Last weekend, a parade of events and recognitions celebrated BYU’s official entrance into a Power Five athletic conference. Must-see highlights include this countdown clip, President Shane Reese’s welcome message, this BYU history/hype video, the chatter on Twitter, and a Big 12 photo gallery. If you can’t choose one, here is everything on one page.

Cosmo showed up ready to get to work a day early at the Big 12 offices in Dallas, Texas. And he brought his huge personality and bag of tricks (and photos). See why one of his new Big 12 coworkers says, “Yeah, having Cosmo in the office has been an adjustment.”

Pacific Islander and native Hawaiian populations have a higher-than-average incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, but the actual rate of disease is unknown due to underrepresentation in health research. BYU–Hawaii president John “Keoni” Kauwe and BYU PhD candidate Justina Tavana are part of a team—made up largely of Pacific Islanders—that is developing improved diagnostic tools and furthering DNA research in these communities.

Armed with extensive education and extraordinary grit, BYU grad Carolyn Melby has shared her nursing, political, and health-policy expertise from Cambodia to the Caribbean. “There are desperate needs all over,” she says. She is driven by a desire to serve God’s children and open doors for the Church. “I was a missionary from day one. Everything I do is motivated by that.” After eventually “retiring” from university-level teaching, Melby decided to serve more people by founding a charity to provide nursing education in developing countries.

To have a football player smash through a pane of glass—safely—has been a dream of BYU photographer Jaren Wilkey for years. Last year, for a shoot to reveal new football helmets, Wilkey stirred corn syrup and water in his kitchen, poured it into large sheets, then carefully drove the sugar glass to the BYU Photo studio. There the result of hours of planning and prep was shattered in seconds by linebacker Pepe Tanuvasa. Listen to the Y Magazine podcast about the photo shoot, see the final photo, and watch a behind-the-scenes video.

With its e-commerce tool that embeds the online shopping experience within a customer’s email, BYU student startup Zaymo took home $875,000 in total cash investments after winning third place at the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition last month. The team also won the $30,000 grand prize at the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge earlier this year. In addition to their financial gains, Brice Douglas, Santiago Gomez-Paz, and Danny Jones agree that the spiritual learning experienced at BYU brought the team together in powerful ways and allowed them to create a successful startup.

BYUtv’s beloved Studio C sketch comedy series has been renewed for two more seasons, with season 17 premiering this fall. To begin season 18 in spring 2024, there will be a celebratory hour-long 200th episode featuring 18 past and current cast members, including the return of all 10 originals. Get the serious details of the comedy with more than two billion views on YouTube.

In May Primary general president Susan H. Porter and Sister Tracy Y. Browning spoke at BYU Women’s Conference on the importance of focusing on our relationship with Jesus Christ to experience a more abundant life. “We don’t have to do less, but rather, receive more of what the Lord has to offer us,” said President Porter. Read a summary or watch a video to learn how prayer, scripture study, and temple attendance allow us to find balance through Christ.

The BYU Rocketry Team had soaring success at the 2023 Spaceport America Cup, with their rocket Solitude reaching a speed of 608 mph and coming within feet of the 10,000-foot altitude target. After a year of design and planning, the students’ hard work paid off, earning them the award for best overall performance among 158 competing international teams. Wondering what it takes to compete at such a high level? Here is a video documenting last year’s launch of Maverick.