The June 2003 BYU-Hawaii Alumni Association e-mail newsletter contains:
Over 100 new international students enrolled for the first time at BYU-Hawaii during spring term, a time which better fits with school schedules in their respective countries, as compared to the usual influx of new U.S. students in the fall.
BYU-Hawaii Dean of Admissions Jeffrey Bunker said the number of new international students who enrolled this spring is just one short of the 126 who enrolled a year ago, which brings the total current number of international students at BYU-Hawaii to 993 from 62 different countries.
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Kongaika
— photo by Monique Saenz |
He added there were also 235 "visiting students" who came for either spring and/or summer terms. "The number of visiting students who applied for this spring shot up dramatically, so for the first time ever we had to put a cap on them," said Bunker, who explained almost 400 such students applied. "We've been fairly open with spring and summer enrollment in the past, but now we'll have to monitor it more closely. This year we had to close it off, and there were many who were unable to attend."
In orienting the new and visiting students, BYU-Hawaii Vice President of Student Life Isilele Kongaika ('70) encouraged them to focus on their studies and the higher purposes of their education here. He cited the late Henry D. Moyle, a former Counselor in The First Presidency, who said in a 1962 address to Church Educational System teachers and administrators:
"It is not the Lord's purpose to raise up great business men or great financiers who make the Church wealthy and relieve the Saints of the responsibility of establishing the Kingdom of God upon the earth. This latter is our job. And for the most part he intends us to do it in our poverty rather than our wealth, using those terms relatively. I think the Lord knows well enough that if he can keep us sufficiently poor, we will be sufficiently humble to share with Him what we have, and that is all it takes."
"I do know that there is strength in dedication," President Moyle said.
"You will learn. Your hearts will change, and therefore, your whole lives will change," Kongaika added.
He also told the new and visiting students of a recent symposium he attended at the University of Hawaii on how to better include indigenous learning in intellectual institutions. "There's that old conflict between the intellectual and what is in the heart," Kongaika said. "In this and the other Church universities, we believe they can co-exist...because all truth is spiritual. Things that are spiritual often come through the heart."
Kongaika then encouraged the students to gain a "rigorous intellectual education" while here, but to also "listen with your heart. This institution allows for that."
A BYU-Hawaii linguistics professor and five of her students recently presented their research findings at an international conference on how well former Latter-day Saint missionaries retain their mission language vocabulary. Their findings included a "great surprise."
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Front,
l-r: Akihiro Sawada, Ray Graham from Provo, Dr. Lynne Hansen, and Karri
Lam; back, l-r: Andy Colver and Helama Pereira (missing: Wonhye Chong) |
Dr. Lynne Hansen — along with undergraduates Wonhye Chong, Andrew Colver, Karri Lam, Helama Pereira and Akihiro Sawada — jointly presented their paper, The Lost Word: Sources of Individual and Group Differences in Returnee Vocabulary Attrition, on May 3 during the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism at Arizona State University.
Dr. Hansen, a BYU-Hawaii alumna ('61, A.A.) who earned her Ph.D. in South Asian linguistics at the University of California-Berkeley and has been teaching in Laie since 1978, explained the group was trying to determine whether particular second languages, motivation, attitudes, exposure to the languages after missionary service, phonological memory, short-term verbal memory and beliefs about spiritual influences caused significant differences in vocabulary retention. She added that BYU-Hawaii, with its relatively large population of multilingual returned missionaries, was an ideal place to start their research.
"The underlying focus of this whole series of studies is to learn enough so we can give advice to returned missionaries as to what they can do and how they can best retain the languages they learned abroad," Dr. Hansen said. "We find there are huge individual differences: Some retain their languages, and some don't."
Dr. Hansen explained the research team set up an online survey to elicit data from approximately 1,100 subjects who had learned Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish or Portuguese on their missions. The student researchers subsequently interviewed 80 of them from each language group by telephone, probing their knowledge of 160 words contained in their respective missionary lessons.
"We had found in an earlier study of Japanese and Korean returned missionaries that there was a significant group difference in the amount of lexical loss. The Japanese returned missionaries retained significantly more of their mission vocabulary."
"In the present study we found that many of the returned missionaries who had served in Asia have almost completely lost the words from their missionary lessons after several decades. Among the Spanish and Portuguese missionaries tested, however, the lowest scores were substantially higher," she said.
Dr. Hansen feels the Asian languages which use non-Roman writing systems added an interesting element to her previous studies of returned missionary language. "Many missionaries remain virtually illiterate their entire missions, whereas others learn to read the characters to varying extents," she said. "We found one of the highest predictors of Japanese retention was the extent to which they had learned to read and write. In follow-up studies of Chinese and Korean, we got the same results."
"We did another study using path analysis which seemed to indicate that it was not literacy which influenced retention, but motivation which seems to be the key factor. Those who were motivated to attain literacy were the same ones who were motivated to keep the language."
Dr. Hansen explained her team looked at about 20 variables, then did a regression analysis to see which ones had the strongest effects on vocabulary retention. "There were five factors that turned out to be the most important in predicting retention":
"We expected the first two results, but we didn't expect the next three," said team member Helama Pereira, a senior TESOL major from Sao Paulo, Brazil. "We also found out that Portuguese and Spanish are very easy to retain, and there were huge differences between these and the other Asian languages."
"Frankly, we were astonished at the differences between Spanish and Portuguese, and the Asian languages," Dr. Hansen said. Pereira added he feels the similarities between the two languages and English undoubtedly helped. She and the student researchers will examine this and other potential influences on vocabulary retention in a follow-up study during fall semester.
Dr. Hansen pointed out that her student researchers gained considerable experience in applied linguistics and a lot of confidence in the course of preparing for the symposium. "The students did a superb job in Arizona. Many people I talked with at the symposium assumed they were Ph.D. candidates. They also met people there who were Ph.D. candidates giving papers with their professors. Those people assumed our students were Ph.D. candidates. It was wonderful to exchange ideas with them."
Pereira, for example, admitted he and his classmates were initially concerned they might not be able to answer questions put to them at the symposium; but as they practiced their presentation and attended sessions, "we felt very confident about our major and our background."
"I am now very confident that we are well prepared to participate in TESOL conventions and understand everything at a master's or Ph.D. level. The only thing we cannot do is share experiences, because we haven't had that much experience yet," Pereira continued. "However, I feel our program is giving us experiences higher than a bachelor's degree level."
Dr. Hansen agreed. "This project has been so productive for them, as well as for me. They're doing master's level work."
Asked for advice on how returned missionaries can better retain their mission languages, Dr. Hansen recommended "being exposed and using them as much as they can. A mission president has suggested if returned missionaries continue to pray in their mission language, they will retain it."
"I also ran across a returned missionary in a small town in Utah who has had little or no exposure to Japanese over nearly four decades, but retains more vocabulary than many he had served with in Japan," she said. "He told me that over the years he has read the scriptures in Japanese for an hour every Sunday."
President
Hinckley to address June graduates
President
Gordon B. Hinckley is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during
the June 21 commencement exercises. The July Alumni e-Newsletter will report
on his speech as well as the honorary doctorate BYU-Hawaii will confer
upon him.
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The
Iosepa at sea —photo by Monique Saenz |
Iosepa
runs sea trials
Only
a small number of BYUH Hawaiian Studies professors and students as well as
others from surrounding communities helped with the June 3 launching of the
University's traditional 57-foot twin-hulled sailing canoe, compared to the
thousands who thronged Hukilau Beach on Nov. 3, 2001 when Elder M. Russell
Ballard of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated and then helped launch
the Iosepa.
The Iosepa, which has been on campus since then while safety equipment was installed and other alterations made, was moved to Hukilau Beach on June 2. It was originally supposed to be launched that afternoon for a short series of sea trials. When a critical cleat broke in the process of raising the mast, the crew and onlookers had to wait another day to see the Iosepa in the water again while master carver Kawika Eskaran ('84, Art) made temporary repairs.
Read the latest about the Iosepa.
PCC
sets 40th anniversary 'alumni' activities in October
The
Polynesian Cultural Center has
planned a wide range of activities from Monday, October 21, through Sunday,
October 26, for all of its alumni, many of whom are also BYU-Hawaii alumni.
The activities include:
You should have, or soon will receive a separate e-mail notice of PCC events directly from them. Meanwhile, get more complete details.
BYU
intern setting up online alumni tools
Ben
Dolman, a senior computer science major at BYU who has been working
for the past three years on the Alumni Association web team, is serving
a three-month internship in our BYU-Hawaii Alumni office.
"While I'm in Laie, we're going to get the e-mail forwarding program set up for June graduates . This is commonly called 'e-mail for life.' We hope to get all the new graduates signed on first, and then roll it out for all the alumni," said Dolman, who is from the Redding area of California.
Dolman, who is working in conjunction with the university-wide upgrade to the BYU-Hawaii website, said in coordination with our association director, Rowena Reid, he will also focus on several other web-based projects that many alumni have requested, including:
Dolman, who will return to Provo in mid-August, said he had never been to Hawaii before his internship began, "but I love it already. It's better than I imagined. I love the contrast of the mountains and the ocean right next to each other. The people have been some of the friendliest I've ever met."
Honolulu
Quarterback Club honors coach Porter, top female player
The
Honolulu Quarterback Club honored BYU-Hawaii head tennis coach Dave
Porter as its May Male Sportsperson of the Month and the Seasiders'
top women's tennis player Adrienn Hegedus as its top Female Sportsperson.
As reported in the last Alumni Newsletter, Porter's feat of coaching both the BYU-Hawaii men's and women's tennis teams to their second consecutive NCAA Division II national titles is unmatched by any coach at any level of collegiate tennis. Porter's teams have now collectively won one NAIA and five NCAA II titles. His women's teams are 169-1 (.994) over the last five seasons and the men are 138-18 (.885).
Hegedus, a sophomore from Hungary, led the Lady Seasiders to their latest title with a 38-1 record at the number-one singles position and a 26-4 record at number-one doubles.
For the latest on BYU-Hawaii Athletics.
BYU-Hawaii
music professor performs at Temple Square
Scott
McCarry, BYU-Hawaii assistant professor of piano and chairman of the Department
of Fine Arts, performed June 10 at the Assembly Hall on Temple Square in
Salt Lake City. McCarry has previously given major recitals in the U.S.,
England and Indonesia.
Honolulu:
Members
of the
Honolulu Chapter and several other visitors enjoyed a potluck picnic at Kualoa
Park
(by
Chinaman's
Hat) on May 24. It was fun to see some old friends, including Jack
Lee ('92,
Information Systems), who runs his own wireless and computer rental business
in Waikiki, and his wife, Joanna Mak ('01, Accounting); and
chapter placement specialist Randall
Peterson ('00, Information
Systems), a Navy veteran who teaches project management to software developers,
civil engineers and contractors.
Koolauloa:
The
Koolauloa Chapter, headed by Mark ('79,
English and TESL)
and Choon
James ('79, English), distributed $1,200 in book scholarships to
Trudianne Huish, Naomi Haiola,
Amy Petersen, Terry Sudlow, Harris Mataafa and
Lesina Funaki — June '03 graduates of Kahuku High who are all children
of BYU-Hawaii alumni.
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Filipino
alumni and family in Manila |
Minnesota:
The
Minnesota Chapter will hold its Aloha Invitational Volleyball Tournament
on Saturday, June 21, at the Skyview Community Middle School in Oakdale (1100
Heron Ave. N.),
from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, contact chapter officers Luka
Leala'itafea Westin ('76, Elementary Education) at 651-773-1451,
or Fred Moimoi
at 651-779-8766.
The Philippines:
Chapter
chair Benson
Misalucha, a BYU grad, reports he and the leadership committee — Jojo
Montemayor ('96, International Business Management), vice
chair, and his wife, Leah Agbayani Montemayor ('93, Hotel &
Restaurant Management),
treasurer; Joenee
Briones ('01, Information Systems),
secretary; and several others — met
recently in Manila to plan the Family Affair activity held May 24 at the Buendia
chapel. Benson reports about 50 alumni attended the event during which they honored
past chapter chairs Andrew 'Jet' ('91, History and Political
Science)
and Marilyn
Villarete, who
served from '98-'01. Another activity will be held later this year. Misalucha
added that on the job front, call centers are developing rapidly in The Philippines,
and several have contacted the chapter for assistance with hiring. "You
all have a very significant advantage in terms of language training, having spent
at least
four years in the U.S.," he told fellow alumni.
Singapore:
Chapter
chair Stephen
Lai ('80) reports he and fellow alumni started a
walkathon/jogathon-runathon fundraising activity on May 31 that will culminate
on June 28 in one of their running stadiums.
Utah:
Chairs David ('76,
Accounting) and Sue
Settle ('92) report the chapter will hold a family activity at Seven
Peaks water park in Provo on Saturday, August 16. Log onto the chapter website
for
further details.
Washington
DC:
DC
area alumni are tentatively planning to hold a reception at the Temple Visitors
Center on Friday, September 26, about 8:30 p.m. following a performance by
the Polynesian Cultural Center promo team. For further details, which are still
being planned, contact chapter chairs Folototo
Aiolupotea ('99, Political Science) and his wife, Noelle
Mortensen Aiolupotea ('99).
1950s & 60s
In Memoriam: As one of her students, I was very sorry to hear that Alice Pack ('65, English), 93, passed away earlier this month. Alice and her husband, Paul Pack ('60), came to Laie as labor missionaries to help build the campus and then the Polynesian Cultural Center. At age 53 she enrolled at Church College of Hawaii, went on to earn her master's from the University of Hawaii (and eventually a doctorate), and then taught at BYU-Hawaii until she "retired" to Southern California in 1980. There she continued to remain active in ESL, writing texts and software, and at one point turned over her royalty rights to the scholarship that bears her name. Alice's son, David Pack ('66, English) also graduated from CCH, as did his wife, Shari Evans Pack ('74, Music). David also taught English at CCH.
1970s
Oops: Poao Ah Hoy's ('74, Industrial Education) baby son, mentioned in last month's Alumni Newsletter, was Keli Ah Hoy ('94), not nephew Irwin. Kelly is now a Honolulu police officer.
Vaituu Fata Kaio ('74, Elementary Education) and his wife, Nora Mansur Kaio, worked at Church College of Western Samoa in the 80s but now live in Moreno Valley, California. Fata served as one of the judges in the Polynesian Cultural Center's 2003 World Fire Knife Dance Championship.
Stuart Carroll ('76, English and Social Services) and his wife, Kathleen Adele Merrill Carroll ('74), live in Columbus, Georgia, where he is a college bookstore manager and president of the Georgia Association of College Stores. He writes: "I started at CCH, but the name was changed to BYUH during my first year. It was a fantastic educational, spiritual and learning experience. The faculty was top notch, and I learned a great deal, which prepared me well for graduate work at another university. I still fall back on my experiences decades later. I remember the faculty, staff and fellow students with fondness. It is also a special place because I met my wife and we started our family there in Laie. Another wonderful memory: the Devotionals. What an opportunity to see and hear so many General Authorities, so frequently."
Michael J. Akagi ('77, Asian Studies), a sales and marketing manager, wrote that "BYU-Hawaii was where my whole life began. I met my wife here [Geraldine Tanabe Akagi ('71, Elementary Education)]. We had our first two children while here. All the many friends we still stay in contact with have been enduring. The education we both received is the foundation for everything we are doing as a family as well as professionally."
BYU-Hawaii graphic artist Warren Tyau ('78) hopes to sell enough copies of his poster, Laie: The Gathering Place "to be able to donate $5,000 to the Alumni Scholarship Fund. I created it for alumni who have relocated to the mainland and elsewhere in the world." The poster can be found on Ebay (#3523678600).
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BYU-Hawaii
cheerleaders, 1981 |
1980s
Eveni Tafiti ('83, Social Work) recently received a master's in educational counseling from the University of Phoenix in Salt Lake City, along with fellow alumni Fululele Neria ('94, Information Systems) and Alani Aho ('93, Information Systems), who earned their master's in computer information systems. And speaking of graduate programs, Wendell Tuisaula ('94, Information Systems), an information technology manager at Turtle Bay Resort, recently earned a scholarship to the University of Hawaii's Executive MBA program.
Zeno Chow ('86, Information Systems) is a bank vice president in Hong Kong where he and his wife, Esther Ka Wai Tam ('00, Mathematics) live.
After graduating from BYU-Hawaii, Alan Hyde ('86, Business Management) earned his law degree at BYU and then returned to Hawaii where he worked as an associate in a Honolulu law firm and taught business law classes in Laie. In '97 he returned to his native Arizona and eventually set up his own partnership. He's also been a member of the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl committee for the past six years.
Naresh Chhetry ('88, Business Management), who manages a restaurant in Colorado, wrote: "It's amazing how time has flown. I really cherish my time at BYU-Hawaii and PCC night show. Now, my son, Lorenzo who just turned fifteen wants to attend BYU-HC in the near future."
1990s
Karen Smith ('91, TESOL), who lives in Swift Current, Saskatchawan, Canada, writes: "I fondly recall my time at BYUH. Although I benefitted from an excellent scholastic education, I think the instruction that I most valued was what I learned outside the classroom. The multiculturalism of BYUH is unique and is an environment that changed me immensely. The principles of understanding, flexibility and tolerance that I learned there continue to benefit my life both personally and vocationally."
Apolosa Gucake ('94, Accounting), and his wife, Mere Qoroya ('94) now live in Sacramento, California, where he's a loan officer for a bank. He writes: "Attending BYUH was a fulfilment of one of my personal goals to be 'enlightened,' i.e. to be in the world yet not of the world. My recollection of BYUH also brings to mind faculty, staff and ecclesiastical leaders who lead by silent example. My BYUH experience was indeed profoundly humbling to be a small part and parcel of this divinely inspired institution."
Marcus Ray Perry ('97, History), a community resource manager in Ogden, Utah, wrote: "Attending BYUH was the highlight of my life. My family's roots run deep in Laie and it was a real blessing to be a Seasider. There is no other place on this earth that remotely compares to the special feeling one feels in Laie. It is the perfect blend of the gospel's peace and the spirit of aloha. My fondest memory of BUYH was when my grandfather Wylie Swapp, a former faculty member, was the guest speaker at my graduation."
Rachel Maria Van Komen Miner ('97, Business Management) and her husband, Shaun Reid Miner ('98) live in Clearfield, Utah. She writes: "I am so grateful for the wonderful experiences I had while in Hawaii. I learned to love the culture and everyone around me. I loved serving the people while working in Laie at The Haircut Store, and seeing many faces from school and the community. Shaun and I run three businesses together. I am so grateful for all the business classes I took along the way. My enteprenuer and my final business class in which we evaluated the PCC in depth are two classes that have helped me so much in operating our many adventures. I highly recommend BYUH to anyone I meet who wants to have a great experience in College."
Kwok Cheung Roland Law ('99, Information Systems) and his wife, Suk Fun Fanny Lau ('00, TESOL) now live in San Francisco, California, where he's a network engineer consultant.
2000s
Giovanni 'John' Vottari ('00, Information Systems) e-mailed us from Kensington, South Australia, that he loves "hearing how my fellow alumni are doing. In fact I just heard Emily Shumway ('98) just got married to Jon Pfeiffer ('02, History). That was great news and I wish them both all the best in their future. I do truly miss BYU-Hawaii and the time I spent there. It is truly the Lord's University and prepares the leaders of the future."
Shoko Tanzawa ('00, IT and CS) and her husband, Robert Moppert, live in Newport, Oregon. "BUYH gave me many opportunities in an intercultural environment to grow and expand both my spirituality and ability. The small campus provided me a comfortable situation because we could easily make new friends and learn quickly about them. Even though most students were far away from their families, we felt we were family while we were there. I still feel some of my BYU-Hawaii friends are part of my family."
Jason Myers ('01) and his wife, Sunny Regina Layne Myers ('00), live in Orem, Utah, where he's a mortgage consultant. "Diversity and learning are wonderful counterparts that enhanced my BYUH experience," he wrote.
Sofia Elias ('01, TESOL) teaches school and lives in Stockton, California.
Two issues ago we reported on newlyweds Camise Janan Burr De Silva ('02, Elementary Education) and Prasan Joseph De Silva ('02, Tourism/Hospitality), who are living in Las Vegas. She now writes: "My husband and I both miss BYU-Hawaii so much. We often think of our time there and wish we could once again be part of the great campus. I remember arriving in 1996 and feeling this extreme peace. The Spirit of the Lord is carried into everyday life there. I never knew quite how to describe the feeling of peace until one day I saw the picture of Christ standing in the mountains behind the campus. His arms were open and had the campus surrounded by them. I bought about 10 cards and sent them to family and friends, hoping to share part of what I felt there. Hawaii is our second home. We hope to someday return and once again live in that beautiful place within the arms of our Savior's Spirit."
Steve Sorensen ('03, Hospitaly and Tourism), who's working at the Provo Marriott, writes: "I love BYU-Hawaii and the experiences I had while I attended: They made me a better person. I hope to visit someday. I would move back to Laie in a heartbeat. Aloha and Mahalo nui for everything."
Editor's
Note:
As I
finish our latest Alumni e-Newsletter, it's the
week before graduation and a very exciting time on campus. Everyone anticipates
the visit of President Hinckley. The seniors are making their final moves,
the graduation luau arrangements are set, and faculty members are making sure
their academic robes look sharp. On top of that, the weather's been especially
beautiful lately, plus it's mango season. In short, BYU-Hawaii is still the
greatest...whether enjoying it here in person or in fond memories from afar.
Mahalo to all of you who have shared your updates...and ALOHA NUI to all,
— Mike
Foley ('70, TESL)
Editor
and Alumni Association President
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The BYU-Hawaii Alumni Newsletter is published by the University Advancement office, under the direction of Napua Baker ['59-61 and '70-72], Vice President; Rob Wakefield ['75, Asia/Pacific LTM], Director of Communications and Media Relations; and Rowena Reid ['76, Social Work], Alumni Association Director.
Brigham Young University Hawaii Campus is a four-year comprehensive undergraduate institution sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 2,350 students from 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.
Read previous 2002 or 2003 issues of the BYU-Hawaii Alumni Newsletter