Golden Jubilee

To Golden Jubilee Committee: You asked about the other guys in the picture with Wayne Kaneaiakala and Leonard Beck - The haole is David Schepps, and the other fellow is Wilfred (Willie) Ho.....both were in the Drama Department. Fond Aloha

Those years I spent at BYU-Hawaii were precious to me! Wonderful people I met and the great example you set for me! I was able to gain a stronger testimony of the Savior and his gospel by being around you! My bishops at BYUH 8th Ward Bishop Ellis and Akoi were great men! How grateful I am for their love! I still remember the day Bishop Ellis got the electric wheelchair for me! It made it easier for me to get around the campus though I was a reckless wheelchair driver! He might not remember it but I will never forget that day and how much it meant to me! Bishop Akoi called me to be the relief society president after I returned to school from my mission. I had the best time with the sisters in the ward and even toilet papered Bishp Akoi's house with the girls. I often think of you and miss the time I spent at BYU-Hawaii! I am now teaching at Mt. San Antonio College ESL Department and living in Whittier, California with my husband and daughter. Currently teaching the Valiant B girls in the Pickering Ward.

10/19/05 --Thirty years is a very long interval of time to be apart from good old friends, and I briefly let self-conscious thoughts -- like whether people would even recognize me as I've aged through the years -- find a small space in my head. Conversely, the week before Jubilee, I pinned my hopes on a regimen of gingko biloba three times a day in hopes that I would recognize as many as possible and even more importantly, their names!

Last night, as I saw the faces of marvelous and talented school chums after so many years, I was struck by the beautiful glow in their faces. It was not hard to recognize them. They still sparkled. Instead of "hello", I shouted their names because it was the only way I could express to them how deeply I felt about them. Some had a crop of gray hair, some had none...but when I saw their faces, I did not see age. I saw life. I saw their journey. I saw beautiful men and women who spent at least a couple of decades bearing and raising children, of many days of honest, hard work. Mothers who love their children with the ferocity of the lioness tempered only with the earnest strivings to follow the promptings of the Spirit. Fathers who, like the northern star, constantly glowed in the darkness and, though seemingly gone in the daytime, are always, always vigilantly there.

I saw gentleness. I saw character and dignity. I saw sons and daughters of a proud Heavenly Father doing their VERY best. I saw the proverbial curve balls of life thrown at them. And I see them winning, enduring, ready for the next one. Each time their swings get more accurate and their eyes more fixed to the mark. Knowing that though time and distance may separate us again, it was truly comforting to receive very tangible assurance that I was never alone.

I look forward to the next coming days. I have been to a feast. My heart, I'm afraid, is joyously full. Everything else from now on, will simply have to be dessert.

10/18/05 -- For the last two days I have been involved in the alumni training sessions. I was not an alumni chapter chair but had been invited to attend. I had no idea what was involved in the training, but as I listened to the different presentations about fundraising, activities, student alumni groups, admissions, internships -- the more I listened the more I felt as alumni we really need to shoulder a greater responsibility so more could benefit from what we enjoyed.

Another thought that impressed me greatly was the caliber of people that were among the alumni chairs: Their experience and their insights are such great resources for all of us.

At the end of the second day there was a time when alumni were called and invited to share their thoughts, and I was one of them. Little did I realize I would be so emotional, but I was very grateful for all the blessings I have enjoyed. At the same time I felt we have a big responsibility to smooth the ways for others.

The reason I came to Hawaii was because I was selected to be one of the honored alumni, something I would never have dreamed of. I came with another alum, Esther Cheng, who was my assistant, and I could feel she was touched by all that was happening, too; and by sitting in the alumni training, both of us had our visions widened.

Another memorable experience was the Gladys Knight concert, and like I was telling my host family, the Bill Hsu's, that evening was the first time I attended a Mormon Revival Meeting! And I ENJOYED it so much. During the fireside, I was again reminded how everyone should contribute their time, their talent and all that they have to the building up of the kingdom.

Thank you again to all those who helped make this event so wonderful. I wished some of the programs could be broadcast on the Internet for all alumni to see.

10/20/05 -- Clearly, if the Alumni Association merely created a list of assigned rooms where alumni of every decade could meet and talk stories, it would have already been worth a king's ransom just to savor those moments of pure, blessed bliss -- reuniting with people who once touched your life -- and then, realizing that our lives through highs and lows, paralleled each other's because the prevailing theme of everyone's journey is to just keep "holding on to the rod." What a great affirmation to know that we are never really alone!

While driving around Laie, it became apparent to me that the land itself is alive -- it has an exuberant spirit that reacts to the way its inhabitants live. I was seized by a tenderness that brought tears to my eyes. It was as if an old friend beckoned me home and then embraced me with warmth and aloha. It will be hard to leave again.