Ke Alaka’i: The Podcast hosts share their goals for the year and how they navigate those with honesty and growth
As the new year begins, Haley Cowan and France Valerie Lucillo are reflecting not just on resolutions, but on the discipline it takes to keep them. During the first episode of Ke Alakaʻi: The Podcast Season 14, the two hosts shared their personal approaches to goal-setting—what has worked, what they regret and how growth often looks less linear than planned. They also expressed their hope that the podcast will continue to be a space where students can learn from one another’s journeys in ways that feel engaging and relatable.
Talking about New Year’s resolutions, Cowan, a senior from Utah majoring in elementary education, said she once focused on becoming more organized by consistently using a planner. She has loved notebooks since childhood, she said, and writing things down helps her remember important tasks.
Cowan emphasized goals need to be realistic to last. “Goals can be vague. If we don’t think about how goals fit into our everyday lives, it’ll be hard to keep up,” she said. Over time, she added, goals can turn into habits if approached with patience and persistence. “It’s like being on missionary service—we encourage people to keep trying even when it’s hard, and we should apply that to ourselves too,” Cowan said.
Lucillo, a senior from the Philippines majoring in communications, media and culture, said although she started 2025 in a "good disposition”, she regretted not writing down her New Year’s resolutions. Even without something tangible on paper, she said her resolution has consistently centered on healing. “It’s about being more understanding of myself. I was really hard on myself and forgot that I’m human too,” she said. Lucillo added resolutions serve as guides, helping people live, heal and grow emotionally, mentally and physically.
One of Lucillo’s resolutions is to connect with more people career-wise. She said, as someone graduating in Fall 2026, she needed to build a network. “I’ll be joining clubs to meet new people and sit with new people at the cafeteria,” she said.
For Ke Alaka'i: The Podcast, Lucillo said she wanted more diversity in the content of the podcast. She encouraged BYUH students to sign up through the podcast posters and digital signage around campus. Fill out an online form to sign up.