Gift, Virtue, and Confidence share how BYU-Pathway has enhanced their careers and testimonies
The Obiandu siblings come from a family that values education. In 2019, Gift started BYU-Pathway courses and convinced his sister Virtue and brother Confidence to enroll with him. Gift and Confidence wanted to add to the degrees they’d earned at other universities, and Virtue wanted to kick-start her education after her full-time mission.
Sibling support
Gift, Virtue, and Confidence attended gatherings and studied together each week. Gift shared, “We talked about the lessons for the week and the principles learned, and from there we grew. It was a new and exciting journey for us.”
The three siblings supported each other in their studies, using each of their unique strengths to tutor one another. “It brought us closer,” Virtue said. “It helped us grow our relationship as siblings. It was a lot easier to study together when we had challenges. We were able to help each other solve problems.”
Moving forward with education and careers
All three siblings completed foundational PathwayConnect courses and are now pursuing bachelor's degrees in applied health . Their studies have come with challenges, but they have seen growth along the way.
“When I graduated from my school here in Nigeria, I had only one certificate to show for the four or five years of my educational journey,” Gift shares. “It was so exciting for me to join BYU-Pathway knowing I’d have the privilege of earning more than one certificate.”
Gift earned an associate’s degree, including two certificates, in 2023. Many nights, he got little sleep as he worked on homework for four hours a day while juggling work and his calling as a branch president.
But his sacrifices have paid off. He plans to complete his bachelor’s degree soon. “It’s like the feeling of someone who is in a marathon when they get to the finish line. That’s the same feeling I have right now.”
Virtue has completed her first certificate and is close to completing another. The skills she’s gained have helped her progress in her career. “Everything I gathered in community health certificate I’m applying currently in my job as a health and safety personnel.”
Confidence is enthusiastic as he works to complete his first certificate, despite some setbacks with his health. “The experiences and the things that I’ve learned have helped me in my current job,” he shares.
Spiritual blessings of BYU-Pathway
All three siblings testify of spiritual blessings that have come from their education.
“BYU-Pathway has helped me grow in my knowledge about Jesus Christ and helped me increase my scripture study and prayer,” Virtue said.
Confidence’s spiritual knowledge increased as he studied the gospel with his siblings. “When we read scriptures and then shared experiences, it gave us an open mind to learning.”
Gift has a strong testimony of the blessings that come from pursuing education with BYU-Pathway. It’s blessed his own life as well as those he serves in his calling.
“BYU-Pathway has the potential of not only drawing us to the Savior but enabling us to meet our goals: our career goals, our goals to build a strong family, our goals to have a strong faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, our goals to serve wherever we find ourselves. We can become better disciples of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Visit
byupathway.edu/degrees/program-list
for a list of degree and certificate options in the current catalog.