Seasider Stories

Lorasia Naigia Tavuto, Lora for short, is a senior from Fiji. Upon graduating, she will be the first person in her family to receive a college degree. Before coming to BYU–Hawaii, someone had jokingly announced that Lora would be Fiji's first female prime minister during her high school graduation. That moment motivated her to work towards receiving a bachelor's degree in political science, and she doesn't plan to stop there.

Sam Mangakahia is a recent alumnus of Brigham Young University–Hawaii from Brisbane, Australia. He graduated fall of 2020 with a major in graphic design and a minor in painting. Mangakahia has always been passionate about carving Moko patterns, first starting with ukuleles and guitars. He's now expanded his work to other mediums such as t-shirts, surfboards, and now presidential medallions.

Meet Saborn Va, an alumnus of Brigham Young University–Hawaii.

Meet Tserennyam Sukhbaatar, Brigham Young University–Hawaii's first-ever Mongolian professor. Since graduating from BYU–Hawaii with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Tserennyam has had many achievements in his career working with different global companies such as Apple, Dell, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Toshiba, Electrolux, Caterpillar, overseeing all marketing aspects found in a business. He attributes his successful career to both his passion for marketing and blessings from his Heavenly Father.

Meet Lindsay Hadley, BYU–Hawaii’s new entrepreneur in residence. Throughout Lindsay’s career, she has accomplished wonders through social impact both domestically and abroad. Starting out of college as a humble humanitarian worker, Lindsay sought to fulfill her desire to serve by building schools and water wells in distant countries such as Peru and Kenya. However, in 2008 following the birth of her first son, she realized there was still so much good she wanted to do while having the flexibility to stay close to home and raise a family with her husband, Geoff Hadley.