BYU-Hawaii President Eric B. Shumway addressed a large group of international students in a May 16 Student Alumni Association meeting on the importance of their commitment to return home after graduation, and how the university supports them in that commitment.
"Things are happening right now that make us all excited because BYU-Hawaii is becoming more and more influential in the Church and in the world," President Shumway said in first giving a report on the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accrediting team visit about a month ago.
"They were amazed that everybody at BYU-Hawaii seems to know what the mission is, the purpose of this school, and that particularly the international students realize that they are here to bless their lives by good education, and are looking forward to the time when they can return and build the Church, their countries, their families and communities in their home areas."
"One of the team said, ‘I came to BYU-Hawaii expecting to be impressed; I come away inspired.' This is the group that accredits the University of California at Berkeley, UCLA and all of the major institutions in California and Hawaii," President Shumway continued. "For a small university, BYU-Hawaii ranks very high."
"It means that you can get as good an education at BYU-Hawaii as you can anywhere, if you work, study, and take these opportunities to really advance yourselves."
President Shumway explained the university has been working closely with the Board of Trustees on the future of BYU-Hawaii for a number of years. "In 2001 an ad hoc BYU-Hawaii Futures Committee set up by the board had the responsibility of identifying the future of the campus, the mission, and whether they would change in the 21st century."
"Up until that point, the mission had been clear, that [among other things] we would have a special mission to the nations of the Pacific and Asia, particularly the Asian Rim," he said, listing several of the committee's recommendations:
- Increase the number of international students by decreasing the number of U.S. mainland students
- Increase the number of graduates.
- Make BYU-Hawaii the premier English language-learning environment for international students
- Strengthen certain majors, including the School of Business, computing and information systems, and international teacher education
- Increase the opportunities for graduates to return to good employment in their home areas and build their families and the Church
"Returnability means different things to different people. It's got to be more than just a promise...to go back, and we promise as a university that we will do everything in our power to help you get back," President Shumway said. To accomplish that, he noted over the past few years BYU-Hawaii has significantly reinforced its career placement program and, through the generosity of donors, established an internship program that enables international students to gain valuable experience and contacts back home.
"With the help of these donors, we will find ways and means to help you get back," he continued. "This means, we train you well here, you become fluent in English, you have opportunities to work on campus and the PCC, after your junior year you do an internship, and then with the help of the Placement Office, faculty and advisors, hopefully we can get you connected back in your home country. These are issues that have become important to the university, and I'm happy to say there's a lot of success."
"Sometimes it takes a lot of faith to go back," President Shumway said, telling of a December 2005 graduate from Japan who was called as bishop three months after returning. "The same happened in the Philippines. The thing that thrills me is these people go back with faith, and they contribute to the development of the Church." Others, he added, go back after going to graduate school.
Asked how intercultural marriages might change the commitment to go back, President Shumway said there's not a single answer. "Every couple has to look at this and decide. Sometimes circumstances change. That's when you really have to take it to the Lord, but don't take lightly the promise you've made to go back." Others who haven't gone back, he pointed out, help in other ways.
"There are some students, however, who are deliberately deceptive. They signed the contract to come to BYU-Hawaii, they promised to go back, but they have no intention of going back. I would say, that's a matter between them and the Lord."
President Shumway also gave an example of a student marrying someone he didn't love so he could get a [U.S. permanent resident] visa. "Just be honest with the Lord," he said.
He added in his travels when he meets potential students eager to come to BYU-Hawaii, "I tell them if you come and have no intention of going back, we're not the place for you, because the purpose of BYU-Hawaii is to prepare people to go back. Why? Because we're part of the Church, and the Church desperately needs leaders. When you accept admittance to BYU-Hawaii and a scholarship, basically you're saying, Lord, you give me this opportunity, and I will come back and build Your kingdom."
"In your heart, you have made a promise. The university has also made a promise to help you get connected back home and build the Church and your families there. Most students I talk to look forward to that. Your promise is no greater than our promise."
"I have gone to many countries, and I have seen how the Lord has blessed those countries in terms of the Church. I have also seen tremendous need for strong, active, testimony-bearing, educated Latter-day Saints to go back and say my life will be to build my country."