Theme: Moving Mountains

Seven ideas on how to overcome the mountainous challenges that face our country, community and personal lives.

Romance Theater
2 E Main Street
Rexburg, Idaho, 83440
United States

Justin Osmond

Philanthropist, Author, Producer and Motivational Speaker

Growing up with a 90% hearing loss is hard for anyone, but being the son of Merrill Osmond, the lead singer of the world-renowned Osmond Family, made deafness an even bigger challenge for him. Diagnosed at the age of 2 with a 90% hearing loss and after 12 years of intense speech and listening therapy, he can now speak with passion and through modern-day technology, hear with conviction. Considering the fact that he was a couple years behind his peers, he has shown through intense dedication, mental and physical exertion, that nothing can stop him from going after his dreams. There were many obstacles and challenges that represented stumbling blocks, despair and lack of hope. But his will-power, determination, desire, and hope surpassed all hurdles that stood in his way.

Logan Zuck

Student and Mental Health Advocate

Logan Zuck was born on a hot, dry April day in Richland, Washington. His family moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho. He had a very typical childhood. He played hockey, tried baseball, soccer, played grid-kid football, and was an altar boy and boyscout. He learned to play the guitar and loved to swim. Life was good! Then during his eighth-grade year, he began to change. His parents, siblings, teachers, coaches and principal noted that he was not “the old Logan.” His whole personality was different. His mom desperately sought out help and by the age of fifteen, he was diagnosed with severe Schizophrenia. Despite his challenges, he is now a college student and cherishes every moment of his life. He plays guitar in a band and sings. He writes poetry. He loves to hike and be in the outdoors. Everyday he’s thankful for every day he has on his beautiful earth!

Matt Pond

Motivational Speaker

Matt Pond grew up in Ucon, Idaho the 13 th of 14 children. He attended school at Bonneville, then Ricks College. Matt has been performing all of his life, with his family and later as a solo act. In January of 2006, Matt began having troubling symptoms, and months later, scans revealed brain cancer. Matt was just 35 years old and finishing up his final year of school at Boise State. That was put on hold to battle cancer for the next four years. After radiation, eight types of chemotherapy, and three surgeries, Matt was given a clean bill of health and is cancer-free. During treatment, he had lost the ability to read and write and the use of his right side. Matt has pressed forward with great determination and hope. He developed a unique method of playing his acoustic guitar with one hand. He learned to read and write again and completed a bachelors’ degree at BYU-Idaho in 2013. Matt and his wife Kriss live in Rexburg, Idaho. They have four sons and a daughter.

Paulette Kirkham

Teacher, Learner and "The Girl Who Doesn't Know"

Paulette Kirkham is a proud "dumb" cell phone owner. She is also an innovative academic. A Los Angeles native, Paulette is the author of "Memoirs of a Marginal Mormon" and teaches English 106 (Basic Writing) at Brigham Young University-Idaho as an adjunct faculty member. She earned her Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree (literature emphasis) through Thomas Edison State University in Trenton, N.J., and holds an M.A. in English with an emphasis in rhetoric from National University. In addition to teaching, she is a sought after motivational speaker and is an unapologetic fan of the greatest Christian apologist, C.S. Lewis. When she isn't glued to the pages of a book, she spends time on renovation projects, cycling, and trying very hard to learn all things literary and English (except for dangling participles). Her guilty pleasures are sipping herbal teas in her favorite chair, playing hide 'n seek with her grandchildren and reading Louis L'Amour novels.

Regan Muir

Student at BYU-Idaho

Regan Muir believes in liberating people financially. He believes in the idea that everyone can, and should, have a bright financial future. This is his passion and his belief. To fulfill this belief, Regan is currently studying accounting at Brigham Young University-Idaho. After graduating from BYU-Idaho, he plans on attending Idaho State University to receive his Master’s degree in accounting. He eventually wants to receive his doctorate in accounting as well. Although Regan has lived in Rexburg almost his entire life, he loves to travel and experience new cultures. At the age of 11, Regan went as a Student Ambassador to six European countries. He visited Ireland, England, Wales, France, Belgium, and Holland. He also served a Spanish speaking mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Colombia Barranquilla Mission.

Stephen McNeil

BYU-Idaho Faculty, Department of Physics

Stephen R. McNeil was born in Inglewood, California in 1965. He finished high school at El Dorado High in Placerville, California in 1983. He served an LDS mission to Brazil during 1985-87, and graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a BS in Physics in 1990 and an MS in Physics in 1991. He started work as a faculty member of Ricks College, now known as Brigham Young University-Idaho (BYU-Idaho), located in Rexburg, Idaho. During this time, he earned a PhD in Physics & Astronomy from BYU in 2004. Stephen served as a Fulbright Specialist and Scholar to Italy and Brazil in 2015, and is currently the Physics Department Chair and Planetarium Director at BYU-Idaho. He is married to Rosemary Tenorio since 1989, and has three boys Jeanyck, Jackson, and Bryan.

Yarezmi Olvera

Student and Advocate

Yarezmi Olvera’s motto to life is " be courageous, empower others, creating the impossible, and refining the standard." This are principles that she has strives to base her life one. That is because she has learned that by not only lifting those in need but helping them become self-sustaining in a holistic way, they than can touch the lives of others. She focuses her efforts and passion in the area of wellness and poverty alleviation and corruption. The windy road she plans to take to achieve those goals is by learning communications at BYU-I with an emphasis in organization and advocacy. She will then enroll in graduate studies and receive her MBA. To then collaborate with organizations and her business to help fight poverty and corruption from different angles. Yarezmi spends her free time with various activities such as learning about job creation, cross-fit, dancing, watching TED talks, reading books, going on spontaneous adventures and serving those around her.