The July 2005 Alumni eNewsletter contains the following:
BYU-Hawaii President Eric B. Shumway, Polynesian Cultural Center President Von D. Orgill, several other PCC officers and the promo team joined Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle and others in early June as part of an official state delegation to the People's Republic of China.
"The governor had an agenda to meet with high officials, the ambassador from the United States and others, to talk about Hawaii as a destination point for tourism. We went along as a visual aid, as it were," said President Shumway.
"Of course, the PCC promo team made up of BYU-Hawaii students stole the show. Everywhere they performed there was tremendous response, and the governor was so pleased. There were other entertainers from Hawaii, but it was our students who seemed to win the hearts and the applause."
"We were asked to represent the cultural side of what is so wonderful about Hawaii and the many people who are here, particularly the cultures of Polynesia and the spirit of aloha that is so prominent and so clearly felt by everyone who comes here. We were asked to take that with us and share it with everyone in China," added President Orgill.
While the BYU-Hawaii/PCC delegates were in China, they also signed several new agreements to expand the Asian Executive Management Training Program, met with alumni who had participated in that program and renewed friendships.
BYUH, PCC sign agreement with Tibetan cultural association
President Orgill explained a few weeks before the trip to China that he, President Shumway and other BYU-Hawaii and PCC officers met in Laie with a delegation from the government of Tibet.
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BYU-Hawaii President Eric
B. Shumway (right) and PCC President Von D. Orgill (center) sign an exchange agreement with the China Association for the Development of Tibetan Culture. |
"At that particular time they invited us to join with them in a cultural exchange. They knew about our relationship with others inside of China, both on a cultural as well as an educational level. They knew we had been involved in exchanges for 20-odd years; and so they asked us if we would be willing to consider creating a similar agreement with them," he said.
"They're trying to create the equivalent of a cultural center and cultural opportunities for visitors who come to Tibet, so they can share their own culture. At the same time they're trying to expose their own people to the kind of education that we provide here, and also the kind of learning that can come by being associated with the Polynesian Cultural Center."
The agreement with the China Association for the Development of Tibetan Culture calls for two of their staff to join the BYU-Hawaii/PCC Asian Executive Management Internship Program this fall "to see how the Cultural Center is run, how the university supports the Cultural Center and the Center supports the university," President Shumway said. "The Chinese government is very interested in preserving all of the minority cultures in China; and, of course, the Tibetan culture is very interesting."
He described the actual signing ceremony as a "very moving moment," and said that Governor Lingle, who was in the meeting, was "very surprised that BYU-Hawaii and the PCC have a presence in China. She was surprised at all the connections we have there."
"When she found out that it was one of many agreements that has been struck over the years, she was very interested to learn more. It was great to have the chance to visit with her and to share with her more of those details," added President Orgill.
"I think it helped her to have a greater understanding and respect for who we are and for the difference we're making for the state of Hawaii. We represent the state in everything that we do."
In another example, the PCC officers went to Urumqi City in the northwest province of Xingjiang to establish a new relationship. "That province is an interesting one, because geographically it's the largest. It has the second highest mountain in the world in it, next to Mt. Everest. It has the second lowest spot on earth, next to the Dead Sea. It has the second largest desert in the world, and there are, I think, 36 different minority nationalities," said President Orgill.
"We hadn't been there previously, but we met with people from the Foreign Affairs office. In fact, I received a fax from them saying they now formally want to sign the agreement that we proposed to them," which President Orgill said would be similar to the Tibetan one.
"We're anxious to establish friendships with many different nationalities that are all a part of China," he added. "Many people don't realize that China is not just all Chinese, in the sense that most people think of Chinese. There are actually 56 different nationalities, with Han being the majority population, but then 55 who are called minority nationalities. This particular province has more of those minority nationalities than any other."
China's new Minister of Tourism, an old friend
President Orgill also told of meeting China's new Chairman of the National Tourism Administration, Mr. Shao Qiewei, who was previously vice governor of Yunan Province. "We knew him in his previous position because we signed a cultural exchange agreement with him on behalf of the cultural center in that province as well."
"He's now responsible for all tourism into and out of China. He said over the next few years they're expecting on an annual basis anywhere between 20-40 million Chinese nationals to travel outside the country, and at least that many — if not more — to come into China."
"In the next 10-20 years they're expecting that number to go up towards 100 million people a year," President Orgill continued. "So, they're talking about a huge change coming to China."
"When he took on this new position and found out we were in China, he was anxious to meet with us. We were anxious to meet with him. He hosted us for a large dinner. The promo team was there as well. He's fallen in love with these young people. He's been here to BYU-Hawaii and PCC previously.
"He was anxious to put a number of his people into our management training program as well. In fact, he said, 'Can we put 10 people in right now? I want to choose them. They're going to be some of my key people.'
"I told him we only had 10 or 11 slots right now, and most of those were already spoken for. He said, 'Whatever we have to do, we're anxious to participate. We're anxious for them to get the kind of experience that they need because they're going to be our key leaders as we ramp up for the [2008] Olympics.'"
"It was fun to renew our relationship with him, and we're looking forward to working with him in his new responsibilities as he helps gear the whole country of China for the Olympics," President Orgill said. "In fact, he indicated that there would probably be about 6.5 million Chinese who would be involved in hosting in some way, or be involved in the preparations for the Olympics. He said, 'That's a lot of people to train. Any help we can get from PCC and BYU-Hawaii, in that regard, we're anxious to create that kind of relationship agreement as well.'"
"It's very important that millions of visitors to China have a great experience at the Olympics in 2008," President Shumway added. "They're concerned about that, and in our small way we're going to help in that effort, in ways that we can; and that will continue this relationship, because as China develops, their prosperity and their growth will impact our lives in significant ways. We want to make sure that all of the positive connections are there."
China alumni still touched by their Laie experience
President Shumway noted the Laie delegates also had the opportunity to meet with a number of BYU-Hawaii and Asian Executive Management Training Program alumni during their travels in China. "We had a special fireside for them in Beijing, and it was such a pleasure to see them," he said, explaining the group also included alumni from Hong Kong who are working in the Chinese capital. "There was tremendous response."
"It was wonderful to have an opportunity to visit with some of the people who have been here years and years ago and who have not had an opportunity to come back," President Orgill added. "And then to ask them: What do you remember most about your time in Laie? And to listen to them, and to watch them as they describe their experience here."
"There were so many of them that their eyes moistened up. They became emotional as they shared the special nature of the experiences they had here and how much it still means to them, and how much they long for the day when they can actually come back and visit again. But even without that, how much it's changed their lives for the better, and how grateful they are for the experience they had while they were here."
"Nearly all of them have been profoundly impacted by that experience," he continued, noting over the years "many of them have shared with me that their whole view of themselves and life has changed as a result of their experiences here."
"For the first time they understand more about who they really are and what they're really capable of. They understand more about what role the family should play. They say that they have completely altered their lives and their goals for themselves as a result of this experience here."
The presidents see far-reaching effects of China tour
The two presidents pointed out the visit to China has or will result in a number of additional effects:
They also both keenly feel the developing relationships BYU-Hawaii and the PCC have in China will eventually have far-reaching significance.
"I think that everything we have done in China and for China, and for students who are back in China, is grounded on the notion that we want to build friendships and trust, so that at some point in the future when there will be greater development and a greater presence of the Church, for BYU-Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center in China, there will be that foundation of trust," President Shumway said.
"That's why it's important for us to know them, and for them to know us. As President Hinckley said, we are not there to do anything that will be a consternation to the government. We will go through the front door. We will build friendships. We will follow directions. We will keep the laws of the land. But I suspect that as time goes on, and as trust develops, there will be a growth of the presence of the Church in China."
President Orgill added, "I think that these institutions are playing a fundamental role as to what will yet happen one day in China. In the future we'll all be able to look back upon these years and the seeds that have been planted and be able to see those seeds growing and flourishing in a variety of different ways."
Reminders and repeat notices
The following items have previously run in our Alumni eNewsletter and
other places, but are still timely:
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CCH President Owen J. Cook passes away
Dr. Owen J. Cook, 90, who served as president of the Church College of Hawaii
from 1964-71, passed away in Grand Terrace, California, on June 25. Read
more...
Summertime is construction time on campus
Though summer enrollment is usually lower than the rest of the year, Physical
Facilities renovations and improvements keep the campus busy. Read
more about the changes...
SAA Chapter completes coconut leaf mission,
launches fundraising
The Student Alumni Association recently collected about 500 coconut leaves
to assist the Washington state chapter with a crafts activity on July 20. "Mahalo
nui loa for the awesome job you and your fellow students did," wrote Washington
chair Doug
Andrews ('83, Business Management) to SAA chair Jeremiah
Lim.
Lim also reported that the Student Alumni Association will conduct a fundraising drive from August 1-7 to benefit the Voyages of Faith campaign. Under the established terms of this campaign, contributions up to $25 from currently enrolled students will be matched $6 per $1 of student donation.
Under a similar arrangement, contributions up to the first $500 from BYU-Hawaii alumni and employees will be matched $4 per $1 of donation. For more information or to donate online...
More reminders and repeat notices
We've run these items before, but they're still timely:
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Hafa
Adai [greetings] from Guam
alumni |
Alumni board forming new chapters
The Alumni Association board of directors is in the process of forming
new chapters in Brazil, New York and Indiana. More details are forthcoming. In
other chapter news:
Alaska:
The 49th state will hold a Golden Jubilee fireside on Sunday,
July 31 at 7
p.m. in the Maplewood
Chapel, Anchorage. For further details, contact chapter chair Carol
Scanlan at 907/332-2005. Board president Les Steward will
be the guest
speaker.
Hilo:
The Hilo chapter will hold a Golden Jubilee potluck on
Saturday, August 6 from
6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Hilo
Stake Center. Everyone is asked to bring a main dish and salad or
dessert. Rice, drinks and paper goods will be provided.
New Chapter Chairs, Tammy Au Meyers ('86, Office Management) and Bruce Meyers ('86) are excited to meet all Hilo-side alumni and to build the chapter this Jubilee year! Contact them at 808/969-7959.
Idaho:
Effective August 1, Rick
Tuha ('94, Organizational Development) and his wife, Kathy Tuha ('95,
Elementary Education), will succeed Grant ('93, Travel Management)
and Stephanie Guinn ('97) as co-chairs of the Idaho chapter. Tuha,
a former student body president whose parents — Pulia ('69)
and Janis
Stimmel Tuha ('69) — are also BYU-Hawaii alumni, is an attorney in Boise.
All the Tuhas live in nearby Caldwell.
Minnesota:
Lucia
Lealaitafea Westin ('76, Elementary Education) succeeds Hector ('87)
and Allison
Amezcua ('87)
in what used to be the US Midwest Chapter.
Oregon:
New chapter chairs Brigham ('03, Art) and Michelle
Larson ('03)
have succeeded Orson ('96,
Information Systems) and Leutu
Ho Ching Kaili ('96,
Information Systems), who served briefly
following the tenure of Kathleen
Snyder Taukolo ('98, Social Work). The Larsons live in Hillsboro
and can be reached at 503/628-0422.
The chapter held a BBQ on July 22 at board member Rich Vial's home to kick off Golden Jubilee activities in Oregon. Everyone was treated to onolicious, local kine shave ice; and the Larsons are looking forward to using the shave ice machine for fundraising at an upcoming local fair.
1950s & 60s
In Memoriam: Former BYU-Hawaii custodial supervisor Herbert W. Gellert, 84, passed away in Hurricane, Utah, on July 12. In addition to keeping the campus buildings clean, Gellert was well known for helping his international student crewmembers beyond their work responsibilities. For example, at one point he became a certified driving teacher so some of them could safely learn to drive and get their licenses. He is survived by his wife, Beth, three children and four stepchildren. His first wife, Barbara Gellert, was a home economics instructor at the university who was killed in an automobile accident.
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Watabe |
Faith Okawa Watabe ('61) went on to graduate from BYU in Provo in '63 and serve a mission in Japan. Later, she and her husband, Masahisa Kent Watabe ('63, Accounting) — who earned a master's in accounting from Provo — raised their family of seven children in Japan, California, Texas and Germany. They now live in Alpine, Utah, and Faith works as a senior manager at Tahitian Noni International in Provo.
In Memoriam: Tufi Magalei ('64) passed away in a Honolulu hospital on July 21. His wife, Luse Tapusoa Magalei ('76), lives in Hauula.
1970s
James Bassett ('70, Business) is an asset manager for the Kamehameha Schools Endowment Trust. He and his wife, Sandra Kawelo Bassett ('68), live in Kaneohe.
Though he was older than most students and only attended "for a short time," Charles Godfrey ('74) writes he still has "so many happy memories. I loved the Church College of Hawaii and the students."
Thomas Armitage ('76, Construction Technology), a senior home construction project manager who lives in North Dighton, Massachusetts, wrote: "CCH/BYU-Hawaii are among some of my most favorite memories. What I learned there spiritually and academically has helped me raise seven children, serve in many Church capacities and to reach a level of success in my field of endeavor far exceeding my expectations during those school years. The spirit of aloha I received at school and during my time in the islands has been a constant part of my life ever since I left in 1980. A part of my heart will always be there. A special blessing has been the opportunity to work here in Massachusetts with many Polynesian missionaries who served in this area, some of whom I had the opportunity to work with when they were young men growing up in Mililani and Wahiawa. I will always remember the faculty members whose homes we worked on: President Shumway, LaMoyne Garside, Robert Graham, Jim Bradshaw and others. My one regret is that I wish I had more time as a student to be involved more in on-campus activities, but I was married, serving in various capacities in the Wahiawa Ward, and working fulltime in addition to pursuing my degree. I would like to thank all the faculty who dedicated themselves to teaching us. Their time was not wasted, nor has it gone unnoticed or forgotten. My aloha and mahalo to all."
Hideki Itotani ('78) is a polysomnography [sleep study] technician in Coupville, Washington.
1980s
Eseta Mahe Luani (formerly Fifita, '83), a Pacific community educator in Sydney, Australia, writes even though she "did not get the opportunity to graduate, BYU-Hawaii still remains dear to my heart. It was there I grew spiritually, academically and socially. I learned to appreciate the struggles and skills to survive on very minimum financial resources. I also had the opportunity to know and learn from great leaders like President [Kamaka] Sproat, Sione Niu, President White and, of course, President Shumway. They embraced me as one of their very own daughters, prayed with me, prayed for me and were always there for me through the darkest moments in my life. I now live oceans away, but I often think of these great and loving fathers with so much love and admiration. I now work with students from Pacific islands. My years at BYU-Hawaii laid the solid foundation in every aspect of my life."
Finau Funa Ioane ('84, History/Government) and her husband, Ofa Kilolomasi Ioane ('89, Mathematics) live in Spanish Fork, Utah, and both work at Utah Valley State College in Orem. She's a classroom testing manager and he's assistant professor of developmental math. "I will always be grateful for the experiences I had while at BYU-Hawaii. I also had fun while gaining an education," she writes.
Chris Goold ('85), who lives in Vancouver, Washington, writes: "My whole experience at BYU-Hawaii was great! Coming from a very small town in central Oregon, the experiences were life-changing at that time, and have been treasured ever since; so much so that I've told four of my six children that they need to have those same experiences. So far, three of them are thinking of going to BYU-Hawaii."
1990s
Robin Martherus ('90, Information Systems) and his wife, Nora McCandless Martherus ('90, Elementary Education) live in Gilbert, Arizona, where he is the chief strategy officer for Oracle.
Gary Min Yuan Syau ('91, Travel, Hotel & Restaurant Management), a tour manager in Burlingame, California, wrote the "friendly, lovely people of BYU-Hawaii, always remind me of the aloha spirit that holds a special place in my heart."
Rubina Kaio Aiono ('93, Information Systems) and her husband, Toesui, live in Apia, Samoa, where she is a vice principal for the Church Educational System. She writes, "Attending and graduating from BYU-Hawaii was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. I was very fortunate to meet a lot of great people who helped me through school. It was a fantastic and wonderful experience."
Former Seasider basketball player Walter Roese ('94, International Business Management), who went on to play professionally in Brazil and Italy, was recently named assistant coach to BYU head coach Dave Rose. Roese, who earned an executive MBA in 2003 at Provo, was previously director of basketball operations for the Cougars. He and his wife, former BYU-Hawaii volleyball standout Monique Roese ('94, Information Systems), live in Provo.
Normand Schafer ('95, Information Systems and Travel Management) and his wife, Kirsten McKay Schafer ('95, English), who live near Victoria, British Columbia, founded a travel agency within a year after they graduated that he reports is "Canada's 52nd Fastest-Growing company. I really have appreciated the training and mentorship I received and I especially feel the experience I gained as I put together travel packages for the university students to visit the outer islands on long-weekend holidays was invaluable."
Former BYU-Hawaii graphic designer Randy Sasaki ('95, Art) is now plying his skills at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona. He and his wife, Malie Niu Sasaki ('97, Biology), live in nearby Surprise.
Janine Moleni Moa ('99, Social Work) works with an Asian-Pacific islander youth advocacy and leadership organization in Oakland, California.
2000s
Tomoko Murasumi Kwok ('01, Political Science) and her husband, Leo, live in Sydney, Australia, where she is an English teachers trainer.
Eiji Shio ('04, Information Systems) is a tax consultant in Tokyo, Japan, with a Deloitte and Touche group company.
Editor's Note: Summer in Laie is beautiful and the annual Laie Days events, held throughout the month of July, have been dedicated to the university's Golden Jubilee celebration throughout 2005. Meanwhile, the jubilee steering committee is meeting every week to refine plans and details for the Jubilee Week from October 14-23. Many of those who have e-mailed us say they're planning to come. Hope you can make it.
— Mike Foley ('70, TESL), Editor
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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 Relations Executive 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.
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