e-Aloha,

The July-September 2009 BYU–Hawaii Alumni eNewsletter includes:

• Faculty-staff ohana meeting marks start of new school year
• BYU–Hawaii honors three 'exemplary faculty'
• News Bytes
  • Envision Laie process gains momentum
  • PCC launches new night show
  • BYU–Hawaii business degrees revised
  • Papua New Guinea program collaboration continues
  • ELT online distance learning team goes international
  • Seasider sports updates
• Association, Alumni & Chapter News
  • Homecoming 2010 activities tentatively set
  • Alumni join BYU–Hawaii faculty and staff
  • Shumway, Aaron that is, delivers devotional
  • Ka'ili presents paper at Oxford
  • Alumni retire from BYU–Hawaii staff
  • Alumni forming Facebook™ "friends" groups
  • Feedback from the California-San Diego, Utah-Central and Washington State chapters
  • Reunion reminders
  • Update your contact info
• Personal Updates
  • Updates on alumni
  • Memorial list

Faculty-staff ohana meeting
marks start of new BYU–Hawaii school year

As they have for quite a few years, the Brigham Young University–Hawaii President's Council kicked off the 2009-10 school year with an ohana or "family" meeting of faculty and staff in the McKay Auditorium. The meeting started with an introduction of new faculty and staff who have recently joined the BYU–Hawaii ohana.

"This is a very special time at the beginning of the fall semester when we can meet and reflect on the past year as well as look at the year ahead," said BYU–Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright, who before proceeding with his remarks shared a video clip with the faculty and staff about the impact of BYU–Hawaii in Pacific and Asia that will be shown on television between General Conference sessions in October.

President Wheelwright

'A great year of progress'

"We indeed have a remarkable foundation on which to build, and each time I think of all that has gone before, I'm grateful for the blessing it is to be here in this special place at this university. This past year has been a great year of progress," President Wheelwright said, listing the following accomplishments:

• In spite of "tough economic times" that included a hiring freeze and other reductions, the Board of Trustees "chose to let us continue to have a pool of funding for salary and wage increases... for 2010." He added that the Board's initial response to the most recent budget request was also "extremely complimentary and supportive. I want to thank each of you for your part in shepherding these resources."

• "Our new academic calendar took effect...and while we've all been learning and adjusting to the realities of this new calendar, we are indeed pleased with the response that we're getting from the majority of our students," President Wheelwright said. "We exceeded our optimistic goals for our First Term enrollment, which enabled us to bless the lives of additional students."

He added that at a recent recruiting fireside in Kaneohe, a student from there shared two things in her testimony: "One, she said she was grateful for her eternal companion she found at BYU–Hawaii...and she also said she's been here a year-and-a-half, and in another year-and-a-half she'll graduate. She was appreciative of the fact that her education would be more economical for her, and she would be out in her profession sooner and able to support her husband while he completes his studies, and the fact that she would then provide a new seat for another student who would then be able to come sooner than otherwise might have been the case."

"We're grateful to all of you for the work you've done in helping to make the new academic calendar a reality."

• "We're also grateful for our four-college structure that is now firmly in place... and for those who are serving as Deans and department heads," President Wheelwright continued. "I think things are moving forward nicely, I think the students are pleased, and that we are aligning things the way that we ought to so we can better prepare the students."

• "We have transformed IWES into the I-WORK program, and we've also initiated a returned missionary half-tuition program for up-to-six missionaries from each of the 53 missions in the Pacific area." The president explained if the participating returned missionaries maintain a 3.5-or-better grade point average, "they can continue that program throughout their studies. We want to attract the best returned missionaries, who know the cultures of the Pacific, who've learned to love the people, and the mission presidents are very excited about this."

• "Our new online curriculum is attracting new students and expanding, very much as planned," he continued, noting the President's Council "appreciates the way this is evolving."

• "As requested by the First Presidency, we've combined our planning efforts with the Polynesian Cultural Center and Hawaii Reserves, Inc. [HRI], the Temple and the community in the Envision Laie process [see the related article below]... I do believe it's natural and appropriate, as does our Board that the university be central to this process and take the lead publicly... We've been greatly blessed to have the active involvement of the Laie Community Association and the surrounding communities." Mentioning opposition and the importance of the "voice of the people, the president also said, "I'm convinced that if we're unified, and if we follow the principles of the gospel, that the Lord will bless us in the ways that we need it in order for the campus to become what it needs to become. That includes the renewal of facilities, additional dorm and academic space and so on."

• President Wheelwright said the President's Council and Admissions working with "each of the four [Latter-day Saint] Area Presidencies that we serve in the Pacific" is another less visible accomplishment. "We also work with the 53 mission presidents in the Pacific, and the local Hawaii stake presidents. They are our partners. They know the young men and women better than we do before they come, They are vitally concerned about these young men and women, and their future, and they're great supporters. We've sought to enlist their help in the actual planning of how we attract, prepare and serve these young people so that we get the right ones, so that they can be successful, and so that they're able to return and help build the Kingdom."

He added that "great progress" has already been made in the South Pacific, the Philippines, the Asia Area headquartered in Hong Kong and the North Asia Area headquartered in Japan." For example, by the end of September all four Area Presidents will have visited BYU–Hawaii. "We are very grateful for all these Area Presidents are doing," President Wheelwright said. He added that about 500 Hawaii students in five local stakes have also recently attended recruiting firesides, and noted that process will continue.

"We're grateful for the wonderful support that we feel from each of you in trying to attract these young people. Your efforts make a real difference: Your perspectives on the university, what you say about us, and the enthusiasm you have for what you're doing — those are things that are impressed upon the minds of people who visit and make them want to return, and have their children return for an education."

• "I should also mention that we've been working with the two mission presidents in India," he continued. "We will have 10 returned missionaries from there coming this fall to complete their studies. They've already had some university in India, and now they will come here, basically with the equivalent of an associate's degree." He pointed out that when finished, such Indian graduates "can double their salaries and move into the ranks of management, which allows them the time to serve in Church leadership. We think this is a program that will greatly bless the lives of these young people, and will also build the Kingdom in India. Similar things will happen in other areas."

Looking ahead

President Wheelwright explained that the Board of Trustees — consisting of the First Presidency; Elder Russell M. Nelson, chairman of the Executive Committee, and Elders M. Russell Ballard and David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; Elder Steven E. Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy; Sister Julie B. Beck, General Relief Society President; and Church Educational System Commissioner Elder Paul V. Johnson of the First Quorum of the Seventy — give "wonderful advice and are very supportive. They always ask how you are all doing, and they always send their love. They want you to know they appreciate what you're doing, and the difference that it's making. They know how important it is to these young men and young women to be educated in a religious environment."

He quoted President Gordon B. Hinckley, who said: We shall continue to support BYU–Hawaii (and the other existing CES campuses). We...shall keep these as flagships testifying to the great and earnest commitment of this Church to education, both ecclesiastical and secular, and while doing so prove to the world that excellent secular learning can be gained in an environment of religious faith.

"That's the feeling that I have each time I have the opportunity to go into a class to observe, teach or lead a discussion, and I'm grateful for that feeling on this campus," President Wheelwright said. "It shows up in all of our classrooms, and in all of you."

"Our challenge is to prepare these students not for the world that we know, grew up in and realize is changing, but for the world in which they raise their families and build the Kingdom."

President Wheelwright also said each time he meets with the Board of Trustees he's reminded of "their expectations and what it is that we'll do in the coming months and years. He cited a statement by the late Elder Neal A. Maxwell about the future of BYU–Hawaii as one of his favorites: The best lies ahead! There will be even wider radiating effects which pulsate outward from this place as the Lord makes His facilitating moves on the checker board of the nations...indeed tens of thousands in the world who will never set foot on this campus will be blessed and served by the thousands who have been blessed to be here.

To help the faculty and staff "more clearly focus on what lies ahead and what the Lord would have us do to help accomplish His plan" of both spiritual and secular education at BYU–Hawaii, the President's Council then passed out a commemorative coin about 1.75 inches in diameter to everyone in the meeting:

• One side features the logo of the university surrounded by the motto, Enter to learn, go forth to serve, "to serve as a reminder of the wonderful foundation and heritage that we have here, and the sacrifices so many have made to give us this great university that we can now build on," he said. "Our hope is that all who come to this campus — whether they're employed, a student, or whatever their role — that this will be an environment where they, too, can learn."

• The obverse depicts the Laie Hawaii Temple as a spiritual symbol, surrounded by a representation of the motto of the Hawaii Honolulu Mission: Atonement, love, obedience, (and the sharing of ha or the breath of eternal life) — the first letters of which spell out the familiar Hawaiian word aloha. President Wheelwright used a portion of the Hawaii mission president's recent devotional on campus which expressed the thought that "each time you see or hear the word aloha...we'll be reminded of these principles of the gospel and its promised blessings of eternal life."

The coin, created with the help of alumni and friends, will also be distributed to current students later in September.

President Wheelwright pointed out when President David O. McKay broke ground for the university in 1955, he charged that it have two purposes: "First, to learn of God and His Kingdom; and second, to help develop character, and make noble men and women. We've been fulfilling this mission for 54 years, and we look forward to the future with courage and optimism as we continue to do our part in this great work."

"This is the charge that our Board has given each of us, and is looking to us to fulfill as we bless the lives of these young men and young women," he said. "We hope that the vision that the Lord has will become our vision of what can occur, and will occur, on this campus."

President Wheelwright also quoted Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Twelve, who recently said of the university and Polynesian Cultural Center's roles: God bless you that you'll capture the vision of where this Church is going and the tremendous role that you will play and that (BYU–Hawaii) will play in developing the Kingdom of God in the Pacific Rim. These roles are not going to get smaller; they will just get larger. With the help of the Lord, great progress can be made... I pray that the Lord will bless us to capture this vision, see this miracle, and do all that we can to help move it forward. ...It's going to take a united effort — the united strength, faith, testimonies, and courage of all of us — to fulfill our destiny.

"We're grateful for all that you do in being faithful Latter-day Saints so that our students are not just taught in word, but that they're taught by example," President Wheelwright said. "This makes a tremendous difference to our students."

In the ensuing faculty meeting

Following a short break, the faculty reconvened to focus on teaching and learning principles. For example, Shane Gold of the Teaching and Learning Steering Committee reported that work is being done on a set of "guiding principles" which can be used "to encourage the development of effective teaching and learning strategies across the campus."

He explained this effort grew out of a vision exercise a year ago, which generated about 90 concepts "we felt were extremely important," and that have since been rendered into eight guiding principles. He stressed, "This is a work in progress."

Dr. Chad Compton, Associate Academic Vice President for Instruction and chairman of the Teaching and Learning Steering Committee, said developing these principles would:

• Help the students "better understand some of our highest values and be more likely to make the necessary course corrections for the sake of their own learning. Not all of them, but many, many more will come to class better prepared and ready to engage."
• Recognized that "teaching is a craft as much as a science," and it was not the committee's intent to describe methodology.
• Integrate the guidelines into BYU–Hawaii culture "to inform our students of what is expected and what is required of them."
• "Form an integral part of new student and new faculty orientation."
• Applied in other BYU–Hawaii programs and activities "to encourage students to be much more self-directed and self-envisioning." For example, student jobs are "being rebuilt and leadership training... It's this synergy we need in order to meet the challenge that our prophets have given us to more effectively serve our students."
• Become a central aspect of the university process, a means of organizing self-evaluation, and criteria for professional development applications.

Compton then outlined the eight guiding principles that learning occurs best when teachers:

• Are motivated by faith, guided by the Holy Spirit, and centered on serving God: "When we consecrate our teaching to God, and to loving and serving our students, and when we enter our classes with a prayer that He will guide our efforts and enrich our students' learning experiences...with more intentionality, the Spirit will attend with greater force," he said. "We must challenge our students to do the same."

• Become learner-centered and learning-centered: "Strive to create classroom experiences that engage our students in discovering and constructing new ideas and concepts." Compton said this includes "constant conversation with our students. This gives us access to their minds as they're struggling to understand and apply new materials."

• Create classroom environments where students are active, not passive: "Effective teachers regularly engage and involved students in the process of learning and constructing knowledge by mixing classroom lectures, discussions, collaborative problem solving, listening carefully to their colleagues and articulating their understanding of new materials."

• Help students to transform how they think, feel and act: "Effective teaching is transformative. Our new understandings affect how we experience and interpret life. Through this process we become different people and our identities become transformed."

• Engage students in an ongoing dialogue "as they construct the meaning of the new information and its application," Compton said. "As teachers develop a more conversational approach to learning, they discover more about students' progress in constructing new knowledge and are better able to offer guidance in the students' intellectual journey."

• Challenge their students to become leaders and self-directed learners, "and then support them as they engage in that process," Compton said. "We should expect our students to be self-directing and self-evaluating rather than simply being dependent on others for directions. Effective faculty realize that as much as classes are about discovery of new ideas and information, they are also laboratories where students' leadership capacities are carefully nurtured."

• Are enthusiastic about their subject matter and model active scholarship: "A teacher who models excellence in scholarship, research, or creative activity is more likely to motivate students toward academic excellence. In fact, students may learn more from a teacher's example than they will from the presentation of the course material. As they model enthusiasm for learning, teachers not only influence the classroom atmosphere, they can also inspire students to become life-long learners."

• Believe in and nurture the abilities of every student: "Our task is to lift up all of our students, to never stereotype them or their cultures, to love them, and build up their confidence in their beliefs in themselves and their capacity to meet higher standards," Compton said.

As part of his remarks, BYU–Hawaii Vice President for Academics Max L. Checketts showed the video, A Vision of Students Today, which depicts how different the contemporary world of learning is, with about 200 Kansas State cultural anthropology students contributing over 360 responses to the survey and outline of the production — all online. They expressed concerns such as only 18 of their teachers know their names, only 26% of assigned readings are relevant to their lives, having to buy $100 textbooks they may never even open, and reading eight books vs. 2,300 web pages vs. almost 1,300 Facebook™ profiles in a year. They were also concerned about writing 42 pages for the class, but over 500 pages of email. They realized they are lucky, because even though they'll owe an average of $20,000 by the time they graduate, over one billion people in the world make less than a dollar a day. The also know that their individual laptop computers cost more than some people in the world make in a year, and that they might end up working in a job that doesn't even exist yet.

Checketts said while the circumstances at BYU–Hawaii are different than in the video, it "is indicative of the kinds of students we deal with." He also noted that for "many of our students, who come to us when they're 18 years old, Ronald Reagan is history... We have to remember, our students are unique, and we need to be thoughtful in helping them prepare for a future that we don't even know what it looks like."

Checketts also provided an update on the following:

• The academic calendar is still being tweaked.
• Fall enrollment should top 2,500.
• The online education initiative currently has 40 students, the majority of them in Mongolia.
• The new Bachelor's of University Studies degree is launched, along with two new associate's degrees and certificate programs in entrepreneurial studies and TESOL.
• Students are taking greater responsibility in all they do.
• Planning work is proceeding on additional facilities, which fall into three broad categories: student housing, faculty housing and academic facilities.

In closing the faculty meeting, President Wheelwright recalled as a young man he didn't initially envision a career teaching, but while serving as a missionary he learned "if you do it well, and the Spirit confirms what you're teaching, it changes people's lives. That's why I got into teaching: I love that excitement and feeling. I also love the learning that is required to be a good teacher."

"We need to be learners as we teach our students, so that we have new things, new learnings, new insights both about the process as well as the substance of what we are teaching," he continued. "When we watch our grandchildren, we understand how different their world is than the one we grew up in. In fact, I've found with some of my grandchildren that the best way to communicate with them is texting, and they'll text back."

"I know it's a time of change, it's a season of lots of new things; and I think we have established a firm base for those things," he said, urging the faculty to focus further on "refining, improving and sharing with one another so that our classes become complementary... When we have the right set of principles, it enables us to give the students more power over what they learn, because it won't be a different experience in every class: It will be a positive, building experience.

President Wheelwright said that technology is definitely a part of current and future education, but he also quoted Elder Bednar of the Twelve, who said: "The power of the Holy Ghost is that it not only takes the message to the heart, it takes it into the heart."

"That's the thing we have that most secular campuses don't have," the president said. "We have to be worthy of having that Spirit in our class. We have to have done our part to be prepared and the students be prepared, and they'll learn great truths and insights. Nothing will change them faster than when they learn it in their hearts."

BYU–Hawaii honors 'exemplary faculty':

Also as part of the annual BYU–Hawaii faculty and staff ohana meeting on September 11, the President's Council presented "exemplary faculty awards" to:

Barton	Kaluhiokalani	Kimball

• Susan Barton, who has worked at BYU–Hawaii for 22 years and served in many capacities, including department chair and NCAA II faculty representative. "One of the main reasons she's being honored is because of reports from students in terms of how willing she is in trying to help them learn that really strange language of math," Checketts said. "We're very grateful for Susan."

• Norman "Coach K" Kaluhiokalani ('69, Physical Education), a 36-year BYU–Hawaii veteran who is currently serving as EXS Department Chair as well as cross country coach. "What many of you might not know is that his love for the young people is so deep that there are occasions where particularly young men, but sometimes young women, need to change their fitness in order to qualify to serve missions: He, on his own time, will help set up fitness programs so they can get themselves prepared to serve," Checketts said.

• Kevin Kimball, who has served on the faculty for 12 years and is the current Accounting Department Chair. "Many of his students talk about him being a demanding, but very fair teacher who always helps them," Checketts said.

News Bytes

'Envision Laie' process gains momentum:
The Church's "Envision Laie"initiative to coordinate and pursue the 50-year sustainability development plans for BYU–Hawaii, the Polynesian Cultural Center, the community of Laie through Hawaii Reserves, Inc. (HRI), and to a lesser extent the Laie Hawaii Temple, took a step forward on July 30, 2009, when a majority of the Koolauloa Neighborhood Board — which advises the City and County of Honolulu on matters of civic importance in the district that stretches from Kualoa to Turtle Bay — approved a proposal to:

• Expand the BYU–Hawaii campus: Previously approved plans would land-lock both the campus and PCC.
• Provide for the future expansion of the PCC
• Transfer previously housing and community development designations from areas mauka [inland] of BYU–Hawaii to Malaekahana, near Gunstock Ranch
• Approximately double the number of units, including affordable housing and other community amenities — such as a mauka road to minimize traffic on Kamehameha Highway, commercial, recreational, and chapel sites — to be developed there.

The Envision Laie team, which sponsors a comprehensive web site at http://envisionlaie.com, compiled the proposal after conducting several community-based workshops to gather a wide range of input. The proposal must still be incorporated into the City and County's Koolau Loa Sustainable Communities Plan and be approved by other various City and State governmental agencies and councils before most other pre-construction aspects of future development can be pursued, such as zoning and permit applications, selecting developers, etc. Such steps could take several years to complete.

PCC launches new night show: Hä: Breath of Life:

The finalé of the PCC's new night show, Hä: Breath of Life, which tells the story of Mana (carrying the baby) — photo by Mike Foley ('70)

After approximately nine million people saw the Polynesian Cultural Center's popular night show, Horizons, over a 14-year-run of about 4,500 performances, the PCC officially premiered its new night show on August 14:

Hä: Breath of Life, which required three years of planning and $3 million in improvements and preparation, uses specially created animation, a redesigned stage, a new surround-sound system, digital lighting and other effects, and a cast of over 100 — still mostly BYU–Hawaii students — to tell a universal story about several generations of a Polynesian family. Each major cultural group in the show portrays particular aspects of the family's "circle of life" journey in its own unique ways. Initial response has been outstanding.

On another note, the PCC is reprising and expanding its very successful family entertainment alternative from last year, the Haunted Lagoon spooky canoe ride, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during the month of October 2009, from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Read more about the new PCC night show, Hä: Breath of Life...

Go to the PCC's Hä web site...

BYU–Hawaii business degrees revised:
The Business division of the BYU–Hawaii College of Business, Computing and Government, has recently changed the structure and curriculum of its International Business Management (IBM) and Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) majors to provide the approximately 500 students in those degree programs with areas of specialization and the solid business fundamentals employers are seeking:

• The former IBM program, now called Business Management, offers tracks in general business, corporate finance, investment finance, human resource management and organizational behavior, operations and supply chain management, and marketing.
• Students will now take prerequisite courses and apply to the Business Management major; and once accepted, they must complete the Business Foundation courses before taking courses in one of the six tracks.
• New classes have been added, and also some removed, to make both majors more relevant.

Read more details...

Papua New Guinea program collaboration continues:
BYU–Hawaii students Daniel Ka'onohi and Keone Young are continuing their participation in a three-year mentoring program involving our university, BYU Provo, a National Science Foundation grant, and field work in Papua New Guinea that started last year. As part of the program, the BYU–Hawaii students are gaining hands-on experience in molecular biology and systematics data generation, analysis, manuscript writing and presentation at scientific conferences. Read more about this year's program...

ELT online distance learning team goes international:
Dr. Ellen Bunker, Aubrey Olsen and three English Language Teaching (ELT) students attended the 2009 International Information and Communication Conference at the Open University of Hong Kong in July where they gave a presentation on BYU–Hawaii's distance learning program that began in 2008. That program is designed to help prospective BYU–Hawaii students improve their English scores and become more familiar with American-style university studies before being accepted. Dr. Bunker said some of her colleagues at the conference were surprised to learn the BYU–Hawaii students were undergraduates. Read more...

Seasider sports updates:
The start of a new school year also means the launch of another season of Seasider sports, with women's volleyball, men and women's soccer, and women's cross country already underway. After getting off to a 3-0 [wins-losses] start, the women's volleyball team unfortunately lost the next six straight matches. The men's soccer team had also posted a 1-2 record as of the eNewsletter's publishing deadline. For the latest in Seasider athletics...

Association, Alumni & Chapter News

Homecoming 2010 activities tentatively set

Kimbrelyn Austin, Director of Career & Alumni Services, announced:

CCH/BYU–Hawaii Reunion Weekend
February 11-13, 2010

While details on special pricing for travel discounts, hotels, etc., are still being arranged, tentative plans call for:

• Chapter chair and alumni group representative training, Thursday, February 11 from 2 - 3:30 p.m.
• Alumni registration and check-in that same afternoon from 3:30 - 5 p.m.
• Alumni "meet and greet" reception from 5 - 7 p.m.
• Attend the new PCC night show, 7:30 - 9 p.m.
• On Founder's Day, February 12, a morning activity TBD
• That afternoon, a tailgate party and pep rally on the Big Circle from 4:30 - 7 p.m.
• Attend the BYU–Hawaii women's basketball game vs. Chaminade at 5 p.m. in the CAC, and the Seasider men's basketball game, also against Chaminade, at 7 p.m.
• On Saturday, February 13, an Alumni Reunion event, with details TBD, from 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (including a light lunch).
• PCC villages that afternoon
• BYU–Hawaii Foodfest that evening, starting at 6 p.m.

"For those of you who can join us on campus, please mark your calendars," Austin said, "and plan to have a great reunion."

Fermantez

Alumni join BYU–Hawaii faculty and staff:
A number of BYU–Hawaii alumni have recently joined the university ohana [family] of faculty and staff, including:

• Kali Fermantez ('97, History and Pacific Islands Studies), who is originally from Hauula, went on from BYU–Hawaii to earn a master's degree in cultural geography from BYU Provo, and a Ph.D. in Pacific Island Studies and International Cultural Studies from the University of Hawaii, has succeeded the late William K. Wallace III as head of the Hawaiian Studies program. Fermantez had been teaching at UH-Hilo before accepting the position at his alma mater.

• Dr. William Shiu-Foo Hsu ('78, Business Management) recently completed his three-year assignment as Latter-day Saint mission president in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and is now back at his post teaching in the College of Business, Computing and Government.

• Fa'alima Fepulea'i Ligaliga ('00, Hospitality Tourism Management) is working as an accountant in the Student Leadership and Honor Department.

• Corbin Thomander ('02, International Business Management) is a systems administrator in the Career Services & Alumni Department. He and his wife, Meagan Knudsen Thomander ('05, Psychology), and their one-year-old daughter live in Hauula.

• Janeen Gago Kaka ('84) is a custodian in Physical Plant. She previously worked part-time as an educational assistant and paraprofessional trainer. Janeen and her husband, Milton Kaka (/90, Travel Management) — a PCC musician, have seven children.

• Jacob Nihipali ('08, Accounting), who is originally from Hauula, is the accounts payable supervisor in Financial Services.

• Brenda Rilloraz Soria ('07, Art 2D), who came from Mililani and now lives in Hauula, works as a print shop assistant in Print Services.

• Anne Xavier Apuakehau ('04, ICS-Humanities) is the administrative assistant to the Associate Academic Vice Presidents for Instruction and Technology. Anne, who served a mission in New Zealand, and her husband have two children.

• Dustin Bradshaw ('08, Political Science and Information and Computer Systems) is now the office manager for the Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship.

• Patricia Heffernan Campbell ('02, Social Work), who went on to earn a master's of social work degree from UH, is an academic advisor. She and her husband, Eldon Campbell, have two daughters and and live in Laie.

• Martha Snelson Christensen ('90, Business Management and Hotel Restaurant Management) is an academic advisor and tennis instructor. She and her husband, J. Perry Christensen — an EIL professor, have six children.

• Moana Kalua'ü ('91, Office Management), who is originally from New Zealand, is an acquisitions paraprofessional in the Technical Services Department. Moana and her husband, Matthew Kalua'ü ('91, Industrial Education) live in Hauula.

• Alipate Latu ('04, Pacific Islands Studies), who was born in Tonga and raised in American Samoa, is now the Pacific Islands Room supervisor. He and his wife, Charlene Feinga Latu ('08, ICS) live in Laie.

• R. Kevin Salts ('99, Information Systems) is the senior software applications analyst, Enterprise Information Systems. Originally from Tennessee and Texas, Kevin and his wife, Anjeny Obed Salts ('05) live in Hauula. They have seven children.

Shumway — Aaron, that is — delivers devotional:
Aaron Shumway ('95, English), a former adjunct professor and son of former BYU–Hawaii President Eric B. Shumway, spoke about maintaining personal righteousness during his August 11, 2009, devotional address on campus. Shumway, who went on from BYU–Hawaii to earn a law degree from BYU Provo and is now an attorney in Honolulu, emphasized that there is a difference between personal and public righteousness. He also shared the warning of Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve about the "sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes." Read more...

BYU–Hawaii alumni in San Diego

Ka'ili presents paper at Oxford:
BYU–Hawaii International Cultural Studies-Anthropology and Pacific Island Studies Professor Tevita O. Ka'ili ('93, Accounting) was one of just 30 scholars from all over the world invited to attend a conference on indigenous anthropology at Oxford-Brooks University in Oxford, England this past June. Ka'ili, whose theory is that "people in the Pacific are engaged in rearranging time and space to create harmony, symmetry and beauty," noted that as recently as 20 years ago most theories on the region had come from westerners. He added that another area of interest to him at the conference was in the area of museology, where indigenous people are being more involved in planning displays: "Museums had been objectifying people, and now they are humanizing them," he said. Read more...

California-San Diego Chapter:
The California-San Diego chapter held a potluck luau for area alumni on August 15 in the Carlsbad Stake Center. Chapter Chair Nico Rooseboom-deVries ('01, ICS-Anthropology) said, "We had a wonderful evening, with about 100 people there. The cultural hall was decorated for a luau, and we had different Polynesian stations, dinner of course, entertainment and door prizes," including some from the Alumni Office. "We had a really great response." Nico's wife and co-chair, Pouneh Hanafi Rooseboom-deVries ('98), who taught modern dance at BYU–Hawaii for a year, said that her husband and seven-year-old son, Darius, also did several Maori numbers. "The luau went so well that people are already asking us when the next one is. It was really fun," she said. Nico is a Farmer's Insurance agent, and Pouneh works part-time as the director of a school for the Native American Kuneyaay Tribe, Manzinita sub-tribe, in the area.

Utah-Central Chapter holds 'aloha run' event:
Utah-Central chairs Christoph Malzl ('96, Psychology) and his wife, Laura "Laly" Sepulveda Malzl ('95, Travel Management) reported that the chapter's August 29 5K "Aloha Run" and surrounding events were "wonderful. We had about 160 adult runners, and about 25 youth. City police officers volunteered their support at all the intersections. Amanda Moulden was the first alum to cross the line."

Jeff Shumway ('92, History-Political Science), with back to the camera, instructs the 150-plus adult runners in the Utah Central Chapter's Aloha 5K Run on August 29 in Mapleton.

The chapter run committee arranged prizes for the winners, including a $2,000 scooter that had been donated. Members of the committee included Matt ('95) and Phaik "Sannie" Tan Lewis ('96, Psychology), Jeff ('92, History-Political Science) and Kathy Shields Shumway ('92, Accounting), Ying "Chris" Loke ('99, TESOL), Tao and Teuila Lavea-Gerber, and Philipp ('97) and Kehaulani Oleole Malzl ('97, Mathematics Education).

After the actual run, the chapter and friends gathered in the Mapleton city park for the rest of the day where they enjoyed island-style food booths including plate lunches and shave ice, and of course entertainment. "It was like a mini-carnival," Christoph said. "The entertainment was wonderful, with one group after another, including the Berger Brothers [Roger Berger ('91, Music) and Gary Berger ('93, Biology)], who used to play on campus, and our own chapter's DaKine alumni band, plus a keiki group. People loved it, and said they'd never seen anything like this before. A lot of people couldn't believe how much support BYU–Hawaii had here."

The Malzls added that people are already looking forward to a similar event next year, and indicated that net proceeds from the event, which should amount to over $4,000, will be donated toward BYU–Hawaii scholarships.

Washington State Chapter:
Washington chair Kelley Thompson Molinari ('88) reports that the chapter's annual luau will be held Saturday, October 10, starting at 6 p.m. in the Seattle North Stake Center, 5701 8th Avenue NE (Seattle 98105, phone 206-526-9717). "The entertainment will be done by the alumni," she said. "We'll also hold a fireside on Sunday evening, October 11 at the Federal Way Stake Center, 34815 Weyerhaeuser Way South (Federal Way, WA, phone 253-847-9404)

Lakatani	Matagi
Maeda	Paongo

Alumni retire from BYU–Hawaii staff:
Four alumni recently retired after working at BYU–Hawaii for many years. They are:

• Vernelle "Nellie" Arakaki Lakatani ('69, Business Education) retired after 42 years of service at the university, most recently as BYU–Hawaii registrar. During those years Nellie saw the registration progress from long lines of CCH and BYU–Hawaii students collecting class cards and faculty signatures, to a thoroughly computerized online registration and records system. In her own CCH student days, Nellie recalls there were only two payphones in each dorm — remember? — under the stairwells. She and her husband, Petala "Pete" Lakatani ('69, Business Management), plan to remain in Laie.

Daryl Gernhoefer Whitford ('84, Accounting) has succeeded Lakatani as the new registrar.

• Paisa Matagi ('05), who grew up in Laie, has retired from the Physical Plant after working at BYU–Hawaii for more than 35 years, where he was particularly skilled in operating all the big equipment. Matagi said he plans to do some farming in Hauula, spend time at the Family History Center, visit his seven children and 22 grandchildren, and serve a mission.

• Theodore "Ted" Maeda ('69, Accounting), a former CCH studentbody president, has retired from BYU–Hawaii Financial Services after more than 30 years of service. He and his wife, Karen Kapela Maeda ('89, Elementary Education), Vice Principal at Laie Elementary School, plan to continue living in Laie where, he said, he plans to take some classes on campus, do repairs on their home, work in his yard, and be a volunteer.

• Marie Nin Paongo ('68, English Education) has retired from the Student Services Department after working there for 12 years. She and her husband, Sosaia "Saia" Paongo ('70, Biology) — who retired earlier but occasionally works as an on-call security officer at BYU–Hawaii — previously served at Liahona High School in Tonga for 30 years before moving back to Hawaii. The couple will continue to live in Laie and said they look forward to spending time with family.

Their daughter, Leialoha "Lei" Paongo Pakalani ('95, English), who most recently worked in the Career & Alumni Services Office, recently moved with her family to the mainland.

In addition to the four alumni, Brother Larry Litster who served in the BYU–Hawaii Office of Compliance and Internal Audit Services for four years, has also retired and moved to San Antonio, Texas. Read more...

BYU–Hawaii affinity groups forming on Facebook™:
Two BYU–Hawaii-related Facebook groups are currently forming:

• Krissy Ayon ('86, Business Information Management), who now lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, is inviting alumni who participated in the BYU–Hawaii Showcase performing group under the direction of the late Greg Tata to join a new Facebook™ affinity group. Everybody sign up," said Ayon. "Let's plan a reunion."
• Jolene Kanahele ('88) is inviting fans of the group, Musical Truth, comprised primarily of BYU–Hawaii alumni, to see more details.

Reminder about CCHers reunions on Maui and Tahiti:
Now is the time to start planning ahead for the next two CCHer reunions:

• Maui, Summer 2010: Chairperson Daphne Cummings-Sing ('61) has indicated the 2010 reunion on Maui is tentatively set for June 18-20 or July 16-18. More details are forthcoming.

• Tahiti, Summer 2011: Chairs Hutia Tekurio Ka'anapu ('78) and her husband, Peter Ka'anapu Jr. ('78, Business Management) are in the process of putting together their committee and exploring the logistics of having an international reunion in French Polynesia.

Please update your alumni contact info:
Too often we hear from some alumni that they are not receiving the Alumni eNewsletter or other BYU–Hawaii communications. Please take the time to update your contact info by sending an email to the Alumni Office at:

alumni@byuh.edu

Personal Updates

1955-60s

Sister Moss

Sister LaVelle Ridd Moss ('63), is currently serving as a full-time volunteer at the Polynesian Cultural Center. She retired as an art professor at BYU Provo in 2004 after teaching there for 25 years, and then taught English for a school year at Qingtao University in China under a BYU volunteer program. Sister Moss and her husband, James, who passed away 20 years ago, also spent four years in England with the Church Educational System helping to establish Seminary and Institute programs. She recalled she first came to Laie in 1962 when her mother and father were serving a labor mission. After attending CCH for a semester, she went to work for Aloha Airlines, attended the University of Hawaii, and lived for a while on the Big Island. "I love the people I work with," she said. "There's been instant appreciation for those whose hearts are drawn to Hawaii. This is a sweet experience."

Viliami Hemaloto Jr. ('65, Math/Science Teaching) reported he and nine other fellow CCH alumni "have many faith-promoting experiences" in serving full- and part-time missions at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. When Dottie [his late wife, Dorothy Behling Hemaloto] brought me here, my interest was far from genealogy. I'm grateful for her, and I frequently feel her presence and assistance. Last year I was frustrated because the Tongan manuscripts were incomplete and unacceptable. Then slowly Sister Linda Gonsalves, the librarian from Kauai, searched and found microfilms... Several times they were what we needed, and now we have work for the next three years on Tonga alone... We all have such wonderful experiences here." Note: Sister V. Napua Kalama Baker ('72, Elementary Education) will join her CCH classmates at the Family History Library mission at the end of August; she will room with Sister Gladys Chu Kalama ('61, Elementary Education), who has extended her mission there.

DeWayne Young, who served as the first Director of Student Activities ('66-67) including the Traveling Assembly, divides his time between Blackfoot, Idaho, and Phoenix, Arizona. He said he no longer participates in international folk festivals throughout Europe, especially Eastern Europe, but I keep the friendships active. I traveled to Bulgaria and Poland for many years, and visited China in 2008.Two years ago I visited Hawaii for a month and enjoyed a day at the PCC and touring the BYU–Hawaii campus: What changes! And what wonderful memories! I also visited old student-friends from the early days. This year I toured 21 historic California missions and embarked on a Inside Passage cruise and tour of interior Alaska in July. So, although I'm much older now, I still keep active and traveling, and thoroughly enjoy being retired. Thanks for keeping me in touch with the happenings of the university through the Alumni eNewsletter.

Mid-1970s (left-right): Bobby Akoi ('80, Travel Management and Elementary Education), Leila Franco Apo ('07, Travel Management), Terry Stietzel Eskaran ('78, Travel Management) and Grant Laimana ('80, History-Government) — photo by Pat Macy ('78, Physical Education)

1970s

Craig Brandow ('70, Biology Education), whose wife, Nani Kamae Brandow of Laie, passed away earlier this year, brought six of his granddaughters to Laie in June for her burial at Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific. Nani passed away unexpectedly — it caught us all by surprise because she was so fit and healthy. Our family has a large military background, he emailed. We all sang her favorite LDS and Hawaiian songs at the hospital in Phoenix. The doctors and nurses were in tears. I told them that is our way, both Hawaiian and Native American. Brandow lives in Mesa, Arizona where he is involved in education.

Right after receiving the June 2009 Alumni eNewsletter, Dr. Chuck McCutcheon ('74) emailed the Alumni Office to say: I have often thought about my career and sincerely thank the faculty, staff and students of BYU–Hawaii for the positive influence they had on me! I owe everything in my life that followed to what I received in Laie. I have traveled the world teaching medical education. I often feel that if one life is saved by someone knowing a little more on how to manage critical trauma patients, it has been worth the effort. I spent 13 great years in Pago Pago, American Samoa, before being recruited to Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I am now getting ready to retire, leaving all of this to the young ones! These past two years I have taught in Khartoum, Sudan; Sa'ana, Yemen; Cairo, Egypt; Nairobi, Kenya, Manama, Bahrain; Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Beirut, Lebanon; Muscat, Oman; Riyadh and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Doha, Qatar; New Delhi, India, and the list goes on and on. I have found all of the people that I have taught to be sincerely grateful for the experience of learning, and that education transcends culture. I was enriched through all these experiences. I am planning on retiring in Nawlapitya, Sri Lanka, where I have a small tea plantation — 34 years of teaching medical education is enough — while I am still healthy, fit and able to enjoy my retirement. I would like to a send special aloha to all of you who are still in Laie and at BYU-Hawaii for your friendship and fellowship when I was there. I would love to go back to Laie to say thank you in person, but...you are halfway on the other-side of the globe!"

Keliiliki

Laifone Tuita ('74, Elementary Education) recently emailed to say he and his teenage daughter live in Magna, Utah, and that his wife of 20 years passed away in November 2007. He recently visited family and friends in New Zealand, and said he plans to go to his vanilla farm in Vava'u, Tonga, for the harvest in November. In the meantime, he's doing work for a nonprofit organization he started that includes the 6,975 square-foot multicultural hall Otea Center in Salt Lake City. He also recalled that Polynesian Cultural Center President Von D. Orgill used to be his junior companion in their Tonga Mission days.

1980s

Chad Keliiliki ('86, Art) came back to Laie in July for the first time in 10 years. The former PCC dancer is now the senior designer and creative director for Utah-based Tahiti Noni International, which sponsored the Polynesian Cultural Center children's Tahitian dancing competition this year. "It was just beautiful," he said. "The kids were amazing: Kudos to the parents and the teachers. It's wonderful to see that the next generation is keeping the culture alive." After graduating from BYU–Hawaii, Keliiliki served an internship on campus and then worked as a graphic artist at the university before moving to Utah. He and his wife, Sharon Pollister Keliiliki ('88), who went on to graduate from BYU Provo, live in Mapleton. They have six girls and one boy.

2000s

Christian Hsieh ('03, Hospitality & Tourism Management) recently completed his MBA at BYU's Marriott School of Management and has accepted a position with JP Morgan in Singapore. Christian and his wife, Ming Shiang Hsieh, have been living in Orem.

The Tuigamalas (third row, left of center) next to the mission president and his wife...and members of the Mt. Hagen Branch, Papua New Guinea

Fa'afo'i Charles Tuigamala ('04, International Business Management) and his wife, Shirley Tuigamala ('05, Hospital and Tourism Management) now live in Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea, where he is area manager for the company he works for. She wrote in June to say: "We established a small branch of the Church here. The Church wasn't here before we came in. Charles serves as the Branch President with the two missionaries as his counselors. The Church is growing: We have been baptizing some choice people, and witnessed first hand the changes that have come into their lives, as they lay down their false cultural traditions, and replace it with faith in the Lord and His Gospel."

Minsun "Ellie" Hwang ('05) wrote in August to say she "recently graduated from BYU Nursing School and I just passed the national nursing test. She also praised her former Scheduling Office boss, John "John O" Olszowka ('77, Business Management): "...My time with you was much more valuable than just a part-time job. I learned universal work qualities from you and appreciate all the things I learned. I still remember how you exemplified the principles of honesty and integrity in the professional world. I will never forget how you always clocked in and out so precisely and I never saw you take a break even once during your work day. Also I remember how you always told us to make things happen and don’t let down the customer. You never said no to the customers and always found a way to make everything happen. Those lessons that I learned from you helped me to get through the rigorous BYU Nursing Program and become the person that I am today. I hope to live by those same principles and appreciate how you gave me a chance to learn from out. Since leaving Hawaii, I realize how I was so lucky to be able to work with you. You hired a girl who spoke poor English, and didn’t have a lot of skill,s and you gave me an opportunity to grow."

Toshiyuki Takata ('06, Information Systems), another former "John O" student worker wrote him to say that he and his wife, Fengxian "Amy" Ou Takata ('07, Hospitality and Tourism Management), moved "back to Japan at the beginning of 2008 after my OPT in Seattle was finished. We miss life in Hawaii and the U.S., and wish we were still in Seattle" He added he works in a quality assurance team for Sprint cell phones at Kyocera, and the couple recently visited the U.S. when he had business training in Kansas.

Batjargal Bat-Orgil ('07, Computer Science) and his wife, Tegshjargal Dambadorj ('09, Hospitality & Tourism Management) returned to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, where he is working as a technology specialist for XacBank in the Core Banking Division, and she works for the LDS Service Center. They are the proud parents of a 20-month-old daughter.

Hyungoak "Ogi" Park ('08, Psychology), former BYUHSA vice president of service learning, in yet another email to John Olszowka, wrote that she "really misses Hawaii and Physical Plant. Recently I was called to serve as a Young Single Adult president of my stake to prepare a worldwide YSA conference for Korean YSAs in other countries as well. Korean Church leaders are expecting more than 1,000 to attend. I have also been busy doing community services; and even though I haven't found someone special yet, I feel happy and haven't given up on meeting him."

Professor Gregory Gilpin has accepted a position in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Montana State University. He and his wife, Renee, have relocated to Bozeman.

IN MEMORIAM

The Alumni eNewsletter is aware of the following CCH/BYU–Hawaii alumni and/or faculty and staff members who have recently died:

• To'elau Sauaina Nautu, 72, a former labor missionary who helped build the BYU–Hawaii campus and the Polynesian Cultural Center, and then worked as a carpenter for many years in BYUH Physical Facilities, passed away in June. Originally from Savaii, Samoa, Brother Nautu is survived by his wife, Lalooleka Nautu ('97); Eddie Nautu ('08, Accounting) and two other sons; daughter Tua Nautu Sanerivi ('96, Travel Management), and her sister; and other family members, including 20 grandchildren.

• George Wahlen, 84, who received a U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic actions as a Navy pharmacist's mate during the World War II battle on Iwo Jima, where he was seriously wounded himself, died on June 5 in the Salt Lake City, Utah, Veterans Affairs hospital named in his honor. After the war, Wahlen joined the Army, serving during both the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts, and retired as a major. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Holly Wahlen, five children, 27 grandchildren, and 42 great-grandchildren.

Rast

• Retired Religion instructor Larry Rast, 89, passed away in Utah on August 3. He was buried in the Hawaii State Veteran's Cemetery in Kaneohe. He served in World War II, Korea and Viet Nam and retired as an Army chaplain after 20 years. Brother Rast, who is originally from Florida, taught part-time at CCH until he retired from the military in 1970, after which he worked as the university's foreign student advisor. After leaving Laie he served as a counselor at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, for a number of years. Among other ohana, he is survived by his daughter, Michelle Rast LeMone ('69), who taught at Kahuku High for quite a few years, then earned a master's degree in counseling and has been working in that field at Laie Elementary school for about the past 10 years.

• Dr. Russell B. Clark, M.D. — Utah's oldest man at age 108, passed away peacefully in Payson, Utah, on September 10, 2009. Dr. Clark, who was at President David O. McKay's groundbreaking for BYU–Hawaii in 1955, first moved to Laie in 1962 to serve as the campus doctor and teach health classes. He returned a few years later to set up the campus health center. Dr. Clark earned his medical degree in 1929 from Northwestern University in Chicago and liked to tell the story of how he was one of the attending physicians when the victims of the gangland St. Valentine's Massacre were brought in. Dr. Clark, who drove his own car until age 104, maintained business interests and was honored by the U.S. Department of Labor as the oldest working American in 2003. On August 6, about five weeks prior to his death, his wife, Donna Clark, 90, also died in Utah. The Clarks frequently revisited Laie over the years after they initially lived here. He is survived by five children — two of whom attended Laie Elementary and Kahuku High Schools, 24 grandchildren, 53 great-grandchildren, and more than 26 great-great-grandchildren.

• Bessie Bangerter, 85, the wife of former faculty member Blauer "Bud" Bangerter died in August. He passed away several years earlier.

• Roselyn Mokihana Moki Amona Kayatani ('70 Social Sciences Education), 65, a retired Hawaii State Department of Education counselor, died July 27. Moki, or Aunty Roz as she was also called, was originally from Honolulu. After teaching on Lanai, she transferred to Kohala Middle School and lived in Kapaau, Hawaii, for the five years before she retired in June 2008. She is survived by four sons and other family members.

Editor's Note: Of course, it's a Hawaiian thing, but I like the fact that we call our BYU–Hawaii faculty and staff an ohana or family, instead of a team, group or something similar...and to further make it special, a strong spirit prevailed in this year's traditional start-of-the-school-year ohana meeting. It left us with a feeling of excitement and commitment for the new school year as well as the objectives and hopes for our alma mater. As the President's Council members reported on the progress of past initiatives and future directions, a strong sense that we're on the verge of great things...and that we're all part of a significant process also settled over us. Not only as faculty, staff and current students, but as alumni we all still have an important role to play in carrying out the prophetic vision of BYU–Hawaii.

— Mike Foley ('70, TESL), Editor

The BYU–Hawaii Alumni eNewsletter is published for the BYU–Hawaii/CCH Alumni Association by the University Relations office, under the direction of Dr. William G. Neal, Assistant to the President; Dr. Debbie Hippolite Wright ('78, Social Work), Vice President for Student Development and Affairs; Kimbrelyn Austin, Director of Career and Alumni Services; and Michael Johanson, Director of Communications & Public Relations.

Brigham Young University–Hawaii, which was known as the Church College of Hawaii from 1955-74, is a four-year comprehensive undergraduate institution sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Approximately 2,400 students from over 70 nations are currently enrolled.

You have received this e-newsletter because you are an affiliate of BYU–Hawaii. If necessary, please update your alumni profile. If you have received this e-mail inadvertently, or wish to unsubscribe, please send a message with NEWSLETTER UNSUBSCRIBE in the Subject line and your e-mail address in the body to alumni@byuh.edu. If you are aware of other BYU–Hawaii alumni who have not received this newsletter, please forward a copy and encourage them to update their profiles. Mahalo.

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