Hoping to prepare worldwide church leaders through his teaching experience, Dr. Brent Yergensen, a new BYU-Hawaii communications professors from Twin Falls, Idaho, said he aims to create a class culture which requires a relationship built between the teacher and students. “If you have a comment or concern, I don’t want you to come to see me as Dr. Yergensen, but see me as Brent.”
Inspired by Elder Jeffery R. Holland’s general conference talk when he was a teenager, Dr. Yergensen said he became fascinated with the capacity of good communication. His interest has been focused in media studies. He shared, “Media creates what can be or is reality through film, television, literature, or radio. We see, we listen to, and we absorb from these forms of media over and over again, and things do become our reality.”
Why did you decide to come to BYUH?
Dr. Yergensen said, “I feel like I came home.” He said he has wanted to be part of BYUH, an international university that prepares church leaders, for the last 15 years. “About twice a week for the last four years, I have been looking for any job opening in BYUH. One day, I got an email from Chiung Hwang Chen, who is one of the faculty members, and she said they were looking for a person in media and society. I felt that was me.”
When he was offered to come and teach here, he said, “I knew I wanted [the job]. This is exactly what I want to do as my career; To teach for the church and help students in testimonies as much as I want to help them develop job skills and consecutive learning.
“When I was on the phone with Dr. Phillip McArthur, I accepted the job right away. He was the one who said, ‘Go and talk to your wife.’ Me and my wife prayed about it and accepted the job in the next morning,” Yergensen said.
Teaching experience
Dr. Yergensen got his bachelor’s degree from Idaho State University then went to pursue his master’s degree in Eastern Illinois University. He mentioned during the interview how his wife, Celeste Yergensen, encouraged him to study for his Ph.D at the University of Nebraska and become a teacher in communications.
When asked what motivated the Yergensen family to get to where they are, Celeste said it’s the gospel. “Knowing that the Savior wants us to seek out all the knowledge and intelligence, which we can take on with us when we go, motivates us to pursue education.”
Celeste said she is currently in the process of finishing up her education. She shared it’s been a longer process because of the kids, but the love of learning keeps her going.
Before their family moved to Hawaii, Dr. Yergensen said he had a secure job back in St. George, Utah where he taught at Dixie State University for the last eight years. “I became an associate professor and I got ranked and tenured there. It was also a big blessing for me to be able to serve as a department chair and later as an associate dean who overlooked all the communication programs.”
Recalling his teaching experience back in the 2018 spring semester, which was his first semester at BYUH, Dr. Yergensen said, “I finished teaching for Dixie state on April 26, and I came here on April 30. It was one of the hardest semesters for me because I was teaching on the cuff. I taught in the mornings and I prepared in the evenings and during the weekends. I put in more hours having the semester ready.”
“However, in the upcoming fall semester, I will be more prepared because I’ve used the entire summer to have everything ready.” Yergensen said, “I am excited for the semester to start.”
Teaching with focus and passion
Yergensen shared the biggest thing he teaches and enjoys teaching in the Mass Communication Society class is the concept of high culture vs. low culture. “High culture is much about high quality. There is an element of objectivity and a fascination of providing details. For low culture, we often associate it with ‘trashy culture’. It’s not necessarily immoral, but it can be. It includes things that are sarcastic and meant to embarrass.”
He said he encourages students to pursue high culture, and “we should be very picky and strategic in observing what we consume.
“The Book of Mormon is an example of the high culture, and the characters will also draw you into their minds. When you read the Book of Mormon, you will be heartbroken by what happened in the end. Mormon and Moroni didn’t fail, but they felt like they failed. Basically, the last thing they said, was ‘We lost, and we don’t have any friends.’ It’s a very sad story.”
In addition, Yergensen listed a couple of media channels that are considered high culture such as the Washington Post and the New York Times. He said bad media like Access Hollywood and TMZ don’t give us what’s real and authentic.
Teaching style
Dr. Yergensen said over the last three years, he completely changed the way he taught. He said he was awarded “Teacher of the Year” by Dixie State University, believing it was because of the changes he made.
“I used to do a lot of lecture which worked before social media, but you can’t teach that way anymore. There is a movement in academia called the ‘flipped classroom’ which means students should be able to grab the concept of the lecture outside of the class. A classroom should be a laboratory, where students work together for their assignments or projects,” Yergensen commented.
Dr. Yergensen’s good friend and colleague, Dr. David Harris, described Dr. Yergensen as “a one-of-a-kind individual. When I think about Brent Yergensen, one of the things I think about is his ability to listen. He has the ability to listen to everything a person has to say, and then, he spews forth wisdom. Rather than spending time interrupting, because he feels like he already knows what a person is talking about, Brent simply listens. I think this is one of his greatest qualities.”
Besides teaching
Outside of his teaching job, Dr. Yergensen said he loves to write, and is in a very early stages of writing a novel. He also has a fascination in film studies and literature.
Yergensen considers himself a family-person and spends as much time with his family as possible. “I love going to my kids’ sports games, and I actually have been a volunteer coach for years.”
The day before Dr. Yergensen came to Hawaii, he was released from his church calling as a bishop. As Celeste has observed how her husband fulfilled his calling and his teaching responsibility, she said, “He's perceptive and compassionate toward people's situations and feelings. Whether it’s helping someone go through repentance process or with academic papers.”
Writer: Vic Zhong