The April 2004 BYU-Hawaii Alumni Association e-Newsletter contains the following:
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints named BYU-Hawaii President Eric B. Shumway as Area Authority Seventy for Hawaii and California during the second session of the recently concluded 174th annual worldwide conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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Elder Shumway |
President Shumway, who now serves as a member of the Church's Fifth Quorum of the Seventy, has already assumed his new ecclesiastical responsibilities counseling stake presidents, helping with reorganizations and speaking at stake conferences in his assigned area.
"This is what you call an added-upon position. It's wonderful, full of blessings and opportunities, but I'm still expected to also remain at the helm of the University," President Shumway said, explaining he can fill the important calling "thanks to the strong support in all areas from the University 'ohana -- our 'family' of faculty and staff."
President Shumway said he is also aided "because the mission of the University is so close and seamless with the mission of the Church. We're here to help people."
University "mother" Carolyn Shumway, who attended General Conference with her husband, noted Elder Shumway has already gotten "four assignments, starting with ones in San Bernardino, California, and Laie North Stake conference."
Speaking of her husband's expanded responsibilities, Sister Shumway said "this means we have to be larger and more efficient with our time, and become more worthy." She added wives of Area Authority Seventies go along with their husbands only when assigned.
Returning to Laie several days after General Conference, Sister Shumway said she was "still choked with emotion" and that "it was hard to describe" her feelings when he was called. "I cried, and along with the tears there was an instant feeling of gratitude, first for the Savior, and then for the good life he has lived. That's what burst into my heart."
On April 3, Sister Shumway joined her husband when he was set apart by Elder Robert D. Hales of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, assisted by Elder Merrill J. Bateman, a member of The First Quorum of the Seventy and the immediate past president of BYU in Provo, Utah, who worked closely with President Shumway in that capacity.
Sister Shumway also recognized the support of the University 'ohana. "How grateful we are to the wonderful people here and in the whole community," she said.
A long-time BYU-Hawaii English professor and several staff members retired at the end of Winter semester.
Professor James Walker recalls he had been teaching at the University of Winnipeg in Canada 26 years ago and the temperature was about 25 degrees below freezing when he received a letter from BYU-Hawaii asking if he was interested in teaching in Laie. "It was a complete surprise," he said, adding that a letter he sent to Provo must have been forwarded to BYU-Hawaii.
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Walker |
Walker, who first came to the University in 1978, taught his last classes on composition and Victorian literature during the Winter semester and will spend Spring Term putting together a book of his poetry before retiring to the mainland. He's already started to focus on his collection of poetry. "It's essentially a lifetime of published and new poetry," he said. "By the end of June that book should be formatted and ready to go [to the printer]."
Walker said he's not sure exactly where he and his wife, Sharon, will end up on the mainland, but they'll spend the rest of the year visiting family members. In the meantime, he said he will miss the twice-weekly faculty basketball games and wishes he could have taught more of his specialty in Victorian literature. "I've also had some great students," he said, recalling when he was "bishop of BYU-Hawaii 13th ward we were known as the 'Chinese ward' because we had so many Chinese students."
"A few of the kids who were in my Priesthood Executive Committee have served in the stake presidency in Hong Kong, and others in the group have gone on to do good things in terms of their careers and the Church," he said. "Almost all of them have gone back and seem very successful. Quite a few of them are in banking."
Among the many items in the overflowing bookshelves of his office that eventually need to be packed are two telling items: Teacher of the Year certificates for 1988 and 1998.
Those staff members who recently announced their retirements include Hitler Maui'a, Lorene Pukahi ('03), Auhea Johnson ('87) and Ken Kamiya.
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Pohutu geyser in Rotorua,
New Zealand (folifotos) |
A group of almost 50 Mormon Pacific Historical Society (MPHS) members, many of them alumni and others associated with BYU-Hawaii, recently returned from a three-week tour in New Zealand.
The society, which was founded by BYU-Hawaii professors Ken Baldridge and the late Lance Chase in 1980 to study the history of the Church in the Pacific Basin at local levels, holds annual conferences and activities. Every other year in more recent times the MPHS has gone off island. For example, the group previously met on Kauai, Molokai, Maui and the Big Island, and two years ago toured New Zealand's North Island, visiting a number of Maori marae [tribal centers] and observing traditional Polynesian protocol, "much like the early missionaries used to do. That was such a great experience that the board of directors decided to go back to New Zealand and finish touring the South Island," said one of the board members.
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Moana
(left) and Lamar Benavides |
With significant assistance from Polynesian Cultural Center Maori village "chief" Uncle Colin Shelford and Aunty Raewyn Shelford and their daughter, Charlene Shelford Lum ('90), the MPHS group flew to Auckland on April 7 and began their tour with a temple session at Temple View, near the Church College of New Zealand. Though there are lots of alumni in the Hamilton-Temple View area, we only bumped into Kelly Harris Jr. ('73, English) and his wife, Charlene Harris ('73) outside the temple and later had a short visit with Lamar Benavides ('87, Human Resource Development) and his wife, Moana ('89, Travel Management). Kelly and Charlene returned to New Zealand after he earned his master's at BYU. He's been teaching at CCNZ for about 30 years, and she works for the District Council (municipal government). Lamar recently went to work for a regional airline while Moana works for the phone company.
The group stopped over in beautiful Rotorua to visit the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute and Te Whakarewarewa geothermal area in Rotorua. Then, at an overnight stay in the nation's capital of Wellington, alum Neville Gilmore ('77, History) stopped by the hotel for a visit. Gilmore, who is part-Maori, spends a lot of time in Wellington doing historical research on Maori tribal affairs. He and his wife, Maria Augustino Gilmore ('78), lived in Hobart, Tasmania, for a while, but later moved to Melbourne. "The value of my education in Hawaii was the broadness of the experience," Gilmore said. "In those days New Zealand wasn't really as cosmopolitan as it is now."
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Several
members of the MPHS group pose with the
Sir Edmund Hillary statue at the Hermitage
near Mt. Cook (on the right). |
The next morning the group and their 50-passenger motor coach boarded a large ferry for the 3.5-hour transit of the Cook Strait to Pounamu, the traditional name the Maori gave to the South Island because that's where most of the Maori "green stone," or nephrite jade, is found.
New Zealand's South Island is an exceptionally beautiful place, and the MPHS group certainly took the time and opportunity to enjoy the grandeur of the Southern Alps and Mt. Cook, the misty majesty of Milford Sound and its hundreds of waterfalls, the bright gold and crimson of autumn leaves and many other wonderful sites, leaving little doubt why various dramatic locations there were used in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
They also took the opportunity to visit the Whakatu Marae in Nelson, where MPHS president John Elkington's ('75, Business Management) father came from. "This is the first time I have ever been here," Elkington said, as he greeted his relatives. It was also the first time John's wife, Debbie Cummings Elkington ('71, Elementary Education) had ever been to her husband's homeland.
In addition to the many Elkington family members, the group also met alumni Taliva'a Aiolupotea ('85) and his wife, Ruth-Anne Hippolite Aiolupotea ('97). The Aiolupoteas moved to Nelson in 2001. He works for a sporting goods company and she takes care of their six children, three of whom they adopted while living in Laie.
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Nicole
(left) and Aue Te Ava and their family in Dunedin |
Two other alumni were also in Nelson that evening on an important assignment: David Staples ('73) has been mission president over the New Zealand South Mission for the past two years. He and his wife, Lucy Staples ('73) lived in Laie in the early 1970s where he worked for Cackle Fresh Egg Farm (when chickens were there) and also served in the Laie Stake presidency. After leaving Laie in 1974, they bought an egg farm in Wisconsin and lived there for the next 24 years.
At a fireside in frosty Dunedin the group met Aue Te Ava ('98, Physical Education), a Cook Islander, his wife Nicole Sam-Yiou Te Ava ('00, International Business Management), who is originally from Tahiti, and their two children (with another on the way). Sister Emily Allen ('03), a full time missionary in Dunedin for the past nine months who worked part-time at PCC while she was in school, was also there. Aue, who earned his master's degree at the University of Hawaii in recreational management after graduating from BYU-Hawaii, has another year to go on his Ph.D. in physical education and anthropology on scholarship at the University of Otago in Dunedin and said he then hopes to teach at the university level. "We're enjoying ourselves here, but it's cold," he added.
Next, on a seemingly even colder night in Christchurch, the group met with a number of alumni at another fireside and enjoyed a cultural presentation by members of the Wainoni Samoan Ward.
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Some
of the Christchurch alumni (left-right): David and Winnie Bell, Celeste Warner, Jason Reed, Julie Tovey and Donna Salaiau. |
The Christchurch alumni, who were recently organized into a chapter headed by David Bell ('74, Elementary Education) and his wife, Winnie Ling Bell ('74), included:
Before returning to Hawaii, the MPHS group went to Bluff, the extreme tip of the the South Island and also to Cape Reinga, the northern-most point of the North Island. In between, they presented additional firesides in Whangarei and Auckland.
Other alumni members of the New Zealand tour group not already mentioned above include Rex Frandsen ('68, Business Management), MPHS vice president and former Alumni Association president; Riley Moffat ('72, Business Management), a BYU-Hawaii librarian and former Alumni Association president, and his wife, Connie Reinwand Moffat ('92), who works in BYU-Hawaii Health Services; Mike Foley ('70, TESL), MPHS board member and current Alumni Association president.
Also Alice Anae ('71, Elementary Education), a retired school teacher; Janet Clarke ('63), a former Laie resident whose husband, Mark Clarke, is a former CCH/BYU-Hawaii coach who is on a one-year faculty exchange from BYU in Provo; Arthur Keawe Enos ('59, Elementary Instruction) and his wife, Mildred Ah Hee Enos ('59, Elementary Instruction), who were among the earliest students at Church College of Hawaii, they went on to graduate from BYU Provo, moved back to Laie in 1963 and are now retired school teachers; Cecilia "Cissy" Adolpho Fong ('75, Elementary Education), a retired postal worker and the group's song leader; and Frank Kalama ('64, Accounting), another former Alumni Association president who served his mission in New Zealand, and his wife Gladys Chu Kalama ('61, Elementary Education).
And Stella Ferguson Keil ('91, History/Government), who is originally from Taranaki, New Zealand; PCC executive Delsa Atoa Moe ('83, Travel, Hotel and Restaurant Management); and Robert Naluai ('75) and his wife, Bonnie Naluai ('64, Mathematics Education), who were also among the first CCH students. While on the road, Robert mentioned that he and two others were the first missionaries called from CCH (he went to Japan); John Kalanikau "John O" Olszowka ('77, Business Management), facilities scheduling coordinator at BYU-Hawaii; Debra Pierce ('90); and Lorene Watanabe Pukahi ('03), who recently retired from the BYU-Hawaii library.
Other BYU-Hawaii associates included former librarian Zane Clark and his wife, Renee; religion instructor Jerry Glenn and his wife, Julie; BYU-Hawaii archivist Greg Gubler; religion professor William Jeffries and his wife, Paula; retired intramurals coordinator Harold Pukahi; and BYU-Hawaii internal auditor Tom Wride and his wife, Elaine.
'Mothers
of year' honors go to BYU-Hawaii women
American Mother, Inc. (AMI) members
in Hawaii recently named BYU-Hawaii alumna Beth
Parker Uale ('85, Music) as "Mother of
the Year." In
addition, AMI members named Donnette Tew, the wife of BYU-Hawaii
accounting professor
Glade
Tew, as the Hawaii "Young Mother of the Year."
Uale and her husband, Hawaii Family Court Judge Bode Uale ('79, Political Science), are the parents of four children. While at BYU-Hawaii, Uale was noted for her musical talent -- skills she continues to share with her students, family, friends and community. A recent article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin quoted her as saying, "I knew that music would be the easiest career to pursue if I wanted to be a mom. I have always been grateful for that decision because music has been the second-greatest influence in keeping our family together, the first being our church membership."
The Tews, parents to four adopted children, would like to adopt more.
Uale and Tew, who are currently in Puerto Rico attending the national AMI convention, join a growing list of BYU-Hawaii alumnae and others associated with the University who have received similar honors, including Lisa Wagner, wife of basketball head coach Ken Wagner; Leilani Dumaguin Auna ('85, Social Work), Susan Cravens Kunz ('94, Business Management), Lanett Harmon Ho Ching ('89), and Carolyn Shumway ('94, Elementary Education), the president's wife who was named AMI Hawaii and national "mother of the year."
Read more about Uale and Tew...
Athletics
department presents annual honors
BYU-Hawaii athletic programs honored
athletes and others at their annual banquet
on April 16, with top Seasider athletes
of the year honors going to cross country national champion Chelsea
Smith and men's three-time Pac West tennis "player of the year" Jan Krejci.
In addition, long-time assistant coaches Harry Maxwell ('84) from basketball and Jay Akoi ('72, Sociology) from women's volleyball received Seasider volunteer awards; and University archivist Greg Gubler and his son, Lance, received "outstanding fan" awards.
For a complete list of the athletic awards...
In other BYU-Hawaii sports news...
Golf: The University has named Gregg Baker, Director of Instruction for Golf at the nearby Turtle Bay Resort, has been named as the head Golf Coach for both the new BYU-Hawaii men's and women's golf teams, which were added when the NCAA raised its minimum requirement for participating schools from eight to 10 sports. Baker has been a golf pro since 1972. The University golf teams will compete in the Pacific West Conference.
Women's tennis: The Seasider women recently claimed all six spots on the Pacific West All-Conference First Team for singles and all three doubles spots as voted by the conference coaches. Additionally, junior Adrienn Hegedus was named Pac West Player of the Year for the third consecutive year and BYU-Hawaii Head Coach Dave Porter was honored as Pac West Coach of the Year.
Freshman Jing Jing Liu, sophomore Anna Lewis, junior Judy Weng, senior Amy Sun, and sophomore Gurianna Korinihona joined Hegedus on the All-Conference First Team. The six led the Seasiders on a romp through the recent conference championships in which the Seasiders did not lose a single set. The six have combined for an incredible 125-2 record in singles matches this season and a 47-2 mark in doubles matches in leading the team to a 29-0 record and the number one national ranking.
For still more news of BYU-Hawaii athletics...
Arizona:
Chairman Kepiloni
Foliaki ('95, Accounting) reports about 80 Arizona
alumni showed up for the chapter's ice cream social, including recent graduates Nikki
Bullock ('03, ICS: Anthropology); Isaac Nef ('03)
and his wife, Stephanie
Nef('03, Special Education); and Robert Kongaika ('99, Political
Science), who was recently transferred to Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, and
his wife Abigail
Amistad Kongaika ('97, Accounting); along with Brother
Ray Turley, a former CCH industrial education teacher.
Japan:
During its concert tour to Japan and Korea, the
BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir will meet with alumni in Japan on two occasions:
May 22 in Tokyo in the Tokyo City Opera
Center
5:00 p.m. Alumni Reception
7:00 p.m. concert
June 3 in Osaka at the Piroti Concert Hall
5:00 p.m. Alumni Reception
7:00 p.m. concert
Korea:
The Concert Choir will also meet with alumni
in Korea during the tour:
May 27 in Seoul at the Seoul Arts Center
6:00 p.m. Alumni & VIP Reception
7:30 p.m. concert
For further information on any of these concerts, please contact the chapter chairpersons or Rowena Reid.
Utah:
Reminder, the Utah chapter invites all alumni
to participate in its first annual scholarship golf tournament at East Bay
in Provo, Utah, on Saturday, June 12. Check-in starts at 7:30 a.m., with a
9 a.m. shotgun start. A luau with live Polynesian entertainment will follow
the tournament. Various sponsorships are available starting at $300. For further
information, contact chapter chair David
Settle or event chairman Vai
Laumatia('82, History).
1950-60s
Kit C. Clawson ('60), a fire inspector in Sierra Vista, Arizona, writes: "I still have several friendships of over 40 years that were initially made at CCH. The student body was made up of faithful youth from all over the world and mainly the Pacific region. They were so fun-loving and friendly. No PCC then, but Gerald Hekekia and other students would put on a monthly Hukilau at the beach and the tourists loved it. My roommate gave me the desire to prepare for a mission and helped me with scripture study. The faculty were inspiring and always included a testimony with their instruction."
"My educational and spiritual experience changed my life in such a way that it made me a better person overall. The LDS students from different cultures were a big influence in my joining the Church," writes Merrill Sadami Miura ('66, Industrial Arts Education) who retired as a teacher and now lives in Pahoa, Hawaii. "I will always remember the students and teachers who made my college experience special."
Tim Hansen ('68), the president of a building company in North Salt Lake City, Utah, writes: "Attending CCH was a delightful experience. The diverse cultures offered a unique glimpse into life in distant lands. Cultural and social barriers melted down as one and all basked in the tropical sunshine and bathed in the beautiful blue ocean. Personally, having come from the desert of New Mexico. . . this was truly Paradise Found! I have many fond memories of eating rice in the cafeteria, be it white or fried. Nothing can compare to having saimin and a hot-fudge sundae after hours at the cafeteria! Likewise, nothing beat the taste of kalua pig fresh from the pit with a nice bowl of poi! With mask, fins and snorkel I received my introduction into the beautiful world under the sea. I quickly developed a love for the ukelele and steel guitar music. Language skills: I learned pidgin English as a second language and soon came to know what a haole is. I had my first glimpse of the sport called rugby and marveled at a superman called John Phillips. I learned the hard way about such things as spending the day on the beach in the sun and walking barefoot accross the innocent looking sleeping grass. Yes, attending CCH was a marvelous learning experience."
1970s
Sallianne Merrill Tree ('71, English) and her husband, Norman Tree ('63), now live in Murray, Utah.
Donald B. Anderson Jr. ('72) is now a deputy sheriff in Honolulu and lives in Ewa Beach.
Butch Pierson ('79) is a camera assistant for Paramount Pictures. He and his wife, Pamela Denese Muir ('79) live in Newbury Park, California.
1980s
Julie Center Dilworth ('84) is now a teacher in Russellville, Arkansas.
1990s
In Memoriam: Gordon G. Johnston ('91, Music), who served a mission in Saipan before attending BYU-Hawaii, passed away on April 8 in Mendocino, California. After he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2000, he married in the Cardston Alberta Temple and had two daughters.
Idaho chapter chair Grant Guinn ('93, Travel Management) was recently promoted to Hilton Hotel's regional director of performance support in the Pacific Northwest, which includes Hawaii. He'll remain based in Boise.
Tandy Taylor ('93, Elementary Education) is a school principal in the West Covina Unified District. She and her husband, Jeff Warren Pugh ('93, Political Science), live in Anaheim, California. She writes: "What I remember most are the people: faculty, staff and students. All from around the world teaching me the beauty of other cultures. The small class sizes in my major classes allowed for a more personalized education. I am a better person becuase of my exposure and learing. I am more able to understand and work together in my community becuase of the lessons learned. As an elementary school principal I encounter many differnet types of students and parents every day. The knowledge I gained at BYU-Hawaii allows me to bridge cultural and ethic beliefs so that we can work together to ensure the success of every child. I would most definately do it again!"
Miliama Scott Peters ('94, Political Science), who grew up in Laie, now lives in Las Vegas and works for a financial firm, writes: "My BYU-Hawaii experience began on the day that my sisters Napua Baker and Theresa Bigbie took me out to lunch. They just said, You should go to school so you can better help our polynesian people. At that time, I was a single mother on government welfare. Three years later, with a degree, I was hired by the Utah Valley State College, in Orem, Utah, and began a life of helping my Polynesian people. I love my student years at BYUH. The administration, faculty, and staff, were my brothers and sisters. I felt their sincere love and desire to help me succeed with my education goals. And I did!"
Adeline Elizabeth Erasito Asiga-Lee ('99, International Business Management and Travel Management) writes that she "returned to Fiji after my graduation and now work for the Fiji Visitors Bureau. I started as a graduate trainee...and am now senior marketing officer. I am grateful to BYU-Hawaii and PCC for the enriching experience. This has helped me in my career and I am grateful to the Lord for all his blessings. He has blessed me with a wonderful husband who joined the church a few months before our wedding and also we had the opportunity to be sealed with our son early this year. Dancing at the canoe show and night night at PCC and also being at BYUH has broadened my knowledge on a global approach and helps me understand diverse cultures. Being back in Fiji is great!"
2000s
RuthEllen Jensen Boogaard ('01), who transferred to BYU-Hawaii from Ricks, wrote: "There is no cultural experience like the one at BYU-Hawaii. Being amid so many different cultures and soaking up the great spirit that is there cannot be measured by classes or grades. Seldom will people from the mainland ever experience even a small part of what the BYUH has to offer just with the cultural aspect."
Austin Dyer ('02, International Business Management), and his wife, Cherisse Tiana Storrs ('02, Psychology) are now living in Perris, California, where he works for an insurance company. He recently wrote: "BYU-Hawaii was one of the greatest experiences of my life. By living out there I learned things that no other university could teach me, and that was about people."
Corrections/additions: Oops. Here are a couple of other BYU-Hawaii alumni who earned Scouting's Silver Beaver Award: Moses Kealamakia Jr. ('81, Art), who's a bishop in Hilo, Hawaii; Reginald Chong ('63) and Harvey Kim. Kala mai to all.
Editor's
Note:
Though I had previously visited New
Zealand several times, the Mormon Pacific Historical Society tour described
above provided my first opportunity to experience the South Island.
Various locations seemed familiar... because I've seen them on
TV or they were featured in the Lord
of the Rings movies. However, the joy of meeting friends, fellow
alumni and Saints in that far-away land surpassed the beauty of the country.
Even when we didn't know the people we met, we still enjoyed
fast friendship and a common bond. This connection is one of the greatest
things about being a member of the Church and especially a BYU-Hawaii
alum: Whenever you were here in the past 49 years, you and I have shared
the same spirit of aloha in Laie, felt the same mana or
spiritual essence surround us, and are participating in the same prophetic
vision. Many of you have told me you feel these things every day. What
a great blessing . . . and responsibility.
— 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 2,400 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.
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