President Wheelwright gave an update of the progression and world impact of the university when he spoke at the BYU-Hawaii Women’s Organization luncheon on Oct. 16.Wheelwright began his speech by reminding the women of the BYUH mission statement. “The mission is to integrate spiritual and secular learning and integrate those so students will have a single foundation for a lifetime of learning,” he said. Getting a BYUH education will then help them develop the character and integrity so that they can be leaders in their homes, their communities, and in building the kingdom. This is what we’re focused on.”Wheelwright said there are 2,688 current students representing 77 different countries this fall semester. He also said that business management, biology, and exercise science are the top majors at BYUH.“We work directly with the area presidencies in our target areas,” Wheelwright said. He explained BYUH’s target area is Asia, the Philippines, and the Pacific. “That is a great blessing to the university because those area presidents know the young people and know what they need,” Wheelwright continued.Wheelwright said the university has implemented different programs to help students be successful after graduation. He talked about Career Connect, which is a program that takes a group of students and a faculty member to different countries to help them find jobs. “No university in the greater Pacific area takes students directly to the employer,” Wheelwright said. In the 2013-2014 year, there were 15 Career Connect trips with 192 participants who visited 11 countries.He also talked about the School of Education, andits initiative to find teaching positions in the home countries of their graduates. Wheelwright also told the women that during the summer, the university hosted an intensive English class in Tahiti, which better prepared potential students to apply to BYUH.Wheelwright quoted Elder Wilson, a former member of the area presidency in Asia, who said to Wheelwright in a letter, “As I travel throughout the countries in our Asia area, I constantly meet graduates of your fine institution. They are everywhere in our area, and I encounter them with greater frequency than I would have imagined.”Wilson continued, “They are some of our finest leaders and it would be difficult to overstate the contribution BYUH makes to the development of our leadership camaraderie among the states and missions in the Asian area.”Talking about BYUH, Wheelwright said, “We obviously have a great legacy and history. Lots of people are involved in the effort, and it is working.”In her introduction of her husband, Sis. Margaret Wheelwright explained to the women, “A lot of you women are affiliated with the university, whether it be you teaching or your husbands teaching, so it’s important for you to know what’s going on with the school.”The BYUH Women’s Organization strives to better the lives of those in the community through fund raising. Leeann Samsel, a member of the group said, “All the money raised by the society gets donated. We use most of the money to buy books for students. Last year we provided 10 students with books.” Samsel continued, “Right now, we are working on raising money for our Sub for Santa fund raiser, where we help students in TVA with Christmas.”“Each month, we have a luncheon where we get together and get to be enriched by a speaker,” Samsel said. The luncheons are usually held the second or third Thursday of each month.
Writer: Emily Halls ~ Multimedia Journalist
