Stephen Henderson

Stephen Henderson, a native of Maryland, went to BYU-Idaho because he was interested in interacting with members of the church. He graduated from BYU-Idaho in 2011 with a degree in communication and an emphasis in journalism and public relations.

He was apart of Scroll. They wanted him to be an editor for Scroll, but instead he took a position with News & Notes the official employee and retiree newsletter of BYU-Idaho. There he had the opportunity to report on innovations in the classroom. A few of his stories that he wrote for News & Notes were published in local newspapers.

Henderson formed relationships with his teachers while at BYU-Idaho. These people have been very influential in his life. He said of Brother Ron Bennett, “He was awesome. He really, really pushed us to be good at what we did.” One assignment Brother Bennett gave Henderson and his class was to find a random name on a headstone then research that person and find stories on them.

“The nature of the assignments that Brother Bennett had us do were similar to the kind of what you do in the real world,” said Henderson. He also liked that Brother Bennett never said anything that wasn’t “reinforcing.” To this day, Henderson is still influenced by Brother Bennett and recognizes that he helped him realize his love for journalism.

Henderson loved the environment that exists at BYU-Idaho. “You can share what’s on your mind and can really share ideas back and forth and they actually really encourage it,” he said.

He discusses how school is meant to be a safe place where you can mess up. “Try things, experiment, explore, and get out of your comfort zone. The ones who are making it [in the city] are experimenting and trying new things,” said Henderson. He hopes students realize that college is the best time to do this.

Taking his own advice while in college, Henderson got an internship in Rigby helping out a small medical recruiting office. “It went horribly,” he said, “and I just straight up quit.” This experience allowed him to confirm what he didn’t want to do.

Upon graduation, Henderson wrote business profiles and feature stories for Melaleuca in Idaho Falls. He wanted to gain more experience though, and earn a master’s degree.

One day while still at BYU-I, he attended a Communication Day. He met Shane Snow, a graduate of BYU-Idaho and The Columbia School of Journalism. Henderson thought, “If kids who went to BYU-I can go to Columbia, I can too!” While at Melaleuca Henderson applied, not really expecting to get in. But he did.

Upon completing his master’s degree at The Columbia School of Journalism, Henderson will look into writing for a magazine or a newspaper. He may even want to teach at a high school or college one day.

Henderson advises students, “Try a lot of things and figure out what you’re interested in and what you’re good at and if you become good at something, brand yourself.” He continued, “Have an online presence and show you’re good at what you do and can be taken seriously.”