David Taufa, Heather Pohiva, and Selai Unga graduated from BYU–Hawaii with Accounting degrees in the summer of 2013. While they all had different career plans upon returning to their home country of Tonga, none of them expected the opportunity that opened up for them to use the skills they learned from BYU–Hawaii within the Tongan government.
Taufa works as a foreign exchange dealer for the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT). His tasks include calculating the foreign exchange rates daily for banks throughout the country, as well as booking overseas investments and preparing reports for the top economic leaders in Tonga. Unga was also hired at the NRBT as a bank examiner. Her responsibilities include analyzing financial statements, preparing performance reports, and ensuring bank compliance with financial regulations. Pohiva works in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning as a financial analyst. Her assignments deal with evaluating and monitoring government assets while also assessing debt and following up with creditors.
Getting a position with the government in Tonga is not an easy task. With a challenging economic landscape, the demand for jobs in the government sector is high. “Whenever they have a vacant post, the government first advertises it among those people that are already working inside the government,” Tafua explained. The competition also comes from outside sources. “Applicants compete with graduates from other universities in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji as well,” said Pohiva.
In spite of the heavy competition, all three BYU–Hawaii alumni turned in applications for jobs within the government. When they each received callbacks for job interviews, they were initially surprised to be considered but felt their education and experience at BYU–Hawaii prepared them well. “I went in with complete confidence because of all the career preparation, like mock interviews and resume and cover-letter workshops, that I had at BYU–Hawaii,” said Pohiva. “I was prepared with professional skills, whether on the phone, face to face, or through email.”
Practical learning and application in the classroom also helped. “BYU-Hawaii helped me develop computer skills, especially in my computer accounting class,” said Taufa. “That was very helpful since the work that I do now is mostly on the computer and using Microsoft Excel.” Unga had a similar feeling. “During my job interview, they asked a lot of questions about leadership skills, communicating with people, and training at work,” she said. “I’m glad that I took the business classes at BYU–Hawaii that really prepared me well.”
Glade Tew, dean of the College of Business, Computing, and Government and Accounting professor to all three alumni, said, “I believe they will contribute so much, not only in their jobs, but also in their families, communities, and the Church. Each of them is a wonderful individual who represents so well the spirit and mission of BYU–Hawaii.” Working for the government is a prestigious position that they too are each grateful for as they go forth to represent Tonga and BYU–Hawaii. “I came to BYU–Hawaii to learn, and now I’m ‘going forth’ to use what I have learned to serve my country and most of all to help build up the kingdom of God,” said Unga.