Students Unpack the Memories That Shaped Them
While BYU has been ranked number one for students studying abroad,1 the trips students take with their families hold their own kind of magic—no matter how many times “Are we there yet?” is asked along the way.
Shad Morris, director of BYU Marriott’s Whitmore Global Business Center and a professor in the Department of Management, has seen this firsthand. As the parents of five children, Morris and his wife, Mindi, have taken their family across the globe. “Travel represents captured time with your children,” says Morris. “You have their attention completely without competing activities, friends, and even church responsibilities.”
Morris’s own upbringing proves that family adventures don’t need to be expensive to be impactful. “Utah was my playground,” he says, recalling a childhood filled with family camping trips and exploration near his home in Riverton, Utah. Morris’s first airplane ride didn’t come until he left for his mission, but his earlier, simpler experiences broadened his horizons and stitched his family closer together. “The key is to go anywhere that shows something different than your day-to-day life,” he explains.
Whether you take your family around the block or across the ocean, Morris believes the same rewards await: resilience, growth, and family unity. We asked BYU Marriott students to share family travel experiences that stuck with them long after the journey ended. Here’s what seven undergrads recall about the transformative power of traveling together.
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Elijah Ellsworth, Marketing
Where We Went:
Palmyra, New York, to visit the Sacred Grove.
Who You Were Then:
I was 21 years old at the time. This trip with my family took place a couple of weeks after I returned from serving in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission. It was also right before I started my first year at BYU.
What We Did:
At the Sacred Grove, we walked along paths and looked at the breathtaking beauty. We had the opportunity to see the area where Joseph Smith knelt down in fervent prayer to God. We also visited the home and farm where he and his family lived.
Why It Matters:
While walking through the grove with my family, I decided to leave the group and venture off down a different path. A few minutes later, I knelt down to pray just as Joseph Smith did more than 200 years ago. In that moment, I asked God to help me know that the Church is true and that what I had been teaching the last two years will help others come unto Him. I felt comfort and peace about my purpose on earth: to help gather Israel.
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Elaina Marriott, Accounting
Where We Went:
The iconic Pacific Coast Highway. We rented an RV and drove from our home in Los Angeles up the coast to Vancouver, Canada. Along the way we stopped to see the California redwoods; the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle; Pismo Beach, California; John Steinbeck’s house in Salinas, California; Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon; and even Castroville, California, the “Artichoke Capital of the World.”
Who You Were Then:
I was 18 years old and about to be the first child in my family to leave for college.
What We Did:
One adventure was our coastal foraging tour with “Captain Clameron.” He taught us to harvest mussels, mushrooms, sea salt, and clams, and we made our very own fresh seafood dinner back at the RV. In Vancouver we took a gondola up Grouse Mountain to see a lumberjack show and grizzly bears. The best part was getting our bikes off the back of the RV at each stop and riding around the cities.
Why It Matters:
With six people in close quarters for two weeks, the trip was chaotic. We had mishaps with the mechanics of the RV plumbing, held a last-minute birthday party for my dad, and sought out local libraries so my siblings could finish summer school. Even with all the challenges, these were some of the best times. It meant so much to spend those special summer weeks with my family—like one last hurrah for us kids before I began a different season of life. It also reminded me how grateful I am for a family who loves adventures.
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Alli Jarman, Business Management
Where We Went:
Boston, Massachusetts, and Sharon, Vermont. The most memorable moment for me was climbing the Bunker Hill Monument, a spire that stands 221 feet tall and has a spiral staircase.
Who You Were Then:
I was just eight years old and had gone through a month-long stint of pneumonia, so I was very weak. About 30 steps into our trek up the Bunker Hill Monument, I didn’t want to go on, so my dad put me on his back and carried me up to the top. Being at the top was unreal. It was so beautiful overlooking the city of Boston. I’ll never forget my dad’s kindness, which to me also represented people’s efforts to fight for our country.
What We Did:
Our main purpose was to visit my grandparents, who were serving as directors of the Joseph Smith Birthplace in Sharon, Vermont. My grandpa took us on a tour of the visitors’ center, where we watched the film Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration. Then my grandpa gave us each a notebook and invited us to go find a spot to pray about Joseph Smith. I’d never done something like this before, but I remembered the feeling of just knowing that what we had seen was true. I just knew it.
Why It Matters:
In such a physically weak state, I was able to build some of my strongest foundations. I gained an appreciation for our country and a knowledge of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ at such an impressionable time in my life.
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Lauren Hales, Marketing
Where We Went:
Hells Canyon, on the border of Oregon and Idaho, for a wakeboarding and wakesurfing trip.
Who You Were Then:
I was a freshman at Eagle High School in Idaho. I was on the cheer team and enjoyed spending time outdoors with family and friends.
What We Did:
We camped by the water, and I had so much fun waking up to the heat each morning and jumping into the refreshing water. Each day, my family surfed from sunrise to sunset.
Why It Matters:
One night huge wind microbursts came out of nowhere, collapsing our tent and blowing our boat into the dock. We had to pack up and leave since the storm was getting so crazy. My siblings and I were sad to leave what seemed to be our perfect trip. Leaving the campsite in the middle of the night turned out to be a tender mercy for my family, however. After we did our final campground check, we spotted a baby rattlesnake right where our tent had been. I know that God helps each of us in ways we may not initially understand, but ultimately, He knows much more than we do. He is always working out the details.
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Deven Gogarty, Finance
Where We Went:
American history sites in Virginia, North Carolina, and Washington, DC. Our trip was during spring break, so we were in Washington, DC, for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which was so beautiful!
Who You Were Then:
I was eight years old and in third grade. I had just finished a school report about the Wright brothers, so seeing the exact place where they made their historic flights in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, was fascinating.
What We Did:
In Virginia we visited colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, the naval museum in Norfolk, a few plantations, and Arlington National Cemetery. In North Carolina we saw the Wright Brothers National Monument. In DC we visited the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the National Mall, the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, the World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials, and the Holocaust museum.
Why It Matters:
This was one of the first times I can remember when something I had learned about in school became real. I had always loved learning about history from my dad, so seeing sites that commemorated events he taught me about was so interesting. It cemented in my brain, for the first time, that historical events actually happened and affect us today. It stood out to me how amazing this country is and what a rich and interesting history we have.
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Tanner Nakamoto, Global Supply Chain
Where We Went:
Provo. BYU’s Homecoming week lined up with my school’s fall break, so we came to Utah, and everything we did was centered around BYU. I remember Utah being drier than my home in Hawaii, which, of course, is pretty humid. The mountains also reminded me of home.
Who You Were Then:
I was 14 years old. I had just started high school and was beginning to think about college. I was also very impressionable and looked up to my two older brothers who were attending BYU at the time.
What We Did:
My parents took me to the Tanner Building to take a picture since I’m named after N. Eldon Tanner. When my mom and dad were BYU students, they started dating during football season, so we went to a football game. The Major Fair was also going on, which opened up the world of BYU Marriott to me. We also hiked the Y, something we’ve done on every family trip since.
Why It Matters:
I always thought that I would follow in my brothers’ footsteps in attending college. But after visiting BYU as a freshman in high school, it started to feel like a reality to me. I was determined from then on to do what I needed to do to get into my dream school.
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Toby Alder, Information Systems
Where We Went:
Gilbert, Arizona, for a summer family reunion at my uncle’s house. We started in Stansbury Park, Utah, so it was a long road trip in the sweltering heat with six kids and my parents packed into a small car.
Who You Were Then:
I was seven years old at the time, the fourth of six children. Our family had never traveled this route before, so everything felt new and unfamiliar.
What We Did:
The trip took an unexpected turn when our car broke down in the summer heat near Page, Arizona. We waited for hours on the side of the road, trying to figure out if the car could be fixed. To keep us entertained, my mom played games such as “I Spy” with us. We laughed so much even though we were hot, tired, and stuck. Eventually the car was towed into town—with all eight of us in it. We made it to a motel late at night and went straight to bed, exhausted.
Why It Matters:
While managing high emotions, extreme heat, and tired children, my parents turned a stressful situation into a bonding experience. My mom’s laughter and creativity taught us to make the best of any situation. The car was fixed the next day, and we were back on the road. We arrived in Gilbert and took a much-anticipated swim in the pool and a soak in the hot tub, which made the journey feel even more worthwhile.
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Note
- See “Leading Institutions by Study Abroad Total,” Open Doors US Study Abroad Data, academic year 2021/22, opendoorsdata.org/data/us-study-abroad/leading-institutions-by-study-abroad-total/. See also Todd Hollingshead, “BYU Has a New No. 1 Ranking: University with the Most Students Studying Abroad,” News, BYU University Communications, November 30, 2023; news.byu.edu/byu-has-a-new-no-1-ranking-most-students-in-study-abroad-programs-in-the-country.
