BYU: Student’s journey leads to unexpected love of combining technology, genealogy | News, sports, jobs

Growing up in Houston, Garrett Mast always imagined college on the East Coast, home to some of the oldest and most iconic campuses in the country. But after joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a 16-year-old, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to attend BYU.

“I always wanted to go to college, but BYU gave me more opportunities to pursue my interests,” he said.

But the transition from Texas to BYU wasn’t easy. Mast’s first semester on campus was in the fall of 2020, and because of the ongoing pandemic, many of his classes were online. He found camaraderie and community in his sorority chapter and, for the first time in his life, was surrounded by friends united under the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Some of my high school friends were at various universities that were completely closed. But here we had a church and we met. It was nice to have this group of friends who had the same beliefs and the same desires to make the best of the situation,” Mast said. “The first year I had a support group that came from being a ward member.”

Through several on-campus jobs and experiential learning opportunities, Mast, who will graduate later this month, said he has a front-row seat to the positive impact BYU and its graduates have on the world. One of his first jobs on campus was working on the sound crew for BYU’s theater and media arts productions. He remembers the organized chaos of setting up sound and controlling countless concerts and live events on campus and around the world.

“I did a tour with some BYU performing groups in Germany, and I thought it was cool to meet with church members there and see the breadth of BYU’s reach and positive impact on the world,” Mast said. “It was especially cool for me to go to places in rural Germany and meet people who knew about BYU and what it stands for.”

But it was an introductory family history course that sparked Mast’s passion for research. He said he felt drawn to study family history, even if it wasn’t his first intended major. He accepted an on-campus job at the Center for Family History and Genealogy after his third year and now directs more than 20 research assistants who focus on studying people who lived in Nauvoo, Illinois, when the church was headquartered there.

“We are identifying everyone who lived in Nauvoo at that time and conducting genealogical research on these early saints,” Mast said, noting that they hope to one day turn that research into narrative histories.

As project manager, Mast helps organize the entire research process, from reading historical records to working with computer programmers to creating interactive maps of land ownership in Nauvoo.

“I’ve done a lot of interdisciplinary work. I didn’t think I’d be doing family history, but I really enjoyed the process and I see my career path going in that direction,” Mast said. “I love integrating technology and family history to visually display information about a person or place and its history.”

Mast said he plans to work in the genealogy field and make historical information more accessible; he even plans to pursue a master’s degree in library and information science.

For now, though, he’s enjoying every unexpected twist on the journey that’s taken him from Texas to Provo. And no matter where he goes next, the experiences he had at BYU have prepared him for success.

“BYU emphasizes the things you learn outside of the classroom, and that had an impact on me,” he said. “BYU prepared me to work in the community and discover ways I can make an impact.”

Tyler Stahle is BYU’s media relations manager.

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