Hoping to prepare worldwide church leaders through his teaching experience, Dr. Brent Yergensen, a new BYU-Hawaii communications professors from Twin Falls, Idaho, said he aims to create a class culture which requires a relationship built between the teacher and students. “If you have a comment or concern, I don’t want you to come to see me as Dr. Yergensen, but see me as Brent.”

After last year’s NCAA basketball March Madness Tournament was canceled, Austin Zacher, a junior from Montana studying exercise science, said he realized how sports are a privilege. Zacher explained once COVID-19 began dominating the news, the only thing a person could think about was keeping people safe.

The Psychology of Social Media is a new course offered on campus. Based on what professor Brian Kinghorn, who teaches it, mentioned, this is the class in which he wants students to be able to have conversations about social media and understand how it affects them in both positive and negative ways. He said students need to use this knowledge for good to improve friendships.

Brandon Stanton, the man behind the blog “Humans of New York,” spent two weeks in Greece photographing and interviewing refugees from the Middle East resulting in a series of posts describing the heartbreak and tragedy experienced by those who made the journey.

As the first student in her family to go to college, Tamarina Barlow, a senior from California majoring in communications, has managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA. Her husband described her as a humble yet fierce, individual and student.

BYU–Hawaii students said their media preferences, such as books, movies, and music, are significantly influenced by peers, family and environment.

Former and current BYU-Hawaii students say the best way to stay in touch with friends is through meaningful, dedicated ways of contact such as a phone call, though social media and messaging are also good ways to stay updated on each others’ lives.

Bold colors and found paper, similar to collage art, make up the work of local artist Haunani Hess, who said she is directly inspired by the nature and culture surrounding her on Oahu. Her pieces are filled with mountains, aquatic scenes and photography, demonstrated in bright watercolors on the background of found pages from books.

Finding an unlikely spot in Hau’ula, Kaimi Horito, a junior majoring in Hawaiian studies from Utah, said his long-time ambition to open up his own barber shop in the community was only made possible because of God’s hand.