Hi, My name is Kole McQuivey! I had the wonderful privilege this semester of understanding how married students at BYU–Idaho feel. As a married student myself, I saw a gap in the care that is put forth for married students. As an Organizational Leadership major, I realized that I have an obligation to incite change or to showcase to leaders the need for said change.
I took it upon myself to interview various marriage professionals here on campus. I was also able to attend the marriage workshops here on campus so I could gain a better understanding and grasp of the care and attention that is given to married students. After looking into the culture surrounding married students, I came to the conclusion that steps need to be taken to include married students more.
BYU–Idaho has a very strong dating culture. This dating culture is good, but I found that BYU–Idaho holds an obligation to help students once they get married. If we are to put such an emphasis on getting married, it is crucial that BYU–Idaho helps these marriages be sustainable and helps these married students create strong foundations within their marriages.
I surveyed multiple students, asking them what issues they had with the current culture around married students, whether or not they felt included, and what they would change. Among the various answers, I found a common theme: students are seeking more secular learning to grow their marriages. They want to learn about communication in marriage. They want to learn about emotional wellness within marriage.
So I took this and created a framework within the Eight Dimensions of Wellness. I showcased that these dimensions are required for people to have strong, sustainable marriages. I then presented three options through which these eight dimensions of wellness can be pursued and provided to married students at BYU–Idaho.
The three options are:
- A Married Student Society.
- Literature sent out to students when they get married to help them understand available resources.
- More workshops and more communication around those workshops.
These three alternatives I will be presenting to the Dean of Students. This was an inspiring project to be a part of because, as a married student myself, I felt there were many moments when my wife and I could have used more support when we first got married. I just hope that creating awareness around the gap married students feel can better enable BYU–Idaho to help those students.