Why I Choose to give Did everyone catch the inside front cover of the Winter 2011 issue of Humanties at BYU? My check for the College’s internship programs—possibly the smallest I ever wrote in my life—was in the mail immediately: 369 pennies for a good Dr. Ilona Klein cause. I cannot even Professor of Italian, call it generosity on BYU my part. It’s more like giving up a couple of bagels, or half the price of a movie ticket, or a slice of pizza at the mall.
. . . 369 Pennies There is something magic about the power that people have as a collective body. As teachers, as alumni, as students entering the workforce for the first time, we sometimes might feel powerless to affect changes in the world, thinking that one tiny gesture on the part of a single individual cannot do much. I have learned to think wide, to think macro-cosmically! When we all put together our little 369 pennies, we can move mountains, and we can raise the $100,000 committed by the Dean. 369 pennies multiplied by the power of the Humanities can be huge. ✦
How I have been blessed My internship in Moscow, Russia, was a pivotal moment in my education at BYU. I worked in the Slavic Center for Law and Justice, learning from individuals and clocking 40 hours a week translating memoranda, press releases, and other legal Jon Olsen, documents. In addition to these BA in Russian responsibilities, I gained exposure to and Economics, the Russian legal system by witnessing two oral arguments, one in 2010 the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and the other in the Moscow City Court. I am now a first-year student at Columbia Law School and I cannot overstate the importance of this internship in shaping my future career. Thank you so much. ✦ 18 H U M A N I T I E S a t B Y U