level of participation and to see how effective a program it would be.

The program spanned 200 homes and collected 12 tons of recycling over the life of the pilot. Over the next four months the program proved to be self-sustaining and with continued support from the City of Rexburg, the community rollout began.

In July 2012 the Environmental Protection Agency reported that recycling and reuse had grown to employ more than 1.1 million people nationwide, grossing over $236 billion in annual revenues–meaning that as a whole the waste management industry, combined with recycling, employs more of the nation’s workers than machinery or automobile manufacturing. Plastic alone generates 10 jobs for every 1,000 pounds that go towards remanufacture.

“We expected to create jobs,” said Randy White, general manager of the Recycling Center. “However, we needed to be sure that a curbside recycling program would be self-sustaining before we could implement it. It doesn’t do us any good to take on a new project if it doesn’t support itself in the long run.”

The BYU-Idaho Recycling Center is employing 31 students this winter who

work part time to support themselves while going to school. Also, two interns handle the day-to-day operations of the facility, including management of the student employees, negotiation of waste management contracts, and the promotion of participation throughout the community of Rexburg.

“I felt like this would be a valuable opportunity for our students. We expect them to run the facility like a business and to create value and jobs from the recycling that they receive,” said Eric Conrad, director of Facilities Management at BYU-Idaho, who oversees the program.

The original recycling program employed just five students in 2011 and handled only what was collected from the university. From those humble beginnings, the Recycling Center now collects recycling from close to 1,200 homes, 11 schools, Madison Memorial Hospital and is looking into multi-family and commercial recycling.

The recycling is hand-sorted, baled and then shipped to re-manufacture facilities across the country.

The Recycling Center runs as a not-for-profit organization with all revenues being used to employ additional students.

The facility operates under the vision of creating employment for, as many students as possible, and with the university employing less than a third of its local student population, its goal of up to 80 student employees this year would be quite a landmark.

It hopes to eventually be one of the top employers on campus completely funded by the revenues it generates, and to have a foundation for further development into sustainability for both the City of Rexburg and the university.