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Service is Theme of December 2010 Graduation Speeches

The scent of orchids and plumerias blended with the anticipation in the air Friday, December 17, as students, families, and community members made their way to the Cannon Activities Center (CAC) for the 2010 Commencement exercises. 

The CAC filled up quickly, and once inside, parents and family members fumbled with cameras and shifted in their seats. Then the Christmas background music stopped. A much louder organ began playing “Pomp and Circumstance,” and the Class of 2010 marched in, led by the BYU-Hawaii faculty. Parents pointed and cameras flashed. Grinning students waved at their parents in the audience. Near the end of the procession, walking alongside President Steven Wheelwright, was Elder L. Tom Perry, senior member of the Quorum of the Twelve and this year’s graduation speaker. 

Wheelwright welcomed the graduates and their families. He advised them to build the Lord’s kingdom and to make learning a lifelong goal. “Your continued success as learners, leaders, and builders will be the true measure of how we are accomplishing the mission of BYU-Hawaii,” he said. He commended students for their service in the community while attending BYU-Hawaii, and called it “just the beginning of a lifetime of service.” Wheelwright was followed by student speaker Yoko Tsui, a graduating psychology major from Hong Kong. Here at BYU-Hawaii, she said, students learn “how to be a friend, servant, good example, and leader.” She encouraged students to take these lessons into the world. “No matter where we go, let’s make the best of it,” she said. “I know we can be a light and example, a friend, and a leader to the world.” 

Following a musical number by JiHye Cha and Tomoka Yoshimura, the audience heard from Roger G. Christensen, assistant to the commissioner of the Church Educational System and secretary to the Board of Trustees for BYU-Hawaii. Adopting his remarks from a previous graduation ceremony he attended, Christensen advised graduates to ask themselves how they felt about money, children, and God. As we use our riches for good, recognize the value of families and children, and gain testimonies of a loving Father in Heaven, he said, “you will come to know yourself and who your Heavenly Father is… You will find joy and happiness as you come to understand his plan for you.” 

Elder Perry’s remarks focused heavily on service. He shared an experience that occurred during his time in the Marines while living on the small island of Saipan. “There was a good number of LDS men on the island,” he said, “and we obtained permission to obtain a tent.” The tent was used each Sunday to hold worship services, but after several weeks, the numbers in attendance started to diminish. “The boredom of waiting for their next assignment started to wear on the men,” he said. “We decided what we needed was an activity… We decided what we needed was a chapel.” Without materials or skills and with a farmer from Idaho as their building supervisor, the work began. The roof finished just as the war ended, and by then numbers were up and unity was strong. “Pounding nails on a roof had a special way of strengthening our brotherhood,” said Elder Perry. 

Elder Perry applied his story to the importance of service, love, and unity in our own times. “When people serve side by side their lives are changed,” he said. “Please remember as you go to the four corners of the earth, you can be missionaries in so many ways.” 

While the graduates were being honored for the investment they had made in their education, Elder Perry also acknowledged the church’s investment in the BYU-Hawaii learning experience. “We expect a return on the investment the church has made in you,” he said. 

The Class of 2010 Commencement Ceremony then began, honoring more than 200 graduating seniors. Each graduate received a lei while approaching the stage, then had the opportunity to shake the hands of Elder Perry, Christensen, and members of the BYU-Hawaii administration. As the graduates arose and switched their tassels, wild applause and cheering echoed throughout the CAC. 

Photos by Monique Saenz