In a nutshell, the Huntsman Scholars semester has been incredible. It's something I've looked forward to since I first interviewed to be a candidate in high school. Being a candidate in the program was different than being a scholar, although I think Candidate Dallin had a difficult time answering a question Scholar Dallin still struggles with: What is Huntsman Scholars? All Candidate Dallin knew was that he attended weekly meetings, read a book every semester, helped with service projects, and got a stipend because of it. He didn't feel super involved, but he was grateful for the extra money to help get him through school. Scholar Dallin struggles with the same question because he knows that words simply cannot do justice to what the Huntsman Scholars semester is. (What is justice, anyway?) It's hard to describe just how tough it was to read ten books and write nine essays over the summer only to have them be torn apart by graders that are only a year ahead of you in school. It's hard to describe how our classroom discussions went, how much John and Shannon truly love and care for each of us, or how the pushback we received from our professors and group members helped us to open our minds and shape us into even better people. Most people won't appreciate the depth of the relationships we built or how vulnerable we were with each other. Most of all, I think it's hard to describe just how much we've learned about ourselves and our fellow classmates. I think most of our family members and colleagues will probably say that we're essentially the same people we were at the beginning of the semester. We're not any different physically and we all have basically the same personalities, but I think our growth has come in how we understand and approach the world. That's something that will take in-depth conversations with us to understand.
And so, I have a difficult time describing what Huntsman Scholars is. Most people assume that it's just a fun trip to Europe, but it's so much more than that. The easy answer is that it's the honors program for the business school, but that hardly captures it. You could say that it's an intense international business experience, and I think that's closer, but it still doesn't quite hit the mark. I think it truly is something you have to experience to be able to fully appreciate. I've become less comfortable with absolutes and more comfortable with abstracts in my life, and I think the Huntsman Scholars program is more abstract than absolute. So much of what it is is determined by the people in it, and I'm just grateful that the 24 people I shared this experience with were able to make it something incredible.
I think one of the most bittersweet thoughts I had Friday evening was that our end of semester banquet would probably be the last time our Huntsman Scholars class would all be together. There will be mentor retreats and Thursday meetings next semester, but a couple of us won't be there because of internships and study abroad experiences. And once we start getting into next year, more of us will start graduating and moving on to the next chapters of our lives. No one else mentioned this, and I'm not sure if that was because it never crossed anyone else's mind, or that more of us realized it, but we didn't want to spoil our last night together by thinking too much about the future. I have a feeling the latter is the case, and I think that was appropriate. The semester ended on a high note, and my heart is full with gratitude for the time I got to spend with Shannon Peterson, John Ferguson, Edward Borenstein, Quinton Cannon, Josh Feigleson, Emilee Fielding, Dallin Green, Landon Guss, Cole Hammond, Annika Hancock, Shae Hansen, Emi Howe, Shiloah Kline, Hannah Nielson, Jameson Osmond, Michael Scott Peters, Morgan Pieper, Alissa Rosado, Scott Saunders, Brad Siler, Tyler Simmons, Jackie Sullivan, Michael Swink, and Ben Wilhelm.
I should probably end here. I could go on for pages and hours about this semester, but I'd rather chat about it with you in person. I think I owe that to a lot of you, anyway. I've felt bad about the friendships that I've neglected to give my everything to the program this semester. I'm sad it's coming to an end, I'm incredibly glad that it happened, and I'm looking forward to everything that lies ahead.
Stay positive and love your life, my friends.
Much love,
Dizzy
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