Mike Foley

Bill Spencer, president of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association, compared entrepreneurship in the 21st century to "an extreme sport without risk of bodily harm."

Mike Foley | University Advancement | 17 March 2006 When Beth Parker Uale ('85) first came to BYU-Hawaii her primary goal was to get her "MRS. degree." Later, when graduation became a priority, it took her an additional four years to finish her final year of studies. She since spent another seven years in graduate school. Consequently, Uale encouraged today's BYU-Hawaii students to make the most of the educational experiences while they're here.

"Throughout the many years of schooling I have learned that there are certain things that will help to make the journey more efficient and more effective," she said, offering a few suggestions to avoid the roadblocks to reaching educational goals:

During the BYU-Hawaii 2nd Stake conference over the March 12 weekend, Elder Charles Didier of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Elder Eric B. Shumway of the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy called ArapataMeha as the new president of the university's married student stake.

One of Hawaii's leading corporate attorneys shared some of the learnings and business philosophies he has instilled in his own and other ventures in the March 14entrepreneurship lecture series.

BYU-Hawaii ReligiousEducation and History Professor Kerry Muhlestein prefaced his March 10 lecture on the Dead Sea Scrolls by saying he's frequently asked why members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are so interested in the ancient Hebrew documents. In response, he said LDSscholars have contributed significantly to their study and members of the Church perceive a number of parallel ties with modern practices and doctrine.

Kitty Lagareta, one of Hawaii's top businesswomen, outlined the career she developed after her children were grown and advised BYU-Hawaii students in the March 7 Entrepreneurship Lecture Series to develop early credibility, learn from mistakes and follow business plan timelines and budgets.

In the February 24 lecture series accompanying the special Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit on display at the Laie Temple Visitors Center, BYU-Hawaii History Department Chair Jared Ludlow explained how the 2,000-plus-year-old documents help modern scholars and students learn more about the Bible, and how they were important to the ancient scribes who wrote them.

Mike Foley | University Advancement | 21 February 2006 Two Hawaiian women from Kalihi, Oahu, who are longtime friends, told BYU-Hawaii business students in the February 21 entrepreneurship lecture how they have relied on local culture and aloha spirit to help get their scrapbook manufacturing business off the ground.

Bella Finau-Faumuina, a former musician, and Delia Parker-Ulima, a 1996 political science graduate from BYU-Hawaii who went on to earn a law degree from the University of Hawaii, started Native Creative Crafts out of their homes in 2001, launched a retail website three years ago, and opened a small retail store in Kaneohe last year.

Two senior BYU-Hawaii computer science majors won $5,000, the largest-ever prize in the Mark and Laura Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship business plan competition on February 10, for their proposal to establish an online service for large-volume professional digital photographers and their various customers.