A family heirloom engagement ring was lost and found within a day because of the integrity of BYU-Hawaii students and the network of Facebook.The owner of the ring, recently engaged Gabriela Rodier, a junior from California studying exercise and sports science, said it was lost around noon on Feb. 25. “The ring is two sizes too big on me, and we hadn’t gotten it sized since we are far away from everything. I was in the GCB bathroom and took it off to wash my hands. I guess I walked away from it. I went to my next class and mentioned something about being engaged. I looked down at my hand mid-sentence, realized my ring was gone, and took off to find it. I didn’t even finish my sentence.”Rodier said she had thought it slipped off on the way to class, so she and fellow students retraced her steps and combed through grass areas with their hands. She said she went to the library to find her fiancé, Daniel Garity, a freshman from Oklahoma studying social work. Rodier said, “He was really good to me. He was like, ‘It’s okay. It’s fine. If we don’t find it, I’ll give you a lifetime supply of ring pops.’” Garity shared his perspective of the library meeting: “She came to me and looked super scared. I didn’t know what was happening, and she said she couldn’t find the ring. I was really worried that my mom would find out. It was my mother’s ring. She gave it to me to give to Gabby, and because of that, the ring had a lot more significance.”He added they had thought about making it a tradition to give their future son the ring when the time comes for him to propose. Rodier and Garity said they immediately reported it to Security, and told everyone about it as they searched. Rodier said, “So many teachers and people we didn’t even know helped look. In my next class, Brother Carter told me I could go look, and then they all prayed for me. Pictures of the ring on Facebook started going around, and it was just amazing how much people wanted to help.”Rodier said, “I was devastated. It’s the most precious possession I’ve ever owned. It’s the most expensive, sentimental, romantic thing I’ve ever had in my entire life, and I lost it within a month of being engaged. I was thinking my future mother-in-law is going to hate me. I thought I was never going to see it again, so I was pretty torn up. I have never lived in a place where you could lose something so precious and have it returned to you.”Lucky for Rodier and Garity, BYU-Hawaii is a place where something precious can be returned. Diane Fotu, a sophomore from Tonga studying elementary education, saw the ring on the counter of the GCB bathroom and picked it up, thinking someone must be missing it. In the evening, she showed it to Tonga Sablan, a senior from Washington studying international cultural studies.Sablan said, “I took a picture of it and put it on Facebook asking whose it was and when and where they lost it. I posted it, and an hour later I checked back with a lot of comments.” He said he was tagged in Garity’s Facebook post, and commented saying Diane Fotu had the ring. In a joking manner, Sablan said to Garity, “I better get an invite, or be in either one of your lines.”When Garity heard about the news around 11 p.m., he said he busted into his fiancée’s house and told her. Rodier said, “It was like getting engaged again. I was so happy. I needed to hug everyone. I couldn’t believe it.” The following morning, Rodier said she met up with Fotu to get the ring, bringing boxes of chocolate in appreciation. Fotu said, “When she gave me the box of chocolates, she told me I could have sold it for a couple hundred bucks, but that thought didn’t even occur to me. My parents taught me better.”Charles Teriipaia, a shift supervisor for BYUH Security, said, “This is the first lost engagement ring we’ve had. I think it is commendable of the students to turn it in. We tried to help, but it really is all about the integrity of the students. There are a lot of good students out there.”Reflecting on the experience, Rodier said, “I wanted to thank everyone, not even just the people who helped find the ring, but just everyone that makes this campus a place that you can lose something that is worth that much money and have hope that it would be returned, and actually have it be returned. I think that is such a great blessing.” Uploaded March 11, 2015
Writer: Mackenzie McLeod
