Treating the students as if they were her own children, Jocelyn Lopez, a Financial Aid counselor, is able to share her light and love to those around her through her dedication and service to the community and students.
Lopez said she was born on the tiny Pacific Island of Niue. At the age of 7, together with her family, she moved to New Zealand so her father could get the medical care he needed that Niue, back then, could not provide.
She served a mission in Sydney, Australia wherein she soon considered getting a higher education at BYU–Hawaii, just like most of her fellow missionaries.
Shortly after her mission, she landed a job in the government of New Zealand and slowly lost interest in pursuing a higher education. She recalled, “Then my cousin came up here for the winter in 1992, and she called me up in February and said I had to come to school.”
Her cousin then remarked how Lopez said back on her mission that she was so excited to come to BYUH. However, Lopez explained that she was happy with her current job and lost the desire to do so. Still, her cousin encouraged her to apply and Lopez followed her counsel. She was accepted in May and found herself on a plane to Hawaii in July.
Meeting her husband
Lopez shared the story of how she first met her husband with a chuckle. “We both started working at the luau in the Polynesian Cultural Center... My husband at the time was hired to be a pantry worker, but they mixed up his paperwork, so he ended up coming as a waiter.”
It was not until a year and a half later that he approached Lopez to ask her out on a date. However, she declined his offer because she had other plans. This did not crush her husband’s spirit though, she said, and he diligently tried to pursue her. After three months, she finally agreed to go out on a date.
They decided to have a date at the Visitor’s Center on a Wednesday. Lopez said she was with her friend in the temple on a Saturday morning when she knew that he would be the one she would be sealed to for eternity. “We haven’t even gone on a date, I knew already he was my husband. So when I saw him for our date, it was already confirmed to me that he was my husband, but he didn’t know it yet.”
Lopez shared that after getting married, it was not always easy for the couple. She said there were things that they did not always see eye to eye about. Even after being married for 23 years, there are things they still struggle with, such as problems with raising their children. However, she said she and her husband work together everyday to help one another with their problems. “Just because we’ve been married longer, it doesn’t automatically remove all the challenges that comes from being a couple.”
Learning from others
Lopez worked for BYUH’s Human Resources Department for two years when Rebecca Harrison, her children's Seminary teacher, encouraged her to apply for the Financial Aid counselor position. “I came here, and I was like, ‘Man, if I had known that this was a career path, I would have studied something along the lines of being a Financial Aid counselor.’”
She expressed her appreciation for the things she learned and the people she has met throughout her time as a Financial Aid counselor. “All the time the students come in and they have problems, we try and work things out, but above all, I feel like it’s a reciprocal help. Not only am I helping the students but also the students are helping me. It’s a good place to be.”
Besides working at BYUH, Lopez also works as a supervisor in Food Services at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Francis Rasing, a junior from the Philippines studying hospitality and tourism management, expressed he feels blessed to work with Lopez. “As a mentor she is incredibly awesome. She will teach you everything you need to learn as a new worker in the luau… She accepts opinions and suggestions from other people and she is fun at work and most importantly, she has the Aloha Spirit.”
Lopez said, “You’re constantly learning and that’s one of the joys of working here. You feel like you’re part of a team and at the same time you’re still growing - there’s a lot to learn…
“Every beginning of the week, you always feel like every day you have new challenges. But you know you always have the support of your team. They’re very helpful and you’re not stagnant.”
Their second mom
Over the years, students have called Lopez their second mom while at school. They’ve shared that despite having her own family, Lopez treats her students and workers as if they were her own children.
Atita Obena, a BYUH alumna from Kiribati, said, “She’s always encouraging me to do my best in everything that I do, and she tries to look for learning opportunities from everyone. Sometimes we are prideful when others are trying to tell us what to do, but she always reminds me that it’s important to be open-minded and to be willing to listen because we never know what we can learn from them.”
Rasing shared, “Just like my mother, she would remind me of the things that I need to do at work, and she has been very detailed and organized. She would give me motherly-inspired advice and I felt her love and concern through that. She comforts me when I feel down and disappointed. She supports and commends me for the things I accomplish not only at work but also in school.”
When asked about her thoughts being called students’ second mom, Lopez said, “I treat these students as my children because they are. I can help them, and in the long run they will benefit and help other people on their way.”
Aotearoa Au, a sophomore from Samoa studying HTM shared one of her experiences with Lopez. “I remember one time, I forgot to do my checklist, but she messaged me and reminded me to do it before the due date. She is someone who can help you in time of need…
“I love her, and she is someone I will always remember when I go back home. [She is] someone I would recommend everyone to go to if they need help.”
A piece of advice
People try to connect with Lopez to ask for advice whether it be for school or life in general. She shared, “Some of the counsels that I like to give, you know, just remember after you finish school, you’re not going to be making your millions straightaway. You’re going to be a broke student or a broke graduate.”
She explained students should open an account where they could deposit $20 every payday so that they could have some savings before going back home. The students should not touch the money in that account so that after four years, they can have more than $500 as they prepare to come back to their home country.
Lopez was not the only one giving advice though. Her students and fellow counselors have contributed to Lopez educational learning while she has served at BYUH for eight years. Students have taught her how to manage her loans and cards, and how to use certain formulas in Excel.
“Some of the students taught me how to navigate it… I learned how to do things like mail merge or VLOOKUP.”
From all her years of constant learning, Lopez wanted to impart a piece of advice that she wishes students will always remember. “Be wise in the way you use your money and don’t forget why fell you in love with your sweetheart.”