Campus Community

The Laie-based Mahalo No Ka Hana chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) named BYU-Hawaii Vice President of University Advancement V. Napua Baker [pictured on the left with her award in the photo at the left] as its Executive of the Year during its monthly luncheon on October 17.

Stace Hall | University Advancement | 15 October 2007


Business students may not at first consider a job in the medical field out of college, but they are highly needed, Dr. Robert Aki said earlier this month.

"The people that run those hospitals, that make…decisions, aren't doctors anymore. They're not the patients, even. It's basically all about health care administration, and most administrators don't even have a medical degree," he said.

After graduating from BYU-Hawaii in 1995, Aki attended the California College of Podiatric Medicine. He then practiced for two years in Los Angeles and three years in Honolulu as a foot and ankle surgeon by trade. Aki explained how much the field has changed, though, since he completed undergraduate work. "Medicine has changed quite dramatically into much more specialized fields," he said. 

History professor and University Archivist Dr. Matt Kester urged BYU-Hawaii students in his October 11 devotional address, A City on a Hill, to fulfill the Savior's admonition to be peacemakers and founder President David O. McKay's charge to "establish peace internationally."

For four weeks last summer, BYU-Hawaii mathematics professor Dr. Susan Barton [pictured at left] participated with 69 other mid-career women in academia in the prestigious joint Bryn Mawr HERS (Higher Educational Resources Services) Summer Institute. The annual program, held on the famed "seven sisters" campus near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has provided women leadership and management development in higher educational administration over the past 35 years.

Rosemarie Howard | University Advancement | 9 October 2007


Melodies and rhythms of traditional  Japanese koto playing and contemporary taiko drumming will fill the stage of the McKay auditorium Thursday, 11 November, at 7:30 p.m.

The Japanese Koto Trio, featuring veteran performers Masateru Ando , Tamaki Ando, and Christopher Yohmei Blasdel , will begin the evening.  Ando and his daughter, Tamaki, are masters of the koto, a 13-string zither-like instrument that resembles a harp in sound.  Blasdel is a respected performer and teacher of shakuhachi, a flute-like instrument made of bamboo.

BYU-Hawaii Director of Career Services Kimbrelyn Austin [pictured at left] and some of her staff presented advice, listed do's and don'ts and even role played to help students prepare to meet recruiters during the October 16 job fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Cannon Activities Center.

Stace Hall | University Advancement | 09 October 2007
Students who want to be successful in life will not achieve their goals until they decide to take action, Frank Peck told a group of BYU-Hawaii students recently. Peck, CEO of American Money Group, sponsor of the Asia-Pacific Basketball Classic, visited campus and spoke to members of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE). 

Stace Hall | University Advancement | 05 October 2007


True worship of Deity requires a person's devotion and attention every day and in every way, BYU-Hawaii's first lady, Margaret Wheelwright, told the audience at this week's devotional.

"The fact that we are all…at this university is evidence that we are devoted men and women interested in hallowing the Lord's name…but we are here because we want to try a little harder and reach a little higher in our quest for true worship," she said.

Sister Wheelwright broke down true worship into five elements, all beginning with the letter t. She said these components are like building blocks and that a person must be actively engaged to attain a state of spiritual well-being.

BYU-Hawaii Vice President of Student Affairs Isileli Kongaika announced October 4 that Lupe Piena, MPA, JD, has been named acting director of International Student Services.

Rosemarie Howard | University Advancement | 01 October 2007


Internationally acclaimed solo performer Tomas Kubinek, also known as a “certified lunatic and master of the impossible,” will perform at BYU-Hawaii Thursday, 4 October, in the McKay Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Kubinek  (pronounced koo-bee-neck) describes his performance as “a brilliant one man show of absurd stories, death defying experiments and spontaneous hilarity, affordably priced and once seen, cherished for a lifetime.”

His performance at BYU-Hawaii will include sketches called  “Flying,” and “Wine.”

Twenty-one high school students from Wellington, New Zealand, in the Nga Taiohi o te Rawhiti o te Upoko o te Ika cultural group visited BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center this week during a 10-day tour of Hawaii, and took time to share a very polished presentation of Maori kapa haka or traditional songs and dances in the Aloha Center mall.

Stace Hall | University Advancement | 27 September 2007
As they make final preparations before departing to preside as president and matron of the Hong Kong Temple, Charles and Helen Goo shared thoughts and lessons they've learned throughout the years.

While doing so, they said they wanted the audience to feel right at home.

"My kitchen is a wonderful place to talk story, and so today I'd like to invite all of you as if you are in my kitchen… the only difference is I do all the talking, and you do all the listening," Helen Goo said.

Goo, an entrepreneur and founder of Helen's Kitchen, shared what she called "pearls of wisdom from Helen's Kitchen." She said through life experiences she acquired three pearls, which she wanted to pass along to the audience.

First, Goo shared a teaching from Confucius, which, translated, reads as follows:

Members of the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir showcased the 2007-2008 theme of the BYU-Hawaii Women’s Organization by singing “Holding Hands Around the World,” a popular LDS Primary song, at the organization’s first luncheon of the academic year held Friday, 21 September 2007. Sister Margaret Wheelwright, wife of BYU-Hawaii president, Steven Wheelwright, was the featured guest speaker.

Donald Asher, author of nine books on career development who regularly gives presentations at more than 100 major universities around the U.S. each year, shared strategies with BYU-Hawaii students in the September 25 Career Services forum on how to land scholarships, take standardized tests, stand out from the crowd and write amazing essays to gain admission to highly competitive graduate school programs.

Individuals must be the change they wish to see in order to be on the move with God, faculty member Chad Ford told the audience at Thursday's devotional.

Stace Hall | University Advancement | 19 September 2007

When BYU-Hawaii tennis player Shenley Searing steps on to the tennis court, she wants her opponent to feel the love—reflected in the match's final score.

"I love the competition and it gives me satisfaction. I just have a drive and I feel at home on the tennis court," she said.

But a different kind of love motivated her to trade in her racket for gardening tools over the summer. Searing's solid serves down the line were put on hold in order to serve in a different way.

Alan Akina, a BYU-Hawaii basketball player from 1991-95, told School of Business students in the September 18 entrepreneurship lecture how he was inspired to start several businesses while still a full-time student at the university. He also shared some of the keys to the success he has enjoyed since then and encouraged the students to begin developing networks with professors and peers.

Over the summer, around 100 teenage Chinese athletes played basketball Seasider-style. In cooperation with the China University Basketball Association (CUBA), BYU-Hawaii conducted the first-ever American basketball academy for high school players in China.