Campus Community

On Tuesday, March 9, 2011, a forum was held in the Aloha Center discussing the topic of “Sustainability.” The forum featured three guest speakers: David Keala from Food Services, Theresa Holmes from Sustain BYU–Hawaii, and Carol Feenga from the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation. Each of the speakers called for a better and more sustainable BYU–Hawaii.

March 2, 2011-The BYU Management Society’s BYU–Hawaii chapter and the AMPS marketing club co-hosted a special forum with Dr. Robert Quinn, a professor in the School of Business at the University of Michigan. The BYU Management Society hosts forums on campus as a means of working toward their vision of growing moral and ethical leadership around the world. Dr. Quinn entitled his remarks “The Fundamental State of Leadership: How to Make a Difference Wherever You Are”. The forum followed a day after he spoke in the campus devotional. Follow this link to read the transcript of Dr. Quinn’s Devotional address.

In an effort to better prepare incoming freshman for their college experience, the BYU–Hawaii Admissions office has initiated a new program called Holomua. “We decided to provide this program so we can better work with students on a personal level on our campus,” says Assistant Director of Admissions Asai Gilman. The program gives high school juniors the chance to experience university life while preparing for entrance exams and enjoying the beauty of the campus for a week during the summer.

The tsunami advisory has officially ended, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Because of the close proximity of most students, faculty, and staff to the BYU–Hawaii campus, classes will remain in session in this and other similar situations where there is no imminent danger. Mahalo to all those who complied with university safety procedures during the tsunami warning.

Instead of the usual opening song being the only musical performance at BYU-Hawaii’s weekly devotional, as Anna Mooy, the assistant professor of music closed her remarks, she sang the hymn, “O Love That Glorifies the Son” to close her remarks.

Drawing similarities from each institution’s purpose to “learn, lead, and build,” Bank of Hawaii and BYU–Hawaii have recently partnered to create the Pacific Banking Scholars Program. The program will supply qualified students from American Samoa, Saipan, and Guam with scholarships, internships, and career opportunities. A reception was held on February 16, at which Bank of Hawaii presented BYU–Hawaii with $100,000 for the program.

Kaminaga and Lydia Kaminaga, BYU–Hawaii alumni from the Marshall Islands, made a decision. “We decided that we should be some of those people that make a difference…If we as Marshallese citizens don’t make changes for the better for our people, who will?” And since graduation in 2008, they have spent their time doing just that.

At a weekly devotional held on Tuesday, February 8, BYU-Hawaii heard from Director of Communications at BYU-Idaho Bruce Hobbs. Brother Hobbs titled his talk, “Behold Here is the Agency of Man.”

The phenomenon of rapid language acquisition in LDS missionaries has been a topic of study in a small corner of applied linguists worldwide for a number of years. Lynne Hansen, a recently-retired BYU–Hawaii linguistics professor, has been especially interested in the topic for decades. Two of her non-LDS colleagues from the Netherlands took a particular interest in the subject after hearing Hansen present at both the International TESOL and American Association for Applied Linguistics conventions. After attending General Conference of the Church in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2002 – coincidentally the same weekend as the conventions – her colleagues, one a representative of John Benjamins, a prestigious academic press, suggested that many people believe LDS missionaries to be excellent language learners and that a book on missionary language acquisition would likely be quite popular among such an audience. Hansen agreed and set to work gathering research for the book.

BYU–Hawaii recently welcomed Michael Aldrich as the new library director for the university. He and his wife, Emma, come from Carrollton, Georgia, and have eight children. Previously, Michael served as an Associate Professor/Instruction Librarian and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of West Georgia.

Dean Douglas D. Anderson from the John M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University addressed BYU-Hawaii at a weekly devotional on January 25 with five lessons for undergraduates.

Thousands gathered in the campus of BYU–Hawaii on Thursday, January 20, 2011, to hear from Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles who stopped in Hawaii as part of his visit to the Pacific Area of the Church.

It was 2005 when Brett Lee first came out to BYU-Hawaii to study hospitality and tourism management. And while at BYU-Hawaii he got an internship at the Sales & Marketing department at the Turtle Bay Resort.

The BYU–Hawaii Devotional web page recently received a major facelift, both in form and function in preparation for the 2011 school year. The new site became active over the break for the holidays, and has many new features to enhance its functionality as a resource for lessons, talks, and gospel study.

“You don’t have to own a car to have a car.”

Pictured Above: Left to right: Gary Cornia (Dean of BYU Marriott School), Tony Romero (President of BYUMS), Ryan Barber (BYU–Hawaii Student Chapter President), Joel Deceuster (President Elect of BYUMS), Erin Frederick (BYU–Hawaii Student Chapter Faculty Advisor)

The scent of orchids and plumerias blended with the anticipation in the air Friday, December 17, as students, families, and community members made their way to the Cannon Activities Center (CAC) for the 2010 Commencement exercises.

Elder L. Tom Perry, one of the Twelve Apostles for the LDS Church, and Hiu Wai Tsui, a psychology major from Sai Kung, Hong Kong, will be speaking at BYU-Hawaii’s graduation on December 17, 2010. Approximately 235 seniors from as many as 72 nations will be graduating at the commencement exercises that begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Cannon Activities Center.