The phrase “talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not” is one that Emmy award-winning journalist Jane Clayson Johnson said she first came to understand as she sat on a Zoom call with four African students of BYU–Pathway Worldwide.
In this Zoom call, which took place approximately two and a half years ago, Johnson said she and her husband — both members of the President’s Leadership Council at BYU–Pathway Worldwide — listened to the four students’ stories, learning how the higher education organization, supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had “transformed their lives.”
“We were overwhelmed by (the students’) intelligence, their determination, their resilience and their faith,” Johnson said, sharing this experience with those gathered for the Tuesday devotional held at Brigham Young University in Provo.
“We were also humbled by the sacrifices they were making to get an education — sacrifices most of us could never fully comprehend.”
With this experience, Johnson introduced the devotional’s listeners to a forthcoming documentary titled “Pathway to Hope” — a documentary she pitched upon seeing the impact BYU–Pathway Worldwide had had on the lives of these and many other students around the world.
“I could not get these students out of my mind,” she said. “I wanted the youth and young adults of the church, including my own children, … to know their stories. I wanted our members everywhere to understand BYU–Pathway.
“And as a journalist, I wanted the world to see the remarkable ways that (the Church of Jesus Christ) is blessing so many lives across the globe.”
Thus in her devotional remarks, Johnson recounted to listeners parts of the impact BYU-Pathway Worldwide is having on the lives of many around the world.
She coupled her remarks with a 22-minute clip of her team’s forthcoming documentary, “Pathway to Hope” — which will be airing Oct. 5 on BYUtv, immediately following the Sunday afternoon session of general conference — and invited listeners to see themselves as part of the “miracle” BYU-Pathway is seeing.
BYU–Pathway: A miracle that is ‘transforming higher education’
An organization dedicated to providing students worldwide with affordable, spiritually-based education online, BYU–Pathway Worldwide is “one of the great miracles of our day,” Johnson said at the Tuesday devotional.
“(BYU-Pathway Worldwide) is democratizing education,” she said. “(And) it is transforming higher education with remarkable innovations like the three-year bachelor’s degree, certificates, the support of the service missionaries, the impact of scholarships, and so much more.”
Currently, more than 85,000 students in 180 countries are enrolled in BYU–Pathway, Johnson said. Of these students, 25 percent reside in the United States, she explained, and the other 75 percent live internationally, with more than half living in Africa.
Still, Johnson said the reason the “miracle” of BYU–Pathway Worldwide is working is because it is “divinely inspired.” And the reason the organization’s students are sacrificing so much is because “they know God will help them.”
“BYU–Pathway reaches into the most unlikely places,” Johnson said. It meets students “where they are” and educates them, helping them find remote jobs when they graduate.
In this way, “BYU-Pathway is lifting families out of poverty,” she continued, “strengthening communities, preparing a new generation of leadership in the church across the world (and) enabling the very gathering of Israel.”
Yet, the success of these students does not come without challenges, Johnson explained.
For instance, in Africa, 74 percent of BYU–Pathway students “struggle to find even two meals a day,” Johnson said. Seventy-six percent can’t count on stable housing or reliable internet to do their schoolwork.
“Their technology challenges are daunting,” she continued, then inviting listeners to imagine trying to type out a term paper on a cell phone simply because they could not afford a computer, or sharing a donated laptop with a dozen other students who take turns rotating it late into the night.
“That is reality for so many BYU-Pathway students,” Johnson explained. “And yet they persist with resilience, gratitude and tremendous faith.”
Johnson’s invitation to BYU students and others worldwide
Both before and after rolling a clip of her team’s forthcoming documentary, Johnson invited listeners — and particularly current students at Brigham Young University — to think about their blessings and see themselves as part of the “miracle” that is extending opportunities to God’s children worldwide.
“The privilege of studying at BYU with professors, resources and opportunities all around you is a miracle in itself,” Johnson declared prior to rolling the clip of the documentary.
Following the clip, which featured the journeys and resilience of multiple BYU–Pathway students, Johnson urged listeners to treasure their lives’ opportunities and education.
“Never take your education here at BYU for granted,” she said. “It is a sacred stewardship. … (And these blessings) are meant to be shared — to lift, to build (and) to serve — right now and for the rest of your life.”
Johnson invited listeners to watch her team’s full, hour-long documentary, which will air and be available for streaming on BYUtv Saturday, Oct. 5, immediately following the Sunday afternoon session of general conference.
“Please tell your friends and family to watch,” she said, “and most importantly, to find a way to become involved in this remarkable work.”
Thoughts from a former BYU–Pathway student
Former BYU–Pathway student Grace Ninsiima was one of the six students featured in the clip of the documentary shown at the Tuesday devotional.
She was present to hear Johnson speak, and told the Deseret News she was so happy to see both her story and that of her fellow BYU–Pathway students featured in the documentary.
“It means everything to see (their lives) change, because I know what it meant to me in my own story,” Ninsiima shared.
Ninsiima had struggled and been in an abusive marriage before finding the Church of Jesus Christ and learning of BYU–Pathway Worldwide. Now, having graduated with a degree in communications, Ninsiima works as an area manager at BYU–Pathway Worldwide. Her daughters attend international schools, and she is also covering school fees for six other children.
“I can’t express how full of gratitude I am to the Lord and to the church for the program, BYU–Pathway,” Ninsiima said. “It’s just amazing what it’s done in my life and all the students’ lives that I see.”
Ninsiima also shared that she hopes those present at the devotional will be able to more easily recognize their lives’ blessings.
“It’s very important to notice the small and simple things we take for granted,” she said. “Students in Africa are looking for jobs. They’re looking for a meal, or maybe one or two meals a day. They don’t have that privilege, but these students do have that … (and) that should cultivate an attitude of gratitude in our hearts.”
Ninsiima then added she hopes this grateful recognition will spark in others a desire to serve and get involved.
“I’m hoping that they can be more involved in this work and spread the good news, because this, it’s going to blow up. This is just the beginning.”
