Students transferring from BYU-Hawaii attribute the lack of available majors to their reason for leaving. “Because we’re such a small campus, there’s kind of a limit to what you can do,” said Mackenzie Harrington, a previous junior BYUH student from Laie who transferred to Honolulu Community College to study audio engineering.
Camille Christiansen, a previously enrolled BYUH student from Laie, decided to leave to BYU because she felt that the Lord wanted her to go somewhere else. In addition, she felt like studying communications at BYU would give her more in-depth options than here.
“I think sometimes the majors are different in different schools. My major is a lot more specific over at BYU Provo. Here they don’t have a specific emphasis in my area. I think that you should go to college to go to college rather than going for a fun experience that costs thousands of dollars.”
Alyssa Eldredge, a previous freshman from Utah majoring in biomedicine who left to Salt Lake Community College, came to BYUH for the experience of living in Hawaii. She explained, “I’ve always wanted to go into nursing and I wanted to come here for a new experience and to live outside of Utah.
“I kind of came here knowing that I wasn’t going to stay here. But then I wanted to stay after I got here, but I realized I couldn’t so I had to transfer.”
Hoping by any means she could find a way to stay at BYUH, she said, “They have biomed, but it’s not specific to my career path. I’m transferring to Salt Lake Community College to start nursing prerequisites.”
Coming to BYUH
Christiansen first decided to attend BYUH because of the affordable price. “I got accepted to other schools, but since I’m paying for my own education, this was the best bang for my buck.
“While I was on my mission, my mom made me apply for here and for Provo. I got into both. I thought, ‘That's okay, I’m already into my major [at BYUH] and I’m already going home. I’ll just go to BYUH.’”
After reserving her spot at BYUH, she said, “My mission companion said very sternly to me, ‘You need to rethink your decision.’ It was really hard because my heart wasn’t open to revelation about any sort of change.
“It took me a few days to humble myself enough to actually ask God with the intent of doing whatever he was going to tell me. It wasn’t until I was willing to go where he wanted me to go when I got my answer.”
Christiansen decided to finish her associate’s degree and then transfer to BYU at Provo. “One day I’m excited, and the next day I’m nervous.”
Before studying accounting at BYUH, Harrington attended the University of Hawaii. He was baptized at age 19 and was looking to involve himself in a more spiritual atmosphere, so he went to BYUH.
He chose accounting for the job security. “It’s kind of what my parents wanted. But, as time went on, it ended up being something I couldn’t motivate myself to do. I felt no motivation towards it as I went to higher level classes.”
“I don’t want to be in accounting anymore, if that isn't obvious,” he said. Audio engineering has “always been a hobby. At least that’s how my parents considered it. It was kind of a joke at first, but as I wrote more music and more lyrics, it became a serious thing.”
Harrington tried other majors in order to find his place at BYUH. “I really didn’t want to leave BYUH, but after a while there came a time where this had to happen, because every time I tried to switch [majors] here it was never enough.
“I think the kicker was I went in and they told me I had to graduate in four years, which is something I knew when signing up. But at that time, I had to finish in business. I had to go even though I didn’t want to.”
Deciding to follow his passion, Harrington said, “No matter what small job I have to take to build it up, this is what I’m going to do. I gained a lot from ... being here.”
Don’t just come for the fun
Although Christiansen understood the appeal of coming to BYUH just to experience Hawaii, she emphasized the importance of attaining a good education and giving devoted students the opportunity to come here. She said, “I think [students] have to realize they're taking someone's place, maybe from a different country or from the U.S. mainland that wants to come here to further their education to help their families.”
Eldredge advised students planning to come to BYUH for a semester to stay for more than that. “Stay longer than a semester because it’s a really amazing experience. I don’t want to leave at this point, even though I thought I would at the beginning of the semester.”
For those who come just to experience the island, Harrington suggested broadening their perspectives. “I do see why it’s attractive and see why people want to come, but I think there are plenty of opportunities to do that outside of just coming to the university. If you’re wasting time, there are plenty of people who’d want to be here.”
Writer: Hannah Jones