Page 14

PAGE 8-9

Graduation speaker

urges students to stand

up for what they believe in

PAGE 7

Tiger shark

donated to BYUH

Biology Department

PAGE 14-15

Peacebuilding senior

plans to head to the

Middle East

THE LE AD ERFe b r u a r y 18 , 2 016 · Vo l u m e 113 : I s s u e 11

KE ALAKA I2

A wave curls into a water barrel at Hukilau beach. Photo by Kirtland Jones, a senior from North Caro-lina studying finance.

Share with us your photo of the week and we may feature it in our next issue.

e-mail us your high resolution pho-tos with caption at kealakai@byuh.edu

The Ke Alaka‘i began publishing the first year the university was started and has continued printing for 60 years. The name in Hawaiian means “the leader.” It began as a monthly newsletter, evolved into a weekly newspaper and is now a weekly news magazine along with a website, YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram. Today a staff of more than 30 students works to provide information for the campus ohana and community.

ABOUT US

February 21, 2016 • Volume 113: Issue 11

ADVISOR

LeeAnn LambertEmily Halls

Hector Per iquin

ART DIRECTOR

COPY EDITORS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jared Roberts

Alyssa Troyanek

Samone Yuen

Kevin Brown

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kelsie Carlson

Lexie Kapeliela

Stop Khemthor n

ART & GRAPHICS

Andrea Marshall

Mackenzie McLeod

Yukimi Kishi

MULTIMEDIA

JOURNALISTS

Rachel Reed

Matthew Roberts

Eric Hachenberger

Leiani Brown

Megan Church

Brittanie Vorwaller

Alex Maldonado

Alyssa Olsen

Taylor Polson

Danna Osumo

Michael Morton Samone Yuen

Hector Per iquin

INTERNS

VIDEOGRAPHERS

Camron Stockford

Joshua Mason

Dorothy Chiu

ON THE COVER: Graduation speaker, Aditya

Mongan, will speak on how everyone can stand

for something. He is from Indonesia and major-

ing in business management. Photo by Hector

Periquin

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Edi tor ia l , photo submiss ions & d is t r ibut ion

inquir ies : kealakai@byuh.edu. To subscr ibe

to the RSS FEED or to v iew addi t ional ar t ic les ,

go to kealakai .byuh.edu.

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3FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Political science professor Troy Smith speaks on quality in education

Women’s basketball beats Notre Dame, 59-49

4

5

6

TABLE OFCONTENTS

Laie McDonald’s grand opening includes Hawaiian blessing, hula, and fireknife

7Tiger shark donated to BYUH for teaching opportunity

8-9Graduation speaker Aditya Mongan believes success isfor everyone

10-11Surfing champion becomes businessman to help North Shore economy

12-13Chinese New Year celebration gives Chinese students a taste of home and other students an experience of China

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14-15Senior Christopher Udallis sure about his futurehelping refugees

16Campus Comment: What are your plans after graduation?

Our 13th Article of Faith tells us to seek after and hold fast to that which is praiseworthy, lovely, and of good report. Much of the world, on the other hand, pursues profit and kitsch. Distinguishing and valuing that which is praiseworthy, lovely, and of good report does not come naturally to humans. Markets, for example, are incredibly efficient and effective distributors of resources. They are also the greatest means to alleviate poverty and promote prosperity. Yet, a fundamental weakness of markets is they reward what we desire, not what is of true value or merit. Hence if consumers desire that which appeals to their lusts and gratifies their pride, then that is what markets will produce. Indeed, a quick glance at our markets reveals that much of society desires misogynistic and hedonistic music and movies, skanky clothing, junk food, and grotesque lawn ornaments. In a word, kitsch. And kitsch is profitable. Kitsch is junk masquerading as quality – hollowness pretending to be substance. Kitsch appeals to our animalistic natures for materialism, lust, and sentimentality; kitsch is not ennobling, humanizing, or edifying. If markets alone determined humanity’s ideals and values, then our beastly sentiments would prevail over the better angels of our nature. Fortunately, markets need not determine values – that is what is praiseworthy, lovely or of good report. These things are determined by values. Excellent values are essential for a flourishing and ennobling society. Cultivating those values, however, must be done outside the market. Religion is helpful in this endeavor but insufficient. Education can do much to develop an understanding of, ap-preciation for, and the skills and discipline to produce that which is truly value-able. In the past, a fundamental part of college education was helping students distinguish and desire excellence and values over profit and kitsch. This required education in what is truly meretri-cious. The first exposures may be painful, like when kids used to junk food eat broccoli. It is only af-ter learning and multiple exposures to quality that one realizes kitsch is a cheap imitation that neither satisfies nor edifies. College education, unfortunately, has taken two paths away from teaching this sort of excellence and value. The first path is a focus on vocational knowledge that translates directly into jobs upon graduation. Though important, alone it is an emphasis on feeding market demand and not transcending markets to achieve excellence and true quality. The second path is nearly the opposite, it is a focus on theory that amounts to little more than teaching an ideology. This education disdains technique, authority, established orders, vigorous effort and intellectual discipline in favor of simplis-tic explanations for what is wrong in the world and how to solve it. If education is to avoid facilitating the continuing corruption of society and bankrupting souls, then we must cultivate a quality education that is more than vocational or ideological. We must recognize the need for fine arts – music, dance, art, and drama – to teach and inspire students in mankind’s potential for beauty, decency, nobility, and greatness. We also need to recognizes the value of technique, established order, vigorous effort, discipline, and humility to master the knowledge and acquire the requisite skills to both appreciate and produce things that edify humans and foster flourishing societies. Quality education that ennobles the human soul is essential if we are to escape the flood of kitsch that fills our society. Quality education can foster the development of skills and discipline to understand, appreciate, and achieve the deeper beauties and profound qualities that make humans spiritual, enlightened beings who can produce and value that which is truly praiseworthy, lovely, and of good report.

Inspiring Education

‘One can acknowledge the power and value of markets without conceding power and value to the market’

BY TROY E. SMITH

KE ALAKA I4

Laie McDonald’s hosts grand opening

The event comes two years after the previous McDonald’s closedBY ALEX MALDONADO

T he Laie McDonald’s converted its parking lot into what more closely resembled a carnival than an eating establishment for its

grand opening party on Feb. 13. The Saturday night celebration was part of a week-long open-ing ceremony where the Laie McDonald’s awarded patrons with a differ-ent prize every day. The Laie McDonald’s officially opened its doors in Septem-ber, but owner Susan Smith said she wanted to wait to have the grand opening in February because it’s around the same time the previous store closed its doors two years ago to make room for the Marriott Hotel. Smith said, “We want people to remember this is about the community. The community has been really supportive of us reopening so this is our way of thanking everyone.” In the week building up to the big party, McDonald’s had specials every day, including deals like 99 cent hash browns and pancakes, arts and crafts events for kids, and even an hour-long visit from Ronald McDonald himself Friday night. Activities included a beanbag toss where winners earned a free ice cream cone, a prize wheel that dispensed anything from McDonald’s coupons to free T-shirts, and a Kahuku-clad deejay spinning a mix of elec-tronic dance music that could be heard all the way from the BYU-Hawaii campus. A McDonald’s employee and freshman in psychology named Shelby Kitchen, said, “This kind of thing just wouldn’t ever happen back home in Utah. I love the aloha spirit here.” At 6:30 p.m. the music was muted and a sacred blessingceremony was performed by Kahu Kordell Kekoa, chaplain ofKamehameha Schools. In the ceremony, Kekoa blessed every individual employees’ hands with pure Hawaiian rain water collected from the mountains 25 years ago. After the employees received their blessings, the white-robed reverend retreated outside under the deejay tent to explain the signifi-cance of the blessing he had given to the employees, and then he began to bless the building itself. He draped a green maile lei across each of the two doors and blessed the business to be a place of nourishment as he anointed the entrances with the rain water using ti leaves. After the ritual, Kekoa explained the significance of each of the items he used.

He said, “The maile lei is generally only used at reallyimportant events. They’re usually reserved for high-ranking or high-class people. “The ti leaf was used as a symbol of protection, safety, and nourishment,” he continued. “The rain water is also a symbol of nourish-ment since this is a place for people to be nourished.” After the blessings had been bestowed, guests sat in rows of white plastic chairs and were treated to three hula performances done by the Halau Hula o Kekela from Laie. The first two hulas were harmonious with the Valentine season, both with messages of love and appreciation for loved ones, while the third hula was accompanied by the singing and ukulele playing of the group’s kumu hula, Kela Miller. Miller said, “The third song was written about Laie and how it was so barren until the birds, trees, and flowers showed up when people started to move there. It’s also about how we were promised this land would prosper if we are obedient and we listened to the prophet.” After the halau finished, the party resumed in full force with the addition of employees distributing cups of pineapple and berry sher-bet, diced pineapple, and musubi. “This is a pretty typical community gathering,” said Janessa Purcell from Laie. Children were given gift bags containing a mix of McDonald’s goodies like key chains, stickers and cardboard headbands with a picture of Ronald McDonald with his arms spread wide for a great big hug. Throughout the night, each guest was given a blue raffle ticket for a drawing held at 7:30 p.m. Prizes included dinners for two at Gateway and Pounders at the Polynesian Cultural Center, quilted pillowcases, T-shirts, and more miscellaneous McDonald’s merchandise. After 15 minutes of calling raffle tickets, the grand finale of the night began. Dancers from the local fireknife group, Vaimatina, set the park-ing lot ablaze with routines derived from both traditional and modern Polynesian culture. Acts varied wildly with dances derived from “Star Wars,” Mi-chael Jackson, and even “Napoleon Dynamite.” The traditionally male art form was graced with the talents of several local girls who many observers pinned to be some of the stron-gest dancers of the evening. At the finale of the fiery showcase, a dancer by the stage name of “Funky” seized his moment in the lime light to ask a girl named Lexie to his senior prom. She said yes.

The Laie McDonald’s employees and Ronald McDonald provid-ed entertainment at the grand opening. Photo by Lexie Kapeliela

5FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Free throws cement victory

BYU-Hawaii women’s basketball wins against Notre DameBY MATTHEW ROBERTS

Senior guard Jiashan Cui led the BYU-Hawaii women’s basketball team to a 59-49 victory over visiting conference

opponent Notre Dame de Namur Argonauts on Feb. 11. Cui led all players with 25 points, shooting 8-17 on the night. Valerie Nawahine also added 11 points for the Lady Seasiders. “We played great both offensively and defensively. This was a good win for us going into the last three games of the season,” said Cui, a senior business major from Beijing, China. The Lady Seasiders also had a big game in the paint as Kjirsten Nelson, Emily Nelson, and Natallia Cravens each re-corded seven rebounds, as BYUH outrebounded the Argonauts 43-36. “I thought we did a good job of working together as team and deserved the victory,” said K. Nelson, a senior history major from Gunnison, Colo. The first quarter saw the Argonauts jump out to an early 9-4 lead, but back-to-back jumpers by K. Nelson and Nawahine tied the game at 15. K.Nelson also hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Lady Seasiders up 18-17 to end the first quarter. Cui got BYUH off to hot start in the second quarter as she went on an 8-2 run of her own to push the Seasider’s lead 26-19. After that, both teams struggled to score as the two teams combined for only 13 points. Cravens hit the back end of two free throws to send the Seasiders into halftime up 27-21. BYUH had another hot start as they went on an 8-0 run to start off the third quarter and take a 12-point lead. Cra-vens and Mata Tonga continued to extend the Seasiders’ lead to 14 after hitting a pair of jumpers. A 5-0 run from Notre Dame de Namur cut the Lady Seasiders’ lead to single digits going into the final quarter. The Argonauts continued their run into the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 2 points. With Notre Dame de Namur threatening to take the lead, Cui once again stepped up to take the lead and scored four points to put the Lady Seasiders ahead 47-41.

Mata Tonga, a freshman from Laie, Hawaii, helped the Lady Seasiders take the lead in

the third quarter. Photo by Kelsie Carlson

With the Argonauts fouling in the last minutes of the game, the Lady Seasiders were clutch from the free throw line, hitting 10 of 14. The clutch free throws closed the game out for the Lady Seasiders as they held on to a 59-49 victory. With the win, BYUH improved to 9-12 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Lady Seasiders are currently in 9th place with three games remaining. “It was a good team win. If we keep up the hard work and playing as a team, we can finish the season on a positive note,” said Nawahine, a senior English major from Laie. They will face inner-state rival Chaminade in Hono-lulu Saturday, Feb. 20. Their last home game will be Tuesday, Feb. 23, against Azusa Pacific.

KE ALAKA I6

Shark killed on North Shore

Tragedy turns into a learning experience about sharks

BY RACHEL REED

Students were treated to the very rare experience of dis-secting a female juvenile tiger shark on Feb. 8. The shark

was killed the weekend prior and was found on the beach by lifeguards who contacted One Ocean Diving, a research orga-nization designed to educate the public on sharks and marine life. The shark had been tagged for research by the University of Hawaii two years ago and had not been seen until she washed up on the shore on Feb. 7. This was a targeted killing based on the large hook and chain that was in the shark, according to Ocean Ramsey, the co-owner and lead conservationist for One Ocean Diving. They took to social media to discover who killed the shark, sending out messages and asking for information. “We got some calls back saying that actually there’s a restaurant that sent a bunch of stuff out to some fishermen ask-ing for fins,” said Ramsey. One Ocean Diving members decided to make the most out of the tragedy and donate it to science. Contacting the University of Hawaii, they decided to give it to BYU-Hawaii for students because of its marine biology program. Contacting BYUH’s marine biology team, they set up a time and brought the shark. A juvenile at 9 years old, the shark was 9 feet long and estimated to be around 500-600 pounds. Since she had been tagged before, she had been given a name, “Roxanne.” Ramsey taught students about the shark. Providing handouts, she explained the shark’s body parts before the students began dissecting it. Because of the shark’s thick skin, it took a while to cut into it. “We are looking into the stomach and intestines to see what the shark had eaten,” said Samantha Swanson, a sophomore majoring in biomedicine from Michigan. The students learned that tiger sharks are foragers and are the garbage cans of the ocean. They also learned shark skin is thick so they can eat sting-rays and resist the stings. They learned about its internal organs, pointing out the large liver, the stomach, and more. Ramsey shared more about sharks and their impor-tance to the ecosystem. “They pick up the dead, the dying and the weak, so we need them. It’s the essential part of a healthy fishery...We do have a lot of sharks comparatively because of our isolation.” Ramsey also shared the impracticality of eating sharks.

“You can’t eat it. It’s high in toxins and mercury,” she said. Most sharks are targeted for their fins, which are a delicacy in China but also contributes to a large decline in the shark population. “Sharks aren’t as much of a danger to humans as we think they are,” said Swanson. “This shark especially could have been poached for Chinese New Year. We don’t know.”

7FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Ocean Ramsey from One Ocean Diving explains the anatomy of this female juvenile tiger shark to BYUH students. It was found dead on the beach with a fishing hook and chain in it. Photo by Joshua Mason

KE ALAKA I8

A ditya Mongan, a senior from Indo-nesia studying business manage-

ment, has been selected as the student speaker at the BYU-Hawaii Winter 2015-2016 Commencement ceremo-ny. With his knowledge and experi-ence, he said he hopes his speech will illustrate that success is possible no matter where someone comes from and teach students how to stand up for their beliefs. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia and serving a mission there, Mon-gan said he is humbled to represent his country as a graduation speaker. “Knowing that there are not a lot of people from my country in this school, I feel it’s a great privilege to show how much I’ve learned from my culture and my family,” Mongan said. Mongan said at first, he had felt overwhelmed at the prospect of being the student speaker because he thought there were other people who were better qualified, smarter or more faithful than him. “However, I realized that there was a reason why I was chosen. Maybe it is because someone will need to hear what I have to say, or maybe this is an important event that will give me an essential skill that I need to develop to change my life,” Mongan added. His wife, Annie Mongan, a senior studying business management from California, said when Mongan came here from Indonesia, he did not know what to expect or where he would be going in life. According to Annie, through his diligence and hard work, he was able to grow and de-velop to become a leader in his church callings and relationships with others. “As he delivers his speech, I hope that individuals are empowered and feel that they can become great people and succeed in life, no matter where they come from,” Annie continued. In his speech, Mongan plans to inspire all the graduating students, including himself, to stand for what is true. Mongan said, “Elder Renlund’s talk in Regional Conference gave me

STANDINGFOR THE TRUTH

an idea of what I wanted my theme to be. So I’m basing my speech on how all of us, members or non-members, should find something to stand up for.” He decided on this theme because he knows after college, there will be more hardships in life and “we need to know what we stand for.” Mongan is the eldest of three, and his brother, Nerendra Mongan, a senior information technol-ogy major from Indonesia, said he was surprised and happy after hearing the news about his brother. “My brother has always set the bar and I am proud of him. He is very knowledgeable and resourceful so I know that when people listen to his speech, they will learn a lot,” said Nerendra. Although Mongan said he is sad to be leaving BYUH, he is grateful for the time he spent in the school and described it as a “learning experience.” Having studied finance and supply chain since 2013, he said he is excited to no longer be in “hard classes” and juggling work. His first job was in the Island Buffet restaurant at the Polynesian Cultural Center where he met his wife, Annie. “I think we’re the fourth couple that got married from that restaurant,” joked Mongan. He then worked on campus as a tutor for SATs. He also served as the president for the Indonesian Student Association for two semesters, he said. Despite all these opportuni-ties he received at BYUH, Mongan thinks the people he has met are the biggest assets he has gained from his time here. “I’ve developed a strong relationship with my friends here and that bond will last longer than we can expect,” said Mongan. As a strong believer of the importance of education, Mongan does not believe his education willend after graduation. “I’m excited for the future ahead of me. I want to obtain my master’s degree, pursue my career so on and so forth. I don’t know what is coming, but I’m ex-cited,” shared Mongan.

Aditya Mongan

STANDINGFOR THE TRUTH

“As he delivers his speech, I hope

that individuals are empowered and

feel that they can become great

people and succeed in life, no matter

where they come from.”

-Annie Mongan, wife

Aditya Mongan

Photo by Hector Periquin

BY DANNA OSUMO

KE ALAKA I10

11FEBRUARY 18, 2016

Liam McNamara has been surfing professionally since his teenage years, and people who know him said he has used his success to strengthen the North Shore community and sponsor sev-eral up and coming local surfers. Helping local youth is one of the first things people say about what he does. Samantha Baglioni, an employee at McNamara’s North Shore Shrimp Truck, said,

“I don’t think there’s a kid on the North Shore he hasn’t helped in one way or another.” According to Angel Gonzales, chef at the Shrimp Truck, “In the last 10 years, he has put over a million dollars right here into the North Shore and to the kids living here by giv-ing them surfboards, gear, and things like that to get them out on the water and off ofthe street.” On top of sponsoring more than 40 aspiring Hawaiian surfers, McNamara and his wife, Brandee, open their home regularly to surfers from all around the world who need a place to stay while they’re in Hawaii. At least 1,000 of those surfers were from Japan, said McNamara, who started speaking Japanese from a young age. “I was kind of known as Hawaii’s ambassador to surfing in Japan. That’s where it started, but we’ve had people from almost any country you can name stay with us,” McNa-mara explained. “It’s a two-way street, though, because they stay with us, and when we travel, we get to stay with them.”

Brandee McNamara said a big reason why she and her husband host so many people is three of their four children surf competitive-ly and she wants visiting competitors to be able to stay in a safe, friendly environment where they will be comfortable. “Our family gets big-ger every time they stay with us,” she said. Aside from supporting surfers, the McNamaras are trying to be a strengthening force in the North Shore economy with their four retail stores in Pupukea and Haleiwa. They

are partnered with Luis and Stephanie Real and Brian Daniels in their Haleiwa stores. The McNamaras’ string of stores started in Haleiwa 17 years ago with Brandee’s Sea Maids Beach Boutique, which she ran while Liam was still very active in competitive surfing. Six months after being in Haleiwa, Brandee moved her business up to Shark’s Cove

where it would eventually be transformed into the North Shore Surf Shop. Since then, the McNamaras opened another Sea Maids Beach Boutique right next door to the surf shop, along with the North Shore Shrimp Truck, which they opened with their partner, Jerry Caulfman. Their son, Makai, also runs a little blue shaved ice stand in front of the wood-wrapped shrimp truck, which he uses to fund his travels as a professional surfer. The duo has opened another two businesses in Haleiwa, a surf and swimwear boutique and the 5,000-square-foot North Shore Swim Shop that McNamara claimed to be “the biggest and best surf shop in Hawaii.” For now, the couple spends most of their time managing their businesses and focus-ing on raising their four sons, which usually ends up leaving very little time for surfing at the end of the day. As they get older, Brandee said the two would like to watch their businesses grow so they can continue to help make positive changes in their community and carry on sup-porting young surfers in pursuing their dreams. They also plan to travel the world to experience as many cultures as possible, includ-ing Ireland, where Liam’s ancestors lived. Until then, McNamara said, “I hope to continue putting smiles on people’s faces with my businesses and enjoy as much time as I can with my kids and eventually my grandkids.”

“I don’t think there’s a kid on the North

Shore he hasn’t helped in one way

or another.”-Samantha Baglioni

Pipe master & wife help North Shore youthLiam and Brandee McNamara have opened their home to thousands of surfers from around the worldBY ALEX MALDONADO

The McNamaras co-own North Shore Surf Shop,which Liam said is the biggest and best surf shop in Hawaii. Photo by Stop Khemthorn

KE ALAKA I12

The Chinese Lunar New Year was celebrated at the Caf with traditional music, games and a plethora of food enabling students to experience the joy and comradeship of the Chinese culture. “Back home, we have reunion dinners with family and friends, and although I may not be able to spend this special occasion with family, I am happy to get to spend it with friends,” said Shem Woo, a freshman from Singapore studying biochemistry. Lillian Meng, president of the China Student Association and a se-nior from China studying marketing, said she was grateful to be given the opportunity to organize this event because she wanted to not only unite the Chinese students, but also share her culture with others. “Chinese New Year is a huge celebration for our culture so we want-ed to help the students here in Hawaii experience this happy occasion and enjoy themselves,” said Meng. She explained the event was special because it was a campus-wide activity, making it open to not only Chinese people but also everyone including teachers and community members. “Chinese

Caf Chinese New Year celebration

shares Chineseculture with all

BY DANNA OSUMO

13FEBRUARY 18, 2016

New Year is a time for family gathering, and since we are here in Hawaii where many of us are away from home, we are a family. I feel like it is a huge success and makes us all feel special,” added Meng. The event celebrated the Year of the Monkey and offered several Chinese dishes such as mandarin orange salad and silver noodle chicken soup. Members of the China Student Association performed with traditional Chinese musical instruments such as the “erhu,” which is also known as a Chinese violin, and the “sheng,” a Chinese mouth organ. “Feels a bit like home with a combination of the aloha elements,” said Wai Yan Ng, a junior studying psychology from Hong Kong. “I can really feel the passion for this celebration for Chinese New Year...I’m glad that the campus has provided the opportunity for us to continue this culture here in Hawaii.” For many students, this was their first time celebrating Chinese New Year. Joshua Andrus, a freshman general education major from Japan, said he has learned to respect the Chinese culture. “I can tell it’s a

huge thing for the Chinese culture because not a lot of other countries’ chapters do this kind of thing. I think it’s good to celebrate other coun-tries’ celebrations, even in Hawaii,” said Andrus. Josie Luo, an undeclared freshman from China, said she wants dif-ferent cultures to learn more about Chinese heritage and culture. “I like that others are invited to learn about our culture and to celebrate this wonderful holiday with us.” Luo will be serving her mission soon in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission and is worried she will not be able to enjoy Chinese food, music and companionship of friends on Chinese New Year while on her mission. “Celebrating Chinese New Year away from my family is hard and I got really homesick so I don't know what will happen in the mission. However, I’m really happy with all the efforts to help us feel at home and happy here,” Luo continued.

Top left: Ben Papeo, Jian Wei Bench, and Nerendra Mongan dem-onstrated martial arts as one of the events for Chinese New Year

celebration. A lion dance was also done. Photos by Stop Khemthorn

KE ALAKA I14

Opportunities to serveBY ERIC HACHENBERGER

Peacebuilding senior Christopher Udall’s passion for refugees taking him to Jordan

15FEBRUARY 18, 2016

“The more cultures you

understand, the more like God you are, because God

is probably the most

intercultural dude out there.”

-Christopher Udall

Graduating senior Christopher Udall said he feels a connection to refugees around the world and plans to help them with his peacebuild-ing degree. Photo by Kelsie Carlson

R efugee crises past and present have set the stage for Christopher Udall, a senior from Arizona graduating in international cultural studies with an emphasis in

peacebuilding, to find his calling in the world. Although seniors tend to feel a sense a fear about the future as graduation creeps closer, Udall seems to lack all aspects of it. He plans to go to Jordan and help refugees there by showing the conflict of the area through photojour-nalism. He drew parallels to the refugee crisis in Myanmar. “The refugees in Myanmar are Muslims who have been persecuted by the Burmese. It’s like a whole genocide. All of my ancestors were religious refugees in the United States and half of them fled to Mexico. I have a passion for refugees who are refugees because of their religion, and Islam is so close to Mormonism,” said Udall. “My family was in the church since Joseph Smith days. My great grandfather was a po-lygamist. My grandfather fled and was an illegal immigrant,” Udall said. “He always said when he was my age, he lived in a refrig-erator box on a railroad track. He crossed the border from the United States to Mexico when he was 12. His mom died on the way so he ended up being by himself.” Classmate Alex Graff, a junior majoring in ICS from Utah, added about refugees, “A lot of it has to do with their country of origin. You need some safe space to come back… There can be rules and laws passed for the refugees to stay for a certain amount of time. Ultimately, you want to provide an opportunity for them to return back home. We need to love them as people as much as we can and help them. If we kick them out, they are just going to be refugees in a different country.” Udall has a firm vision of his life goals. He said, “I would like to have life focus on dealing with the refugee cri-sis because the United States has done a great job [messing] up the world.” He said he wants to help in whatever way is needed, whether it is through photography or something that requires further schooling. “So I plan to move over there to Jordan, find out what’s going on, find out where I can be of use, and then prepare myself for that.”

David Whippy, instructor of peacebuilding, said, “We all have these assumptions about how we can help people. The best thing to do is to talk to people. People who make decisions and also people on the ground who don’t make decisions.” Whippy said most decisions in communities come from above and “are made with financial figures. Often those people up top don’t even go down to these communities. The best thing to do is to start talking to people and getting involved in volunteer work with people on the ground.” When asked about his unshakable faith in the future, Udall said, “My father always taught me opportuni-ties come to those who take it. So when an opportunity

comes your way and you don’t take it, you can’t really expect more opportunities to come your way. Why would God bless you with more opportunities when He knows you are not going to take those that He has already given you? So I have always tried to take every opportunity, no matter what it was.” Speaking of the difficulty of finding ground in a field as new as peacebuilding, Udall said, “I got a degree that certifies me for feeling good. A degree that says, you’ve got good intentions. But the more cultures you under-stand, the more like God you are, because God is probably the most intercultural dude out there.” Whippy said a lot of people have a misconception of doing conflict resolution on the big scale. “You have to realize that there is a lot of hard work. Our peacebuilding work starts with our families and those small com-munities. Chris is that kind of guy. He’ll get on his bike, go to a place

and say, ‘Hey, what can I do?’ He is a people person. He is multi-talented. That’s the way he can build his connections. We shouldn’t romanticize the view of peacebuilding.” Whippy said Udall is a modern-day Ammon from the Book of Mormon, making a comparison of Udall’s endeavors with refugees. He said Ammon started his mission among the Lamanites with simple service, and Udall will do the same.

KE ALAKA I16

Campus Comment: I’mGraduating! Now what…?

A look into post-graduate plans

“After graduating, I’ll be moving home to work for a human therapeutics company in the biotechnology industry until starting medical school. My future goals include becoming a physician, leaving the world a better place than I found it, and raising my puppy, Primm, with my girlfriend.”

“I have plans! One of my plans is to follow up with an interview in a few more weeks at a public relations firm in New York City for an internship. They are called J Public Relations and specialize in travel and hospitality. Also, their other PR firm specializes in fashion. I’m really hoping I get that internship. If I do, I would move to New York and start in April. If not, I’m planning on hanging out here for a few more months doing a few things I haven’t been able to do such as shark diving and other cool things. But I want to get into the PR field and maybe event planning.”

“My plan after graduation is to experience the work field before I enter graduate school in the near future. Although many from my major would enter directly after graduation into graduate school, (medical or dental school, etc.), I would appreciate the chance to gain some working experience and to venture out. The truth is, I think plans in life are merely the opportunities that come by as we work hard and we grasp hold of, or lose out from. But goals are things you eventually want to end up with regardless of where life takes you on your next step. My goal is to be a registered dietitian in the future. The opportunity that came for me is to do an OPT at a clinic in Utah. I guess I’m taking it a step at a time, knowing that eventually I will be earning that license as a dietitian and to be who I dream of becoming. More importantly, to be who God sees me to be and where God needs me to be.”

Steven SpeakmanAlyssa Troyanek Beatrice Foong

BY MICHAEL MORTON | PHOTOS BY HECTOR PERIQUIN AND MONIQUE SAENZ

Major: BiochemistryMinor: BiologyFrom: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Major: Biomedicine Minor: Biochemistry From: Camarillo, Calif.

Major: International Cultural Studies-Communica-tion and Peacebuilding Certificate: Strategic Communication From: Gilbert, Ariz.