The McKay Foyer overflowed with students, professors, faculty, and Rotarians including Chet Dal Santo, district governor of the Rotary Club 5000, and Susan Case, Rotary Club of Honolulu President, as the BYU–Hawaii Rotaract Club held its first official meeting.
Rotary was founded in 1905 to connect professionals, soon the purpose expanded to serving the local community and is now on the global level. Today there are more than 1.2 million members striving for the elimination of polio, and promoting peace worldwide.
A handful of students have supported the Honolulu Chapter for more than a year, attending club meetings and participating in their service projects. Aaron Ng’ambi, president of the new BYU–Hawaii Rotaract Chapter, and his presidency have established a chapter on campus so that more students can be involved with the vision of Rotary.
Highlighting the Rotary motto “Service Above Self,” Mandy Leuluai, a member of BYU–Hawaii Rotaract commented, “The motto of Rotary falls in hand with the purpose of BYU–Hawaii. Focusing on serving others is a wonderful cause to be a part of.” Susan Case mentioned the maxim found at the entry of BYU–Hawaii “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve” and the reminder it is to all students.
BYU–Hawaii psychology professor Ed Kinghorn presented two personal experiences in which diverse groups worked together, illustrating the unifying power of Rotary. Aaron Ng’ambi furthered the impact of the organization by his statement, “I believe that this club has potential to not only change students and faculty here, but also the power to change the world. Students on our campus are from all over the world. By having a chapter here, we will be able to bring about change in the world.”