Brigham Young University has a long-standing reputation for its international presence. Decades ago, as China was emerging from the thralls of its Cultural Revolution, the school first sent the BYU Spectacular entertainment group to perform in Beijing. This early display of friendship planted seeds of friendship that still bear fruit to this day. This year, many students participating in BYU’s Chinese Flagship program traveled to China for internships, performances, and study abroad classes as well. A handful of students who traveled abroad with the BYU Chinese Flagship program recently shared their stories at a President’s Leadership Council seminar hosted at the beginning of the fall semester.
The first set of speakers were husband and wife, Susan and Matthew Kupferer, who traveled with the BYU Spectacular program to perform in Beijing. While neither performer in the show, they each had critical roles in making sure the event went according to plan. Matthew worked as a lead projection engineer while Susan worked as an assistant stage manager behind the scenes of the performances. They said that their experience was wonderful, but far from smooth. “We arrived in Beijing only to find that all of our equipment was still sitting in LAX,” Matthew told the audience.
Despite such a devastating setback, they decided to improvise, adapt, and overcome. Susan Kupferer explained, “within twenty-four hours, we saw miracles. After asking around for equipment, we got everything we needed and some of it was even better than what we had before. My biggest lesson was the importance of having faith through everything—so much went wrong for what was supposed to be an inspired show, but in the end, it was still inspired as everything worked out for the best”.
Other members of the traveling program didn’t have find themselves dealing with quite so much chaos, but faced great and difficult tasks nonetheless. Sara Jane Aubrey served a Mandarin speaking mission. Upon returning to BYU she eagerly did what she could to put that language to use in tandem with her Communications degree. Due to her mastery of the Mandarin language and association with the Chinese Flagship program, Sara Jane was asked to travel to China with the Spectacular group and run their social media team.
After navigating Chinese government restrictions on BYU’s social media posts, she had to handle an even tougher task: translating for BYU’s President, Kevin Worthen. Sara Jane told her audience, “I translated for some government officials and people who were attending the BYU Spectacular performance. Some of them had seen them perform many years ago and were thrilled to have them back”. Of the whole experience, Sara Jane felt profoundly moved by the Spirit during the event. “Heavenly Father often uses unconventional ways to bring His love and light to His Chinese children,” she said.
One BYU student, Danny Dawson, was already studying abroad in China when he met up with the BYU Spectacular performers. Dawson had grown up with a mother from Taiwan, but did not learn to speak Mandarin until he served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Taiwan. Recalling his time there, Dawson explained, “My mission to Taiwan taught me many things, but the thing that changed my life most was learning the Chinese language”.
Although Dawson had met his family on his mother’s side, he felt very little connection to them growing up. “My mother is a convert to the Church and is the only [member] in her family,” he said. “Because of the language barrier, it became increasingly difficult to connect with members of her family. After my mission that all changed. I was able to converse and connect with them—some of whom I never knew existed.”
Danny Dawson concluded his speech with a theme that many other speakers referenced. He emphatically told the audience, “I love BYU. My love for BYU and China came from my family. I truly love BYU.” This theme remained common among speakers as they each recounted experiences that were unique to BYU and the programs it offers. As the Chinese Flagship program at BYU continues to grow, opportunities to work, perform, study, and serve as missionaries will undoubtedly become more common, with even more students being returning home saying, “I love BYU.”
Zander Smith, English, April 2020