BYU experience
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With a full day of work behind her, Becky Lueck grabs her books and heads for class. As a junior working toward a bachelor's degree in general studies, Sister Lueck balances full-time work, family and Church responsibilities as she works to finish the four semesters she has left in earning her diploma.
While studying for a test one night she received a phone call.
"Grandma, when are you going to be finished with school?" Sister Lueck's grandchild asked.
Sister Lueck isn't a typical college student.
After finishing her associate's degree at BYU, she got married and had children. Later, she decided that she wanted to go back to school. Despite her busy schedule, a desire to finish her degree keeps her going.
"I'm excited to finish what I started," Sister Lueck said. "Just knowing that you finished makes you feel good, like you've accomplished something."
Many people around the Salt Lake Valley are taking advantage of the classes offered at the Brigham Young University Salt Lake Center. Located close to Church headquarters downtown, the center offers a variety of courses for those pursuing more education. As a satellite or extension of Brigham Young University, students do not attend the BYU Provo campus, but still get the BYU experience.
"Primarily, our focus is to support the university in academics," said Lee Glines, director of the BYU Salt Lake Center. "(Then students) have an equivalent experience here as the students do in Provo."
The Salt Lake Center offers 160 college courses each semester, ranging in subjects and levels. Most classes are lower division general education classes, intended to provide another venue or means for students to complete a degree from BYU.
Classes are held once or twice a week in the late afternoon and evening, with a few during the daytime hours. Instructors at the center come from many different areas, some being full-time professors at BYU, some who are part-time professors, and many who are local working professionals teaching a class or two on the side of their full-time jobs. All the instructors are approved by the academic department in the specific subjects they teach.
"The instructors are very helpful," said Sister Lueck. "The classes are small, and you get a lot of one-on-one attention with the instructor."
Along with many general education classes, the center offers all the classes for one master's degree, the Executive Master of Public Administration Program. It is a three-year program designed for working professionals, or people who are already in the midst of a career who want to further their education or move forward professionally with an advanced degree.
The BYU Salt Lake Center was established in 1959, with the charge to provide an excellent program within the Salt Lake Valley to all who can benefit from outreach academic opportunities. The center moved into the downtown location in August of 2007, making this the center's fifth home.
The newly renovated campus has 28 multimedia classrooms, a branch of the Harold B. Lee Library, 64 computer stations, nine group study rooms, a testing center, and a shared bookstore with the LDS Business College. Students have easy access to the campus with public transportation stopping near the campus.
"It's wonderful to be downtown," Brother Glines said. "We've got everything downtown Salt Lake brings with it, plus easy access to TRAX and the Frontrunner (trains). We really enjoy being here."
E-mail to: mholman@desnews.com
