BYUH Women's Organization continues to award scholarships to students in need
Feeling like their prayers were answers and burdens lifted by receiving scholarships from the BYU–Hawaii Women’s Organization, student recipients expressed their gratitude at a luncheon hosted by the organization on March 16 in the Aloha Center Ballroom.
“When I received the email, I couldn’t believe they were helping me with this,” said recipient Jorge Montaño, a junior from Ecuador majoring in intercultural peacebuilding, to the crowd at the luncheon. He was one of the 2022–2023 women’s organization annual scholarship recipients, said RosaMaria Bejarano Hurst, president of the BYUH Women’s Organization, with monies earned through the group’s bake sales and donations.
Montaño continued, “I was just so excited, and many of you students, or the ones who have been students, can relate to this. But when you see the bill on your student account, which is like thousands of dollars, it’s kind of scary and intimidating.”
He added when he received the scholarship and it showed up in his financial account, it decreased “the amount of money I have to pay. It’s such a relief. I am super grateful for this scholarship we have received. My wife and I, we’re really grateful. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Decades of helping others
The BYUH Women’s Organization has existed for 68 years and has had 62 presidents, said Hurst, and since 2001, the organization has provided scholarships for students at BYUH, with 2023 being the first year the group was able to do so after a brief hiatus due to the COVID–19 pandemic.
According to Hurst, none of the recipients this year applied for the scholarships. Instead, they were selected by the members of the organization through a process she said that was guided by the Spirit. They had no other information about the students other than the students and their families needed financial assistance. “We don’t check for GPAs. We don’t check for anything,” she said. “Just that they need help.”
In the words of Hurst, when the organization was started its purpose “was to provide intellectual, cultural and social opportunities toward its members and promote spiritual harmony, service and unity among the members of the university and the surrounding communities. Not only for people who work at the university but also for everybody else around Laie. The organization has consistently maintained the same goal over the years.”
Following her remarks, Hurst invited scholarship recipients to offer a word of thankfulness or tell their story and how the scholarship blessed their lives.
Student and mother shares her story
Another of the recipients, Krystal Ava, a sophomore from Laie majoring in elementary education, also told her story.
“My college experience actually began in January of 2008. It was my very first semester at BYUH, and it was also my very first week of being married. So lots of new experiences for me during that time,” Ava said.
She explained how in her first two years of her marriage, she and her husband were blessed with two sons. “We stopped and we prayed, and we decided that it would be best for my husband to further his education and for me to be at home with the little ones. And fast forward to my experience now, it’s really interesting to look back at Heavenly Father’s hand in my life throughout the years, because I did not think I would have this experience to return to school and finish what I started.”
In 2020, the Ava family was living in Lehi, Utah, she said, and dealing with the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic, which included having sacrament meetings conducted over Zoom. During this time, Ava said she had a very strong impression she needed to prepare for changes and to bring her family home for a time. “Now it’s emotional for me to talk about it because I loved the life that we built in Utah, and I thought we were doing everything right and needed to stay where we were.
“But Heavenly Father knows your comfort zone and when you need to grow. I just feel so blessed that even though I tried to sacrifice my time as a mother for 14-plus years, He was giving me this opportunity to reach the goals that I’ve had put on hold, and so I think the beautiful thing that I’ve learned in school and in my life is that the Lord loves effort.”
She assured the attendees their sacrifices did not go unnoticed by their Father in Heaven, and He would provide a way for them to accomplish what He asks them to do.
“Because of that prompting I received back in 2020, more revelation was given and more promptings were given in the years after we were able to bring our family home this past September, and now I’m back in school. And I’m telling my kids I can do it this time. I’m very grateful for this scholarship. I feel very blessed, and I want to say thank you for choosing me. Not only was it very much needed, but also I think it’s a testament of Heavenly Father’s love that He’s very mindful of our needs.”
Hurst said about the BYUH Women’s Organization, “These wonderful women have been working and supporting this program. In closing, our organization is experiencing seasons of change, and we may face new changes in the near future. We are grateful for the support of all of you [speaking to the members of the organization], and the anonymous donors who provided the funds for the students who received financial assistance.”
The scholarship luncheon featured a meal of chicken parmesan pasta and salad as well as entertainment. As the attendees sat down and ate their meal, they were greeted with Latino pop music. Members of the Latin America and Tahiti clubs showed up to perform their traditional dances, with the Latin America Club putting on its performance as a preview for the Friday session of Culture Night the following night. Both dances were met with thunderous applause from those in attendance.