By Barb Bergman

Erica started at BYU in Provo in Fall 2017. After her freshman year, she went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Philippines. During that freshman year, the idea of participating in the BYU Jerusalem semester abroad program began to take root in her heart. As she served her mission and returned, that idea grew from a simple desire into a firm commitment—she was determined to do whatever it took to earn the nearly $10,000 needed to go.

Erica applied for the program in 2020 and was accepted for the January 2021 semester. But then, as Covid-19 disrupted the world, the semester she was supposed to attend—and the next several—were canceled. Originally, the program had a traditional application process with essays, but by 2022 it shifted to a lottery system due to the backlog.

In the summer of 2022, Erica worked as an appointment setter for a solar company for four months, earning well over $10,000. Despite her efforts, she didn’t get accepted into any of the three semesters offered that year. Discouraged and nearly ready to give up, I offered some suggestions.

Through my involvement with the company Amare, I’d become friends with the wife of one of the professors involved in the Jerusalem program. I reached out to her for advice on what Erica should do next. She recommended Erica apply again for winter 2023, and if she didn’t get in, to take that semester off, work to save money, postpone graduation, and finish any remaining credits.

Erica applied for January 2023 but didn’t get in, leaving just one credit to complete. She took winter 2023 off and applied one last time for May 2023. Per the professor’s suggestion (my friend’s husband), Erica even emailed him personally, explaining that she had been accepted once before but the semester was canceled, that she had saved the money, and that this was her final attempt.

He shared her email with the other professors, unsure if it would help, but willing to try. Keep in mind, applications are submitted months in advance, so planning life around waiting for a decision was tough.

Erica was waitlisted—number 8 for May 2023. She felt happy but not happy. I checked with my friend, who assured me it was a great spot. People’s plans change, deposits aren’t made on time, and often students drop out, so there was reason to be optimistic.

By January 2023, Erica was bumped up to number 1 on the waitlist, still with a week or two left before the payment deadline. We both had a feeling it was going to happen.

Sure enough, shortly after the payment deadline passed, Erica was notified she was off the waitlist and officially accepted. There was much rejoicing!

She had an incredible semester, capped off by an “extra” trip with the group to Greece for a few weeks as part of the experience.

I met Erica after the semester ended in Jerusalem, and we spent two days together in Jordan— including a full day at Petra—a week in Israel, and 12 days traveling through Egypt. (Erica had originally wanted to do the semester abroad when the extra trip was planned for Egypt, so that dream was also realized.)