As part of the Winter 2020 Semester’s first devotional, Elder Vai Sikahema of the Seventy shared with BYU–Hawaii students a message of seeking knowledge, by telling them the story of his own struggles to gain an education. He reminded the students how education was a religious obligation. Sikahema and his wife, Sister Keala Sikahema, also announced two new scholarships in honor of their mothers for students from Hawaii and Tonga.
Vai Sikahema, also a former NFL player for the St. Louis Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles, gave his devotional to a crowded multitude of students in the Cannon Activities Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
After being introduced by his wife, he shared the challenges his mother experienced as she and his father had both immigrated from Tonga to attend school at BYUH. Once his parents had saved enough funds for him to join them in Hawaii, Vai Sikahema’s mother was faced with a challenging dilemma.
“Remain in school but not see her two younger children for another few years. Return to Tonga to be with her children, likely ending any hopes of ever graduating. Finally, drop out of school, apply for permanent visas, find jobs, and work to bring their children from Tonga.”
Vai Sikahema emphasized the dilemma his mother faced of giving up her dream of teaching at her alma mater, Liahona High School in Tonga or follow her husband to the United States to pursue the American Dream.
After careful consideration, Vai Sikahema’s parents chose the third option and moved to Mesa, Arizona. It was there his mother decided to make it her life mission to allow her children to have the opportunity to be educated, even with the limited resources they had.
“I hope none of you ever have to face the dilemma of choosing an education or your children,” Vai Sikahema said. “In retrospect, there were probably ways they could’ve made it happen, but they just didn’t know how. Today, the Church provides BYU–Pathways, IWORK, the Perpetual Education Fund and a host of other programs for anyone to pursue an education.”
When the family arrived on the mainland, the challenges continued as his parents worked menial jobs to support their children’s education. All the while, Vai Sikahema’s grades suffered until Barbara Nielsen, his visiting teacher and an English teacher in his high school, took him under her wing and gave him the tools and encouragement he needed to bring up his grades.
According to Vai Sikahema, Barbara Nielsen “is the reason I qualified for BYU. She is the reason I graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. Barbara Nielsen is the reason I’m anchoring television news in Philadelphia, the fourth largest TV market in the country.”
Another resource Vai Sikahema said he benefited from when he lived in Mesa was his home teacher, Brother Brimley. He taught Vai Sikahema the importance of the gospel being sequential.
He said Brother Brimley once said to him, “Vai, God’s house is one of order. He expects you to live your life with order; sequentially. Serve a mission, go to college, get married, then have children. If you have children before marriage, your life will be out of sequence, out of order and you will have problems.”
According to Vai Sikahema, Brother Brimley shared how the creation, priesthood, faith, baptism, and the Sacrament are all sequential. It was through learning this he realized his life would also be such. He believes it was the prayers offered by his mother which allowed each of these sequential parts of his life to become a reality.
The sequential lesson was found to be inspirational for Mahonri Eteru, a sophomore from Australia majoring in communications and psychology. Eteru shared he learned he needs to “work hard and let the Lord’s timing take care of the rest. It just takes work, and patience, and faith. It’s all a sequence.”
Eteru went on to mention that he is able to apply this to his life currently by being content and knowing everything will work out.
Vai Sikahema also announced himself and his wife were in the process of establishing two scholarships. These scholarships are established in his and Sister Sikahema’s mothers’ names and will be known as the Ruth Sikahema and Dorothy Heder Scholarship. Of the scholarships, Vai Sikahema commented, “Once funded, they will in perpetuity pay tuition for worthy students from Tonga and here in Hawaii on the very campus where nearly 50 years ago my mother had to drop out.”
Solongo Norov, a sophomore from Mongolia majoring in business, shared how she was inspired by Vai Sikahema’s devotional. She shared how she believes sometimes, as students, “we take some things for granted.” After listening to this devotional, she said she knew what a privilege it was to receive an education at BYUH. “I should be very grateful for this opportunity, for this school, and I should be accountable for my education.”