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BYU Today, Your Alumni COnnection
 
A blue bar with the words Greatest of All Time and a video button  accompanies a photo of Ken Jennings, holding the Jeopardy championship trophy while show host Alex Trebek grasps and raises his hand in victory.
It all came down to the final answer, about which non-title character has the most speeches in a Shakespeare tragedy. The right question: “Who is Iago?” Fifteen years after the BYU grad’s historic six-month winning streak on the popular ABC game show, Ken Jennings won GOAT bragging rights and added a million dollars to his Jeopardy! winnings, now at $4,522,700. Read how Jennings honed his skills on BYU’s Quiz Bowl team or watch or read how the tournament drama unfolded.
A female figure in silhouette extends her hands to the sun, framing it with her fingers in the shape of a heart next to a quote by President Kevin J Worthen from a recent BYU devotional: We can bring God's power into our lives by focusing on joy.
In the first campus devotional of 2020, President Kevin J Worthen and Sister Peggy Worthen shared messages of honesty and joy. Sister Worthen shared how stories can help us to build character and related a Chinese folktale on honesty. Then President Worthen addressed joy, saying, “We begin to have joy when we focus on Christ,” and, “Joy is the key to our spiritual survival” in trying times. Watch highlights or the full video from President and Sister Worthen. And view the rest of this semester’s devotional schedule.
BYU Store, mission coins: solid metal, gold plated, hand painted. Shop now.
Itzhak Perlman performs the Beethoven Violin Concerto, accompanied by the BYU Philharmonic, on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Photo by Jaren Wilkey.
It was the hottest ticket in Utah this winter. But even more enviable were the seats on the stage where student musicians in the BYU Philharmonic had enjoyed an earlier rehearsal with violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman. The orchestra accompanied the 74-year-old violinist in playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto, in celebration of Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Read more about this remarkable campus visit by a renowned master musician.
In this scene from a Book of Mormon video, four males walk on a very beige and barren trail, leading a camel loaded with supplies. Nephi’s family took animals into the wilderness, but what kind? BYU experts helped fill in all kinds of unknowns to bring the Book of Mormon Videos to life. Photo courtesy of Intellectual Reserve.
When filming scriptural events, what do you do when the written account lacks information to fully depict a scene? When working on the new Book of Mormon videos, a team of current and former BYU professors of ancient scripture had this goal: to provide reasonable details where the record is silent, like what animals Lehi’s family would be hunting along the borders of the Red Sea, what 6th-century B.C. customs would have been used for the burial of Lehi, and how scenes should include Nephi’s sisters.
Young singer Clair Crosby in a long purple dress extends her arms and projects Into the Wild from Frozen 2 at the top of her lungs near a rock- and branch-strewn alpine lake.
Claire Crosby, the 7-year-old daughter of YouTuber and BYU grad Dave Crosby, performs a cover of “Into the Unknown” not long after she and her family attended the premiere of the Disney movie in Los Angeles.
BYU exercise science professor Larry Tucker is flanked by boldly labeled containers of whole, 2 percent, 1 percent, and skim milk.
It might be time to switch to lower-fat milk. According to research by exercise science professor Larry Tucker, drinking 1% milk instead of 2% milk accounts for 4.5 years of less aging in adults. Get more details about Tucker’s research on milk, which he calls “probably the most controversial food in our country.”
A Mexican national champion selected to attend the Montreal Olympics, Pitty García Cardiell (holding a baton) practices with BYU teammate Linda Bourn. García Cardiell’s mainstay events were the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter sprints and relays. Photo by María Guadalupe García Cardiell.
Recruited by BYU track coach Clarence Robison in April 1976, sprinter María Guadalupe “Pitty” García Cardiell received a scholarship offer and attended BYU that very fall—despite not speaking any English. That was just one impressive part of the story for this track athlete and communications star who defied expectations to chase her dreams.
Three recent covers from BYU Studies feature paintings of a girl holding bread and fish, angels ministering to a woman, and a mountain river scene.
BYU Studies Quarterly is now available to all alumni and friends for free. Previously available only with a paid subscription, this unique collection can now be accessed online at byustudies.byu.edu. While you’re there, check out the essay and poetry contests—submissions due for both by Jan. 31, 2020.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill (7) smiles after spring on a touchdown reception against Minnesota Vikings free safety Harrison Smith (22) in the second half of an NFL wild-card playoff football game, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020, in New Orleans. Brett Duke, AP
Taysom Hill, the not-so-secret weapon of the New Orleans Saints, made NFL history in his team’s season finale. Watch Taysom throw and catch passes, run defenders over, and tackle kick returners in this highlight reel. And enjoy as NFL Films shows more of Hill’s skills in a humorous profile. Up next: With the Saints out, feel free to root for the Kansas City Chiefs with alums Andy Reid, Daniel Sorensen, and even Porter Ellett. Or cheer for other former Cougs still playing in the playoffs.
 
 
 
 
 
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