In this recorded interview celebrating Hilary Bagley’s 2024 winter graduation, Hilary reflects on a 33‑year educational odyssey that began after high school in 1991. She recounts multiple attempts to return to college, a missionary service, and the feeling of an unfinished life until her husband introduced her to BYU Pathway (later PathwayConnect) in 2018. Despite initial doubts about cost, time, and ability, Hilary took the first brave step, attended her first gathering, and found community among other nervous learners. Over the course of the program she describes growing confidence with the Canvas learning platform, deepening her relationship with Jesus Christ, and feeling the Lord’s support in overcoming perceived weaknesses. The education enabled a career shift from years of retail work to a stable 8‑to‑5 job, and now qualifies her for management positions she previously thought unattainable. Throughout, she emphasizes faith, perseverance, and the uniquely designed nature of Pathway, urging listeners to "just do it" and trust that Heavenly Father has a plan for their success.
Chapters
Rolling. Go ahead and slate it. 2024 winter graduation for Hillary Bagley. This is 1A-21.
Hillary, you made it. Congratulations.
Thank you. I am so excited.
Really? How are you feeling now? All— think about all the things that you've gone through, all the work that you've done. What feelings do you have right now standing at a finish line that's actually a starting line?
Yeah, right. I feel a load of relief. I feel an intense sense of accomplishment. I've been trying to graduate from this exact building since 1991, so it is a beautiful full circle that I feel like Heavenly Father has gifted to me. And I, I didn't think that it could happen, and he put everything in place to make it happen.
Put everything in place for you. Tell me a little bit about your path. Tell me a little bit how you got here. You said 1991.
Yeah. Going back a little bit.
Yeah. But tell me how you found out about BYU-Hapa and how has it helped you in your educational experience?
Yeah, I have— so I left, I finished high school in '91, came to this campus, and after about a year and a half, I went on a mission. And then it was a constant incomplete thing in my life. I would always think, okay, I'll go back to a community college, I'll go back to a community college, and I did several different places several different times. And then after I got married, my husband said, I heard about this thing called Pathway. And I was like, okay. And he said, so I think you should do it. And I was trying to come up with any reason why I didn't need to do it because I had I had believed the lie that I couldn't. And so when it was introduced to me, I was like, it's gonna be too expensive and we don't really have the time to do it. And he's like, no, I think you can. And I was like, no, I don't really think I can. And then we went on a vacation to Moab and we went to the sacrament meeting there, and the speakers were two faculty missionaries. And my husband looked at me like, "So what are you going to do about it?" And I was like, "Oh!" And he got home and he pretty much like practically filled out the application for me and was like, "I can't like take the last step. You have to like, you have to submit it." And I was like, "Okay." And I went terrified to my first gathering and I saw other people that were terrified. With me, and I felt like I'm not the only one. I can do this. And it was an entire, entire journey. So 2018, that's when that happened. And from that day to this, I have seen the Lord's hand more in my life than I ever have before.
Thanks so much for sharing that with me, Hillary. What would you say to someone who's just starting out? Someone who is maybe in the position where you were a few years ago, what would you say to encourage them to come and do it?
Just take the first brave step. Just— I'm going to go to Alma and say, like, just a seed. Like, even if you want to believe, even if you want to hope to believe, I don't care how far back that is. If there's any desire at all, just take it. Be brave enough to take the first step and show up, and you'll see that you're not alone. You're not the only one that feels that way. Just do it.
How have you felt yourself growing capability throughout this experience studying BYU Pathway?
I, I found myself feeling more confident every time I go into Canvas. Like, I know how this works. I feel like I grew in capacity because I grew closer to Jesus Christ. I feel like he took my weakness and constantly over and over I would say, I cannot, I can't do this, and he would be like, you know, you can. I'm gonna do it with you. We're gonna do it together. And I would try, and more and more I would less and less feel like I had— I couldn't do it, and more and more like, okay, Heavenly Father, we got this together. And he's like, yep, we got this. And so then we would just do it together, and it was, it was really fantastic.
Well, it's a credit to you that you did walk alone. You had the faith to take that first step. Tell me a little bit how BYU Pathways helped you in your job opportunity.
Yeah, so I, I never thought I could have an 8-to-5 kind of a job. I had worked for years in retail and I just thought for the rest of my life I'm gonna work evenings and weekends and holidays. And within the first 2 semesters of Catholic Connect, I had a part-time job that was working between 8 and 5, and then within months after that I had a full-time job that was an 8-to-5 job. And even within that time, as I've gone through my BYU-Idaho experience, there have been management opportunities that I could have gone for, but I didn't have my bachelor's degree. And, um, Honestly, just last week I found out that somebody was leaving and there was a management position open. I thought, I can actually, I can actually apply for that. And whether they give it to me or not, I'm qualified. I can do it.
That's so awesome that you've now gone through that process where you've learned, you've sacrificed, you've struggled. And you're here. So thank you so much for your example. Any last thoughts? Any last feelings that are in your heart you want to share with the world?
Just do it. Just, just try it. Heavenly Father has a plan for everybody. There is a way for you to be successful in whatever he wants for you in your life, and he wants the best things. He wants you to be happy. He wants every good thing for you. And Pathway can help you get that. And Pathway is uniquely designed, uniquely created to help you get that. It's designed for it. Just do it.
Thanks, Hillary, so much for your example. Wonderful.
