Steve Israelsen, chief financial officer of the Palmyra Inn, said the city of Palmyra is excited to see this building go up. It means more people will be able to visit Palmyra and stay longer, pouring money into the usually sleepy economy.

"The struggle is how to keep people there (in Palmyra)," he said. "Having a motel, people will actually be able to stay and spend time in the city."

Any college student is invited to attend the Palmyra Education Center. Hayes said there aren't any moral-code requirements like the ones BYU embraces. They don't ask about religious affiliation on the application form.

Reilly Wagoner is signed up for fall semester and said she can't wait. Wagoner first heard about the program through Hayes, her religion teacher at BYU-Idaho. And even though she's a senior and done with most of her classes, she said she is going for the experience and the field trips. She'll take an art class and a U.S. history class — perfect, she said, since she'll have a chance to see different parts of history every other weekend. Even her family is excited.

"They're jealous," she said. "They want to come with me."

The cost of the experience is almost $4,000 which includes two meals a day, tuition and the cost of all field trips.

For more information or to see a list of available classes, visit www.palmyrainn.com

---

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com