BYU–Hawaii professor, alumnus and previous director, Dr. Hiagi Wesley said by connecting students to their roots, he helps empower them. A co-worker and professor said Wesley also makes students from around the world feel a part of the BYUH ohana.
Alohalani Housman, associate professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, said, “Dr. Hiagi Wesley has been the heart of the Pacific Island Studies program at BYUH. His Polynesian spirit, welcoming voice and knowledge of the culture has made it easy for students to feel they are with family, even though they are miles away from home.”
She explained Wesley has served his students by being a great example of a professor, mentor and role model.
Wesley, an associate professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, reflected on his academic journey at BYUH starting from 1969 as a student, to becoming an integral part of the Pacific Islands Studies program as a teacher and director. Originally from the island of Rotuma, he attended BYUH and eventually came back to teach in the education department in 2006. In 2009, he became the director of the Jonathan Napela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Island Studies.
He said, “This is the place I’ve always wanted to be because of the student population, and I accomplished my dream of teaching here and experiencing the spirit of aloha.”
Wesley said BYUH will always hold a special place in his heart because this is where his educational journey started and where he was also able to dance at the night show at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
He shared he feels Hawaii is a very special place. “The aloha experience ... has to do with the temple and spiritual learning, [along with] temporal learning and academics.”
He said as people expand and grow socially and culturally within the place they live and work, they start taking care of each other.
While he nears retirement at the end of the Spring Semester, he said he has mixed feelings due to how much he enjoyed teaching at the University. He said when he moved over from the education department, he was the only full-time faculty member and helped build the program during its early years.
Dr. Kali Fermantez, an associate professor in the Faculty of Culture, Language & Performing Arts, recalled a saying in Rotuman culture that stated, “The land has eyes and teeth and knows the truth. Like many here at BYU–Hawaii, Hiagi has worked many unseen hours and made sacrifices on behalf of the Church, the University and especially our students, He has left a mark on this land, and the land knows that truth.”
Fermantez stated he is amazed at the deep connections Wesley has with the Pacific and feels he will miss him the most and their time laughing, eating and debating together. He continued, “There is no way to replace someone like Dr. Hiagi Wesley, and we won't, but we will build on the legacy and foundation he has established here in Pacific Islands Studies.”
Wesley, as the previous director of the Jonathan Napela Center, shared, “Teaching Pacific Island Studies students ... about the Pacific, the people and the cultural issues ... validates them and empowers them.” He shared how these students learn to understand and appreciate their cultures through his teaching. He said many students live their culture but don’t really think about its significance. However, coming to school at the University and participating in the curriculum they become more knowledgeable and further connected to the Pacific.
He said he enjoys his job as a teacher and facilitator because he gets to see and help students learn. When he teaches, he said connecting with them and their backgrounds helps them feel acknowledged. He shared this connection with his students is why he taught and helped to make a positive environment in the classroom.
Wesley continued, “[Students] do have some challenges in terms of academics, so I try to make them feel they belong.” He said just teaching isn’t enough, rather it’s important to teach in a way that students are improving.
Wesley noted empowerment is very important in preparing his students to go back home and know more about their people and countries. However, not only Pacific Islanders can get something out of the program, he said. Students who aren’t from the Pacific who are taking Pacific Island Studies classes, he explained, expand their knowledge and understanding by learning about other perspectives.
He expressed his love for his students and said because he taught with aloha his students expressed gratitude to him. Knowing he’s touched his students' lives beyond their academics, he explained, is its own reward.