BYU–Hawaii students, alumni and faculty shared the impact movies can have on people’s happiness. They discussed why movies help boost their mood and which movies bring individual happiness to them.

Amidst worldwide panic and stress, students and professors who are making an effort to spread positivity online and on campus share how doing so has made a scary situation a little bit lighter.

Russell M. Nelson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shared on June 1, 2020, the following message on his social media accounts in response to “recent evidences of racism and a blatant disregard for human life,” along with violence and unrest following the Black Lives Matter protests.

AP News described the first presidential debate between candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump as an event filled with “bitter taunts and near chaos.” BYU–Hawaii students said it was more contentious than they expected but humorous.

Adrienne Hernaez, a 2020 BYU–Hawaii alumna from California, said she didn’t think she could make acting her career, but landing a supporting role in a movie made her believe her childhood dream was possible.

When travel restrictions were put in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, Samoan students were among those stuck in Hawaii following the closure of BYU–Hawaii. Despite having to follow health and safety guideline working during a pandemic, the students shared they are continuing to work in order to provide for themselves.

Creating public interest about startup companies is important to the success of a new business according to Devin Graham, a former BYU-Hawaii student and famed YouTuber known as Devin Super Tramp. Starting with a simple advertisement and now having millions of subscribers on YouTube, he said, “Embrace all platforms: Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook.”

With some videos totaling over 4 million views on his online videos and a weekly TV show in production, BYU-Hawaii alumni who stage name is Clayton Thomas has become a Peruvian sensation known as a character named “Gringasho.” His last name is Kearl and was a member of the Seasider Men’s Cross Country Team.

After suffering a concussion as part of a longboarding accident, Michaela Eisenhut said support and help from the Laie community, fellow students and the university have helped her on the road to recovery.