Laie, Hawaii

My first trip to Hawaii was to represent my school, Amerlish, at a career conference hosted by Brigham Young University – Hawaii in Laie, Oahu. It was a busy trip but magical all the same. Part of that is the setting of Laie. On the North Shore of Oahu, this small town is friendly, welcoming, and beautiful. There are two big entities in Laie, the university and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns and operates both.

The Temple

The centerpiece of Laie is the LDS temple sitting on a small rise at the end of a long avenue lined with palm trees and hibiscus plants. It isn’t the largest temple, but it meets the needs of the local population well. A visitor center welcomes guests at the foot of the temple grounds. All are welcome to experience the gardens and visitor center.

BYU-H

BYU-Hawaii is a wonderful community. The diversity of students, faculty, and staff make for a world-view education not found at many other places. And, because of its small size and student body, it really is a community. It reminded me of my time at LDS Business College except more tropical and casual. I enjoyed interacting with the students throughout the conference at the job fair, information sessions, and other events. They are good people getting a quality education. I am excited to work with several of their students as interns and staff at Amerlish.

Hukilau!

The concluding event of the conference was a morning at Hukilau Beach. You may have heard a song about it. A hukilau is when fishermen need help pulling in their large net from the water. It is too big and heavy for just a few to do the work, so historically, the fishermen would run through town shouting “Hukilau!” to bring everyone from the community to pull together, which is what the word means. They would work as a team to accomplish a big task for one small part of their community. The fishermen took most of the fish, but if you helped with hukilau then you could take some fish home, too.

The conference ended with this event because of the metaphor it conjures. There were many different people at the beach that morning helping pull the net in, students, employers, employment specialists, and more. We had to follow the direction of the fishing team, and we had to work together to reap the reward.

This was a special experience to conclude my time in Laie. I hope I can participate in the conference in the future and continue being a part of the greater BYU-H community.