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Businesses for bamboo, jewelry, and virtual reality headsets won thousands of dollars in the 2015 Empower Your Dreams competition. The competition came to a close on the evening of Thursday, March 19. The six of the 12 judges of the competition – Paul Anderson, Peter Hollens, Ryan Schafinger, Adam Sidwell, Scott Stiles, and Jeffrey Harmon – delivered speeches to help the young entrepreneurs succeed in their dreams and goals. Sidwell said, “You can’t be the person making all of the pies. Identify what needs to be done, what only you can do and find some sort of structure to lay responsibility on others for what you don’t need to do.”Following their words, the winners of the Crowdfunding competition were announced. WINNERSAlumni Category 1st: MYBOO2nd: Button Caps 3rd: Cloud Tale Honorable mention: Rice LoveWelster Tropia, BYUH alumni from the Philippines, won the first place prize of $3,000 with MYBOO with his product of bamboo bags made in the Philippines from a Filipino design. The bags, which come in various sizes, are “made by farmers in the Philippines during their off season for extra income. In the Philippines, extra income really helps. The farmers design them,” said Tropia. He said he entered the competition without expecting to win anything, much less first place. Tropia said he is pleased with the win, and he wants to use the money to make a greater variety of bags, and make them better and stronger. “I always wanted to start something that brought something from the Philippines to here,” he said.Unpublished Category 1st: Odinwear 2nd: Ele Swims 3rd: Aloha handmade tie Honorable mention: Thread WalletsYouTube star Peter Hollens said one of the most important things someone can do while starting a business, product, or brand, is to create value for people.The first place prize in the Unpublished category were the three creators of Odinwear, a virtual reality headset. Benjamin Errico, an senior in accounting from Las Vegas, Dillon Deffense, a senior in finance from Los Angeles, and Michael Nightingale, a senior in business management from Minnesota said they were drawn together by their interest in technology. Errico said they researched all the technology about virtual reality video and gaming. “We noticed that there was a segment that was missing in high quality headsets, so we took advantage of it,” said Errico.Deffense said, “If you look on Google, the closest competition would be cardboard boxes that you just drop on your head and put your phone into it. So there’s no real product already developed, but there’s already the applications that go before it. So we just created a product that was both high quality and low price.” The honorable mention in the Unpublished category is already being sold in the bookstore here on campus. Thread Wallets are simplistic in design, meant to hold a few credit cards or even small amounts of cash and can be worn on a key chain. “I like my thread wallet. It is minimalistic, but it works,” said William Powell, a computer science major from South Carolina.Published category1st: Apollo Pieces 2nd: Kapalu Connections3rd: Wizards DuelHonorable mention: Native EdgeBio-medical senior CJ Dadivas and psychology junior Soram Yun created the paracord jewelry business Apollo Pieces to “mesh family history with pop-culture fashion,” said Dadivas. The family history is the military affiliation that made both his and Yun’s family travel, he said. They both had an interest in fashion. “There was nothing on the market that would fit me,” said Dadivas about jewelry, “and one day my dad asked me if I wanted to make a bracelet.” They said they decided to enter the contest two days before it started. “We didn’t expect to get anything. We feel super blessed and grateful for the opportunity,” said Dadivas. They already have orders for 250 bracelets. Yun said they marketed through blogs, giving a link to their Kickstarter. “In that way we got a lot of random costumers from all over this world,” she said.Dadivas said 6 to 9 feet of paracord, which has a load capacity of 550 pounds, is woven into the jewelry. It can be used as “key chains, fire starters or for an emergency,” and have custom molded beads made of rhodium, pewter, brass or 18 karat gold.There are five points that are critical for business, according to videographer Paul Anderson of the Piano Guys: 1. Don’t be selfish: Do something for someone else. You can focus on helping someone else with the proceeds. 2. Take risks and work: Don’t be afraid to fail. Jump into something with both feet. 3. Go for it: Don’t listen to people who say it can’t be done. 4. Think outside the box: Dream big. Do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. 5. Believe in yourself: People all have gifts that they have been given. Enhance your gifts and help others with them.William Arnett III and Maklen Kapalu, the second-place winners of the published category, Kapalu Connection “Houses of Hope” have plans to accomplish the following goals, as pulled from their website: “Houses of Hope will work with local community leaders to build houses in remote regions of Vanuatu that will be rented by the Port-Vila Mission for their missionaries. Houses of Hope, after receiving the rental income, will send a portion of rent monies to local schools to supplement the payment of a teacher, supplies, or physical facilities. Houses of Hope will make it possible for missionaries to proselyte and perform humanitarian work in remote areas.”Arnett and Kapalu are accomplishing the first item of Anderson’s business guide: Not being selfish. They are building houses to help missionaries and the local community grow and learn. Kapalu Connection has been using social media, such as Facebook messenger, to help spread the word of their project.Uploaded March 25, 2015

Sunday School General President of the LDS Church Tad Callister was honored at the BYU Management Society “Fire and Ice” Gala. In his remarks, Callister said leaders of high integrity are needed more than ever in today’s world. Callister said a good leader will, “Offer the least criticism and the most praise necessary to correct behavior.”The gala featured a dinner, student performances, and remarks from Callister. Hosted by Mathew Olson, a junior in business management from Utah, and Josiah Moimoi, a juniorin accounting from Fiji, the gala celebrated the leadership of Callister. Moimoi said, “The goal was to inspire others to become leaders.”The BYU Management Society presented Callister with an Excellence in Service Award. After receiving the award, Callister shared five key principles of leadership: 1. Do your homework and then seek the will of the Lord. 2. Have high but loving expectations. 3. Lead with love and kindness. 4. Develop leadership tools available by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 5. Be optimistic.Dancers from the Maori Village performed a Kapa Haka, a traditional greeting in New Zealand, and a haka sent shockwaves through the room. Performer Jacob Keung, a senior in business management, said, “It was a honor for me to portray my culture, especially because he had lived in New Zealand for three years.”Callister served as a counselor and then president of the Pacific Area from 2009 until 2011 when he was called as General Sunday School President. Senior Doug Bush, a supply chain major from California, said, “It was my pleasure to have the opportunity to compliment the extravaganza and celebration of the giant of the man Tad Callister is.” Bush sang “I, Don Quixote” from the musical, “Man of the Mancha.”Helena Hannonen, a business professor and one of the main organizers of the event, said she hoped by hosting the gala students would be able to hold similar events in their home country. Uploaded March 25, 2015

Known as the “guys” who make music with just the piano and cello, the Piano Guys’ pianist and songwriter, Jon Schmidt, and videographer Paul Anderson joined Peter Hollens, a self-made YouTube a cappella sensation, to answer some questions for BYU-Hawaii. For this article, Jon Schmidt’s answers will be noted by JS, Paul Anderson’s as PA, and Peter Hollens’ as PH.Q: What are your impressions of Empower Your Dreams and how, as musicians and YouTubers, do you fit into this?JS: Such a cool event. I’m super impressed of what is happening. I think [BYUH students] are really blessed to have this opportunity. It’s a huge opportunity. It merges real life with education. It just kind of blew me away.PH: I think the innovation within the higher education system needs to go this route. Otherwise, the tuition doesn’t make any sense. You need to have this kind of experience, in my opinion, and all the verticals for me to be able to tell my son to fork out all the money to go to college because it is really expensive and this kind of thing actually provides true value. It’s awesome to be a part of this.Q: How would you say your experiences qualify you as judges?PA: I think each of us has been in the field of raising money to keep our business going. We understand that model. We know what it is like. We know what you have to do to keep the customers or fans happy, and what to do to create a product that will last a while that people will continue to enjoy. JS: I totally relate to what they are trying to do. It is very relatable to being entrepreneurial as an independent artist, inventing something and trying to market it.PH: I would say that anyone who has found success on YouTube as a musician and has a kind of longevity at all really learns how to run a business, how to brand yourself, how to innovate constantly, and that’s what these kids are really going to have to do if they are going to succeed at their business.Q: What would you say are the skills students should be trying to acquire and pick up if they want to be successful? Are these things that you can learn in the classroom or should they be spending more time somewhere else? PA: Well I think it is good to learn in the classroom. I didn’t go to college, but I wish I would have learned some things before going out in the world, because I spent a lot of money experimenting on things myself. The biggest thing I would say for them is to just go out and do it, to just start something, even if it is wrong or doesn’t work, just do it.PH: I would also say that anyone who even thinks they want to do anything has to learn social media, branding and how to market yourself. You have to present yourself in digital means just like you do in an interview physically. You need to have that same element but in a digital way.PA: People need to stay authentic to who they are. There is a lot of people who go out there and choose something to make money, and even if it does make money, they don’t find happiness—the happiness that comes along if they were to stay true to themselves. If you stay true to yourself, there is long-term happiness and money will come with it.PH: Money has to be the by-product, not the reason for doing anything.Q: What project has been your favorite so far?PA: It’s hard to say; it seems like every project we do is our favorite. We just did one recently where Jon and Steve (the cellist) dressed up in the 17th Century and also the 1970s to mix the two genres of music with the song ‘I Want You Back’ by The Jackson 5. It was hard to take them seriously on set because they looked so goofy, but it was just so fun.PH: From what we do with constantly creating and constantly thinking of the next thing so as soon as you release it, it’s like ‘Okay, what is next?’ It’s one of things I dislike most about my job – that I never have time to relish in the creation of something that I’ve put hundreds of hours into.JS: It’s like asking ‘Who is your favorite child?’Q: Any last words of advice for BYUH students?JS: The world is so full of opportunity right now… The world is wide open and we are right at the beginning of it. Right now you’ve got crowdfunding that is young. Do it now when stuff is new.PH: Just start. If you have an idea, do it. Be an innovator. If you love something, create it. There are online tutorials for everything. I taught myself how to do everything. I just did it; you can do it.PA: Everyone has a gift. Find out what your gift is, because there is something you can do. I always wanted to be a musician but I’m not that great of one. Now I have surrounded myself with awesome musicians so I get to experience that and I can help them with my gifts.Uploaded March 25, 2015

The worst tropical storm in 13 years hit Vanuatu and New Zealand on March 13, 2015. Weather.com reports the level five Cyclone Pam could be the worst storm in the island chain’s history. With winds as high as 165 mph, much of the country was completely flattened. Deseret News reported approximately 90 percent of Vanuatu’s buildings had been damaged in the storm. “It’s really bad,” said Carlos Rem, a sophomore studying psychology from Fiji, whose brother and sister both served LDS missions in Vanuatu. “One of my teachers knows someone in Vanuatu, and he has tried to get a hold of him since the storm but still hasn’t heard back,” Rem said. “It’s scary.” Deseret News reported Vanuatu Port Vila Mission President Larry Brewer tried to contact missionaries to see if they were unharmed, but power lines were down making communication a problem. Seven days after the initial storm, he made contact with the 11 missionaries serving on the island of Tanna. “I have a friend serving in Tanna,” said senior Litia Adam from Australia, majoring in Pacific Island Studies. All missionaries in both the Vanuatu and surrounding missions have been accounted for and are being aided, according to Deseret News.The church sent a small plane the day after contact was made with the missionaries on Tanna, sending food and materials to help those who were suffering due to the traumatic and extensive damage. The church’s plane will be used to transport the 11 missionaries back to Port Vila. Members and non-members alike have gathered in meeting houses all around Vanuatu, where the church has provided food and is assisting in rebuilding the community. Mormon Helping Hands in New Zealand have put together 2,000 food boxes to send to Vanuatu. The boxes will be flown to Vanuatu throughout the week to help the families recovering from the storm, reports Deseret News. On March 20, Pacific Area President of the Church, Elder Kevin W. Pearson, gave an update on the storm’s victims, saying, “It is deeply reassuring to hear reports that people are calm, working to recover and rebuild, and are helping their neighbors. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are absolutely committed to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in Vanuatu as they grieve, recover and rebuild. We are here for the long haul.” He said thus far, reports are showing there have been no fatalities among the members of the church. Uploaded March 25, 2015

Renaissance man Eurica California is known for frequenting the BYU-Hawaii library on a daily basis for the past three years. The man behind the ponytail, known as Cal, said he spends his days inventing, researching, surfing, videoing, and pursuing country music, using the library as a way to work on his research and invention patent applications. Since 1996, California has been, “developing incubators for babies before they are ready to breathe air,” describing it as his life’s work. “I noticed a lack of concern and technological advancement in that field. I started from scratch and have created several patents that have been issued.” He said his latest patent deals with non-destructive means of ectopic pregnancy management. He said it takes a lot of self-discipline and drive to complete these patents. “Without an engineering or medical degree, I immersed myself in the research until I became fluent in it.” With his research completed in the UCLA biomedical library before arriving in Hawaii, he said he used a lot of time here at BYUH copying drawings in the multimedia lab. California is not a member of the LDS Church, but he has not missed a devotional for the past couple of years. “I noticed the library was closed at 11 a.m. on Tuesdays. Initially, I just went to the shopping center, but then I started to go. I find them very interesting.” He said he also went to the Laie Temple open house and was amazed by the Celestial Room.California appreciates much of what the BYUH and Laie community has to offer, but it’s his presence in the Joseph F. Smith Library that makes him so well-known around the town. “I like that it is quiet in the library. People dress modestly so it’s not distracting as well. I didn’t notice it before until I came here. I have never been in a cleavage-free world. It is a nice difference. I think it makes people calmer because if you don’t lose your own self-respect, then you’re not going to complain about other people not respecting you. Another nice thing is that no one smokes here.”Born and raised in southern California, Cal said he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1995 studying art. He said he came to Hawaii 10 years ago to visit his brother in Kauai, and fell in love with the place, deciding to stay. In regards to his move to Laie, he said, “I didn’t know about the library at BYUH, but I was originally using the public library in Waialua. Since they were starting to have Furlough Fridays, the librarian suggested this library. Travis Overley, a former student, showed me around the campus three years ago. I was going to do farming in Laie, so it was easy to relocate. I come in the library in the morning and leave around five, depending on how much work I have.”Maria Fonoimoana Feagai, manager of the Academic Multimedia Lab, met California when he was a frequent user. “Because we are open to the community, I make it a point to say hello to everyone on campus. I had seen him in Laie with a suburban and a surfboard, and then he came into the Copy Center often. I always see him studying and working in the library.” Other than his patent research, California said he just bought a GoPro and is experimenting with video. He also said he is currently learning about country music and has the goal of traveling in the states. One of his hobbies also includes space exploration. “I recently got an article published in Advances in Space Research. It’s about getting water from the moon, and I ended up sending it into NASA.”Being passionate about human rights, California said, “sometimes I help prisoners with their legal work. I am helping a federal prisoner persecuted for performing a religious ceremony. I’d rather go surfing, but you have to use your free time to help people.” John Olszowka, a retired BYUH faculty member, said he met Cal one Sunday and has become acquainted with him. He said Cal “is with the Union, and has been seeking work as a finisher, meaning doing interior trim work.”A man of many skill sets, California said his main goal is for his incubators to be used. “I’ve devoted so much of my life to it. Some of my other personal goals include getting married and having children as well.”Uploaded March 25, 2015

The BYU-Hawaii Latino Club combined with the BYU-Hawaii Salsa Orchestra to bring club members, students, and faculty a night full of live music and dancing Saturday, March 21, at the Aloha Ballroom. Those in attendance had the chance to listen and test their dancing skills with a variety of classic Latino music genres including: merengue, salsa, cha-cha-cha, and tango. The Salsa Orchestra dazzled the crowd with classic Latin songs like Marc Anthony’s “Vivir Mi Vida” and even salsa renditions of Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 songs: “Blame it on the Boogie” and “I Want You Back.” “Taking a night off from the grind of school and letting my feet and body freely express themselves through Marc Anthony’s ‘Vivir Mi Vida’ was exactly what the doctor ordered,” said junior business major Casey Akana, from Seattle, Washington. Latino culture is famous for its variety of music and dance and the Latino Club has been known to have Latin dancing nights throughout the semester but never to live music like this. “The idea came from Josh Mason, a member of the band, who had the idea and talked to the director,” said Beatriz Gonzalez, a Latino Club presidency member and senior TESOL major from West Jordan, Utah. “We wanted everyone to enjoy a live concert and dance because it makes dancing that much more fun.” Though only the more experienced dancers were dancing when the concert began, after a while the music was too contagious and everyone began partnering up and moving to the rhythm. “We had a great turn out and everyone seemed to be having a good time. People who I’ve never seen dance where dancing and having a great time,” said Gonzalez.“It was an epic night,” said Trinity Waddell, a junior pre-medical biology major and trumpet player in the Salsa Orchestra from Dayton, Texas. “I hope this happens more often. There is nothing better than dancing to live Latin music with a pretty lady.” Gonzalez said, “We are not sure if we will make this a regular event, but with the results we had it’s a definite possibility.”Uploaded March 25, 2015

Two businessmen from Tonga visited a newly created island in Tonga on March 7, supplying the first pictures of the island as they walked on it, reported the Matangi Tonga, Tonga’s leading news website. The visitors, Gianpiero Orbassano and Branko Sugar of Nuku’alofa, said the climb was dangerous with the ground covered with deep, unstable channels and it was excessively hot. BYU-Hawaii student Ana Ova from Tonga, a sophomore studying education with a minor in social work, has seen the recent pictures and called it “beautiful and amazing.”The new island, formed from the Hunga Tonga underwater volcano is located 28 miles northwest of Tonga’s capital, Nuku’alofa. The island began growing in December, when the eruption began and thus far has reached a height of 1,640 feet, according to BBC News. Even though people have walked on the island, scientists have suggested the island to be highly unstable and dangerous, filled with large and unconsolidated material, said BBC News. “There is a lot of rock. It’s not just ash. It looks like the moon,” said Orbassano. The visitors also reported to Matangi Tonga they didn’t think the island would disappear anytime soon. Underwater volcanoes that erupt and break the surface form an island of ash. They will only stay if the eruption lasts long enough, otherwise, they will be swept away by the currents and waves produced by the ocean and other means, according to BBC News. Because this island is tall and relatively solid, there is hope for this island to stay, but also a large chance for it to eventually disappear, according to the Matangi Tonga. Some students leaned toward this island staying, such as Melee Loketi, a junior studying education from Tonga. “The majority of these volcanic islands, they stay,” she said. “It may stay there and who knows, some people may inhabit it in the future.”Vicki Hext, a junior studying hospitality and tourism management from Arizona, said, “That’s cool that there are landforms still forming.” And if the island does not wash away and continues to grow, she added it would “definitely be a future vacation spot” when it was safe. Uploaded March 25, 2015

Benjamin Netanyahu secured a win as Israel’s new Prime Minister earlier this month and recanted a statement that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch. His post election assertions attempted to backtrack on this statement and appeal to the Obama administration; without success, reported AP. Netanyahu said he had not intended to completely deny the possibility of a two state solution to the existing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but rather, to say that is was impossible at this time. Netanyahu cited Palestinian leadership’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and it’s alleged connected with the militant Islamist Hamas movement, as well as the rise of Islamic terrorism across the region. “I’m confused as to why the Prime Minister decided these pieces of information about the rise in supposed ‘Islamic’ terrorism had to do with a two state solution. If it were up to me, the Zionists of the Diaspora and those born under them would be displaced. Suggesting a two state solution is like stealing someone’s home and wanting to share the rooms with them. Actually, that’s exactly what this is,” said Sharouk Badir, a junior studying at the BYU Jerusalem Center. Badir is not alone in her sentiments. However, Netanyahu believes that the only way to a solution is “real negotiations with people who are committed to peace.”The New York Times reports President Obama waiting two whole days before phoning Netanyahu and congratulating him on his win due to the overall disappointment in the Prime Minister’s previous comments denying the possibility of a two state solution. Reports say Obama told Netanyahu directly the United States would have to “re-assess our options.”A formal account of the call made form the White House made no mention of the criticism, although it noted Obama’s goals for a “two state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine.”“Netanyahu has already damaged the trust of Washington, this whole thing about ‘changing his mind’ makes him an even more questionable leader,” said Alipate Craig, a senior accounting major from San Jose, Calif. In Israel reports of Netanyahu’s reversal of stances regarding a Palestinian state on the eve of election was largely regarded of a desperate appeal to win over votes from his opponents supporters. “Well it worked, and now we wait,” remarked Lanae Pitts, freshman hospitality and tourism major from Riverside, Calif. In Washington, many officials have long since been weary of Netanyahu’s failure to follow through on peace building efforts with Palestinians. Among others, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority seized on Netanyahu’s original refusal for a two state solution and asserted that he, along with others of the Palestinian Authority, would continue to fight for the United Nations recognition of Palestinian statehood. Abbas also asserted his goals to use the International Criminal Court to press war crime charges against Israelis. Though Netanyahu’s statements in the past few weeks have contradicted themselves time and again, he said he was proud to be “prime minister of all of Israel’s citizens, Arabs and Jews alike.” Josh Earnest, White House secretary, speaking on the Netanyahu’s possible move for a two state solution said, “It’s pretty clear that Israel is no longer committed to that outcome, that pursuit.”Uploaded March 24, 2015