These three people are amongst the many impressive Seasider Alumni. Where they are now can be attributed, even in a small sense, to their attendance at BYU-Hawaii. Their backgrounds extend across oceans, fulfilling the sacred prophecy of the university’s mission.1. Eni Fa’aua’a Hunkin Faleomavaega, Jr.Faleomavaega was born in America Samoa, but grew up in Laie. He graduated from Kahuku High and attended BYUH. He earned his associate’s degree here and went on to receive his bachelor’s at BYU in Provo. From there, Faleomavaega, went to the University of Houston Law Center and UC Berkeley, earning his juris doctor and master’s of Law degrees. He served in the United States Army from 1966-99, and served in the reserves as an officer from 1982-89. In Faleomavaega’s early political career, he served as the administrative assistant to American Samoa Delegate, A.U. Fuimaono from 1973-1975. He went on to serve as Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa from 1985-1989. Eni Fa’aua’a Hunkin Faleomavaega, Jr. is a member of the House of Representatives (elected in 1989) and has worked tirelessly since being sworn in to provide funding and health care to his home territory.2. Paul Asi TaulavaPaul Asi Taulava, also known as Asi Taulava, is an American-born Filipino-Tongan professional basketball player in the Philippines who is currently playing for Air21 Express in the Philippine Basketball Association. Asi stands at a staggering 6-foot, 9-inches and weighs 275 lbs. Many believe him to be one of the most dynamic and dominant Filipinos to ever play in the PBA. Throughout his 15-year career, Taulava has used his size and strength to overpower opponents for points and rebounds. He is also a many-time member of the Philippines’ national basketball team in national competitions and tournaments. Taulava played for the BYUH Seasiders and is among the athlete alumni who have gone on to professional careers.3. Yue-Sai KanKan is a Chinese-American Emmy winning television host and producer, successful entrepreneur, fashion icon, bestselling author and humanitarian. People magazine named her “the most famous woman in China” and Time magazine proclaimed her “the Queen of the Middle Kingdom.” She moved to Hawaii from Hong Kong and studied as a piano major. Whilst being a student at BYUH, Kan entered the Narcissus Flower Beauty Pageant sponsored by the Oahu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and was the second runner up. As part of her duties, she traveled the world. After her tour, she joined her sister in New York in 1972, becoming involved in public relations and television production work. Kan’s TV credits include the ABC documentary “China Walls and Bridges,” which received a coveted Emmy Award in 1989, and “Journey through a Changing China.” “Journey” was syndicated across the country and was so powerful that it was publicly lauded in the United States Congressional Record, and called Kan a “citizen ambassador.” Since 2006, Kan has been serving as chairwoman of the Invitation Committee of the Shanghai International Film Festival. She single-handedly secured the attendance of many A-list stars, including Halle Berry, Catherine Deneuve, Liam Neeson, and Andie MacDowell to name a few. Her involvement has uplifted the status of the festival to an international level.

“Reality will slap you in the face. Your years of living off your parents are over; you have to be independent. It’s exciting. It’s a good thing, but it’s a reality check, not to be afraid of. It’s a whole new life,” said Jill Stockford, BYU-Hawaii alumni and freelance artist who lives on the Oregon Coast.

In 1955, the Church College of Hawaii was formed and the first building was completed shortly thereafter. The first class had 153 students and 20 faculty members. Now, nearly 60 years later, the same school has expanded by over 15-times more students. BYU-Hawaii is now a small campus of diverse students reigning from more than 70 different countries worldwide. The mission, however, has always stayed the same throughout the years: “To integrate both spiritual and secular learning.”Soon after CCH opened its doors, the college completed housing units like these pictured. The buildings were one-story and housed nearly 100 students. In the front of the units, or hales (Hawaiian word for house), was a small parking lot and along the parking lot were benches and chairs for students to rest and converse with each other. Today the hales are either two or three floors with more than 60 rooms in each building and over 120 students in each residence hall. One tradition that has stayed the same throughout the years is the usage of the benches outside the hales. Even now, BYUH students use the benches until the late hours of the night conversing, laughing and so forth.When the school first opened in 1955, there were no more than 20 faculty members and faculty housing was not a big part of the college. Most faculty members lived right in Laie and if not, then not too far from the CCH campus. Now, having way over 20 faculty members, the faculty housing has expanded to local homes in Laie and surrounding towns like Hauula and Kahuku. With the addition of the BYU-Hawaii Townhouses, faculty numbers continually increase allowing additional courses, majors and classes to be taught from new faculty.

Students and the community packed the CAC to attend a Q&A Fireside with Internet celebs Stuart Edge, Devin Graham, Tiffany Alvord and singer David Archuleta on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The event was hosted by the Willes Center of Entrepreneurship that had the guests come to judge its annual Great Ideas video conference.The stars spoke on living the standards of the gospel despite pressure from the world and being a light to the world. Each judge shared experiences about sticking up for their standards.Graham shared about how his standards benefited his revenue with two recent video experiences. “I did a swimming video with a company and all of the girls were wearing bikinis. I didn’t want to turn them away so I filmed it. Later, I showed it to a friend who really cared about me and she said, ‘I’m so disappointed in you.’ Seeing that perspective and knowing what I’m creating is influencing people I decided from now on everything I do will be in line with the church completely.”“Two weeks later,” continued Graham, “the NFL contacted my crew to make a video for the Florida Jaguars because they’re struggling with attendance. They gave me access to the entire stadium and cheer squad. I got there and all the cheerleaders were immodest. I pulled the coach aside and told her my concern. She said, ‘This is the NFL and our whole appeal is sex appeal. You have to do it; that’s why you’re here.’ I walked back out there and told the cheerleaders, ‘All you women are very beautiful but you need to cover up. We want this to reach all audiences.’ All the girls went back and came back out with their normal clothes.”Edge talked about having to explain the Book of Mormon to friends who had seen “The Book of Mormon” musical. “It was a little intimidating because these guys are very powerful in the Internet world, and here I am sharing my beliefs about the real Book of Mormon.”Archuleta said he never felt it necessary to exchange his standards to share his gifts or talents. He said, “I’ve felt some peer pressure with people telling me that doing a certain thing is more successful, but I never felt it was necessary. It’s sometimes an opportunity to stick up for what you believe.”He said during a song writing session once, he had to stand for his beliefs. “The songwriters were talking about smoking weed since it supposedly makes you more creative,” said Archuleta. “They were so surprised that I didn’t participate in things like that. They were even more surprised that I didn’t swear, go out and do crazy things at parties and with girls. I remember one successful songwriter said, ‘Wait, you don’t do all that?’ and I said, ‘No.’ He then said, ‘That is so weird… but how cool’.”Alvord talked about the challenges of being a girl on YouTube. She said, “Modesty has never been a huge deal because I feel comfortable being modest. One time I posted a picture on Instagram of me in a tank top thinking no one would really notice. One of my LDS followers said she was disappointed in me, and when I saw it, I realized they really do pay attention. Once you decide what your standards are and what you believe, it’s easy to be strong in that. There isn’t temptation if you already know the answer.”After the fireside, Graham said, “A lot of people told me how inspiring I was, but to me I was inspired by everyone in the audience. Seeing that many people there and knowing they have the exact same problems I do reminded me I’m not alone.”Gabriell Sabalones, a senior from Indiana majoring in international cultural studies, said the speakers “were like little latter-day heroes, fighting the good fight in the face of possible unpopularity and ridicule. I feel inspired to develop that kind of relationship with my Heavenly Father too so that he’ll know that he can trust me with more opportunities and blessings.”

Students showed off their creative video skills in the Great Ideas Video Competition. Judges featured singer David Archuleta, filmmaker Devin Graham, YouTube sensations Tiffany Alvord and Stuart Edge, and Spencer Taggart of LDS Business College as guest judges. The conference, hosted by the BYUH Entrepreneurship program, was held on Thursday, Nov. 20 in the PCC’s Imax Theater.Participants submitted videos of their great ideas into four different categories: non-student, product, service and social. First place winners of their category won $3,000 and will have their videos featured on one of the judge’s social media pages.James Astle, a senior studying graphic design from Los Angeles, and Austin Meldrum, a senior studying communications from Colo., won the service category with their video “Box Marketing.” Astle said, “The conference was like a film festival culmination of really awesome videos from students from all around campus. It was a great way to see the talents of all the people at BYUH and what they have in mind to try to make the world better.”Megan Smee, a recent graduate of BYUH and employee of University Communications, won the non-student category with her video titled “Ms. Tree Pants,” which promotes her product of the same title. Jeff Collins and Leonid Hatch’s video “Guitar Drum” won first place in the product category for their attachable guitar drum. Taylor Steele’s video “Keep Our Bees” called attention to dwindling honey bee numbers and won first place in the social category.Spencer Taggart, director of marketing and social media at LDSBC, said, “The students crushed it. I laughed and cried. They touched some heartstrings with their videos and that’s what social media is all about: building relationships. The fact they were able to tell a story with their product, service or cause and let us know why they’re passionate about this makes a difference. It’s something online consumers want to share.”Paul Wilson, a teacher of digital entrepreneurship, discussed the idea of having Mormon Internet celebrities judging the conference with Devin Graham back in March. Wilson said, “It never was our intention to make a statement to the community or world with this competition. Instead, we invited these particularly judges because they understood the power of social media and film. We particularly selected judges who did not fit the ‘typical’ business mold. We had two musicians, a comedian and a videographer. We wanted our students to know that it is possible to pursue a dream and find success in it.”Judge Stuart Edge said, “As a filmmaker, I’m always exposed to so many types of film and a lot of times it’s super high end quality. What impressed me was seeing so many different styles and realizing the people that made these are all here; it made it more personal.”Jason Earl, academic director of the Willes Center, said bringing the guest judges here was a miracle. “When we first put the proposal together in July for the new social media format of the Great Ideas Conference, it was taken all the way to the Church Board of Education. Each speaker was reviewed by the board members, including their biography and work (i.e., videos, songs, social media presence). The real miracle here is that you need a team to pull something like this together and everyone focused on providing the best experience possible for our students. The icing on the cake was having David Archuleta here to meet the students.”Wilson said, “Seeing the quality of short business films the students created was the most powerful experience from the competition. It amazed me just how far many of them went to create the story they wanted the audience to see.”According to Wilson, the entrepreneurship program is already preparing for the next competition. “We have already had a debriefing on how we can make next year’s video competition better,” said Wilson. “However, the competition is just a leader into next semester’s Empower Your Dreams competition, which will be around crowd funding (Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, and the likes). Short business films will be at the heart of what we will be doing, so I am excited to see what these students can bring.”

Students, community members, and families came together on Nov. 22 at Shine Bright, an event meant for “empowering children with special needs,” according to Michael De Guzman, the man behind Shine Bright. Bouncy castles, shave ice, cotton candy, face-paint, and pizza were all provided free of charge, thanks to a partnership with Enactus and Rotaract Club and donations from the ASL Club, the Kahawaii family, and Angel’s Ice Cream.When De Guzman, a senior in social work from Switzerland, came to Oahu, he “saw there were not special needs activities on this side of the island.” He started hosting weekly activities for special needs children on his own to help them “develop their talents and explore their passions, and just to have a place for them to go.”He came to Enactus and proposed it host a large event full of activities tailored to children with special needs. “Everyone has a talent and gift. Our motto is ‘fitting in by standing out;’ fitting in by being themselves,” said De Guzman. He went on to explain people incorrectly think individuals with special needs, like Down syndrome, can only do certain jobs or certain activities and are limited by their condition. The motto means they can be valuable members of a community without trying to be someone they are not.Maureen and John McComas, parents of two girls with Down syndrome, came from town to join the activities. “They should have it again,” said Maureen. What made it a good event, according to Maureen, was the “general feeling of support. Everyone is happy and it’s good to see the kids running around having fun.” John said he was especially glad that it was on a university campus. “Getting co-eds mixing with special needs, and maybe opening their eyes. Maybe they will get involved with special needs programs because of this,” he said. Come January, a new special needs after-school curriculum will be in local elementary schools, according to Enactus member and the creator of the curriculum, Hanna Davis. Davis, a freshman in biology from Arkansas, said “The event was meant to be a kick-off starter for a winter semester special needs curriculum. It’ll be a place for special needs kids to go after school to develop their talents and passions, develop gross motor skills and express creativity. Michael wanted the curriculum to mesh with Shine Bright.” She made the curriculum after researching and talking to special needs teachers.Ann Sullivan, president of the Down Syndrome ‘Ohana of Hawaii (DSO), came with her family and down-syndrome daughter to the event, explaining their services at a booth. “We let them know they have a support network. There is a real need for connection and forming a relationship they can call upon to ask questions.” Sullivan explained that when a child is first diagnosed with Down syndrome, “It’s a lot of unknown territory we try to provide emotional support”DSO is a nonprofit support group, currently beneath another non-profit called Keiko Ka ‘Aina, according to Sullivan. Sullivan said they reassure parents, saying, “Our babies are special and bigger blessings than you’ll ever know. Your life is going to be good and your life is going to be blessed.”

The BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving in celebration of the Thanksgiving season with its “Evensong” concert held on Nov. 22 in the McKay Auditorium. Michael Belnap, the choir director, said, “Because we performed the weekend before Thanksgiving, I wanted to choose songs that reflected praises to the Lord and focused on Christ.”Belnap said the concert performance was elevated by the accompaniment of the organ by Ken Weber, a local from Kalihi Valley. “It’s the first concert we’ve ever done with the organ. It was like having our own little orchestra rolled into one instrument and made it exciting,” said Belnap. “Ken contacted me through a student we both knew. He really wanted to perform with us so he and I got together and selected the pieces. It was the right combo because we’ve never had the voices to do some of these pieces until now.”Kaylee Buss, a junior vocal major from Colorado and Choir librarian and costumer, said, “I’ve never been a part of choir concerts where we had the organ so prominent and integrated in our program. Brother Belnap usually has spiritual themes in our concerts, but the organ made it more clear to the audience what we were going for - the Spirit.”Belnap said he tried to find a balance between educational and entertaining music. “If everything is educational, it’s boring. If you can entertain and inspire somebody while still being educational, even better.”“All within these 11 weeks we had to first audition everyone,” said Buss. “Second, we got all of our music and learned it by spending one hour every day practicing in class. We’re also required to practice one hour outside of class in our own little quartets and memorize the songs. Usually we do a Christmas concert in December, but because it was before Thanksgiving, there was more pressure to learn it faster.”A crowd favorite was the closing number, Mack Wilberg’s arrangement of “Come Thou Fount.” Kelsey Kimball, a junior from Laie studying elementary education, said, “It would be difficult to accurately describe the spirit and joy I felt when hearing this song sang so beautifully by the choir. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to hear not only these songs, but also their testimonies that I could feel through the music as they sang about their love for the Savior.”Jashon Fabia, a sophomore from the Philippines studying psychology, said, “The choir’s rendition of ‘Come Thou Fount’ really impacted me. While walking home after the concert, I was looking at the stars and realized how insensitive I have been for not thanking the Lord for the things I don’t see. We thank him for the visible, but forget to thank him for what isn’t visible. I felt motivated to be more spiritually sensitive of every blessing and more receiving of them.”Fabia also said he felt the Thanksgiving theme was good for international students “because we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in other cultures. We have festivities similar to it, but not annually, especially in Asia.”

“It all starts here in the classroom, but you never know where you will end up,” said David A. Peterson, who recently returned from his mission as a diplomatic representative for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the European Union. His education gave him many opportunities to be a better servant in the Lord’s kingdom, said Peterson, and he wants the same for students at BYU-Hawaii.Peterson has numerous degrees in varying fields from a number of universities, he said as he spoke to BYUH students at a forum sponsored by the BYU-Hawaii Pre-Law Society and Political Science Department. Peterson told a compelling story of an interaction he and his wife had with the ambassador of Macedonia. The Petersons ran into the ambassador at a concert one night and felt inspired to invite him and his wife over for dinner at their home. The ambassador felt honored to be at the Peterson’s home and later asked, “What can Macedonia do for you?” Peterson responded earnestly by requesting that missionaries be allowed to proselyte in Macedonia and preach in their town squares, which was prohibited at the time. The ambassador agreed and said he would talk with the office of Foreign Affairs to put that into action. “This is just one of the many miracles that happened while we were in the mission field in Europe,” said Peterson. He said he and his wife prayed daily to be able to interact with the people the Lord wanted them to meet. “Time and time again the Lord would put people in our path so we could form relationships with them and better their understanding of the church’s role in Europe,” said Peterson.Peterson spent the majority of his time during the forum talking about the interactions and relationships that he and his wife had formed while working at the European Union. He said, “We wanted to create relationships with prominent European leaders to better the Church’s relationship with their countries. That makes it easier to work with the leaders and their countries when issues arise.”Jennifer Kajiyama, professor in Political Science and the Legal Studies advisor said, his desire to do good is evident through his actions. “He is a true exemplar of the McKay prophecy. The more education and experiences you acquire, the better equipped you are to be an instrument for change in the world,” said Kajiyama of Peterson.Sitiveni Kinikini, a sophomore in political science from Fiji, said Peterson’s stories “gave me perspective in terms of how the church promotes religious freedom at the international level with organizations such as the EU and UN.”

Chocolate is running out, said information from Barry Callebaut, one of the largest chocolate producers in the world, and Mars, Inc., the company that produces Milky Way and M&Ms, the world’s largest chocolate company. “I think if chocolate is cut out of the picture, I personally would have to switch to a new reward treat that would be cheaper,” said Cy Kaahanui, a senior studying biology from Kapolei. He added, with a shudder, that he would probably switch to something healthy.With a chocolate shortage on the horizon, Kylee Bonnell, a freshman from Colorado studying hospitality and tourism management, said, “There would be a lot more mad women. Chocolate is every girl’s go-to thing for hard times, finals, and so on.”In 2013, the world ate roughly 70,000 metric tons more cocoa than it produced, reported The Huffington Post. It is estimated that by 2020 the world could increase that number 14-fold, and eat more than 1 million metric tons more cocoa than produced. By 2030, it could be 2 million, and this could cause a shortage of chocolate.The problem is supply and demand. On the supply side, dry weather in West Africa, specifically the Ivory Coast and Ghana, where more than 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is produced, cocoa production has greatly decreased, said Huffington Post. A worldwide fungal disease known as frosty pod has wiped out 30 to 40 percent of the global cocoa production, says the Washington Post. Due to these problems, farmers are turning to other profitable crops like corn.Another problem is the growing appetite for chocolate. World-wide demand for chocolate has increased, and China has been eating more and more chocolate each year, causing concern. However, per capita, China still only consumes 5 percent the amount of chocolate as the average Western European, says qz.com. The rising popularity of dark chocolate is also a cause to the problem. Typical chocolate has only 10 percent cocoa, while the average dark chocolate bar is 70 percent.Because of these problems cocoa prices have been driven up 60 percent since 2012, reports Yahoo! Finance, when people started eating more chocolate than the world could produce. Hershey’s was the first to raise prices, however others quickly followed suit, reported the Huffington Post.This imbalance could also lead to innovation. The Huffington Post reported there is an agricultural research group in Central Africa developing trees that can produce up to seven times the amount of cocoa beans traditional trees can produce. However this could compromise on taste, similar to other mass-produced commodities such as chicken or tomatoes. “I don’t know if I would want quantity over quality,” said Alex Stuehler, a sophomore studying psychology from Oregon. “I don’t know if I would pay that much for good chocolate, but I think I would die without hot chocolate.”