She was the first young woman in her branch to serve a mission in 20 years, the only high school student in all of Utah chosen to participate in a summer academy in Massachusetts, and was most recently selected by LDS Philanthropies as an ambassador. But most know Jami Harvey, sophomore biology major from the Navajo Nation at Montezuma Creek, Utah, for her kind smile and helping hands.
“She’s a light,” said Janey Grover of the admissions office, who was tasked with helping build the Native American scholar program that is brand new to BYU–Hawaii.
Grover worked directly with Harvey through the admission process. “She had a lot of other opportunities and places to go,” said Grover. “But she felt like she needed to be here.”
Harvey grew up on the reservation along with her parents and three younger siblings, but said she has particular admiration for the women of her family. Before she left on her mission, the only other sister missionary to serve from their ward had been her aunt twenty years earlier.
“I always aspired to be like the women of my family,” said Harvey. “My mom, my grandma, my great grandma and my aunt--they are just amazing women who loved and lived the gospel as best they could.”
Upon returning from her mission in January, Harvey was unsure of where she was going next. Unable to enroll for spring semester at Utah State University where she had spent her freshman year, she looked to her younger sister, Ashkiiyah, who had already been accepted at BYUH, and decided to apply.
“They were encouraging Native American students to apply because they needed more diversity,” she said. “I was encouraged to apply, but I was really hesitant about it and didn’t think I’d get it. The opportunity to come to BYUH really came after prayer.”
She said her parents encouraged ambition, and her past academic achievements show the fruits of that encouragement. “We were always told to work hard and do our best,” she said. “I always knew to get where I wanted to be it wasn’t going to be easy, but it would help us get our reward.”
And easy, it was not. The junior high and high school she attended was a forty-five minute drive away from her hometown and elementary school friends. She said a school official told her she’d never amount to anything because she was Native American. That was the breaking point that ended years of racism, struggle and misrecognition she endured there, Harvey said.
“Native American students were looked down upon so much. Help was provided,” said Harvey, “but no one believed in them... of course I didn’t believe him when he said I wouldn’t amount to anything; there was just so much negativity and that’s why I had to transfer.”
She transferred to Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. to study math and science as part of a special program for minorities. She was selected from 15 applicants after a complex four-level application. She graduated from the program in 2011.
“I really did love it,” said Harvey. “I miss it because I made lots of friends there ... but a lot of the things I learned there didn’t carry over and going back to high school was regression.”
Despite circumstances, Harvey said she has always found the time to help and serve others.
“She’s such a good person,” said Grover. “She’s a woman of service; when she sees a way to be of service, she is always there. I’ve never seen her say no.”
Harvey said, “If someone told me a year ago that I’d be in Hawaii or Relief Society President, I’d tell them they’re crazy. But I do want to live my life by being a good example and be a leader if necessary. I want to continue to encourage those who forgot the gospel to remember again and to be an influence of good in my community, my home, or wherever I end up.”