Ryan Anderson | University Advancement | 27 June 2008
BYU-Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve — who was on campus as a commencement speaker, faculty, staff and students gathered in a banquet on June 20 to honor Gene and Allyson Yamagata [at left with Elder Oaks and President Wheelwright], whose generous contributions have enabled over 500 BYU-Hawaii students to undertake internships.
At the banquet, President Wheelwright presented the Yamagatas with a scrapbook of pictures and letters of all the participating students plus a montage of the Laie Temple, BYU-Hawaii and the PCC. In return the Yamagatas gave the University a donation for the upcoming year. Donations like this have come from the Yamagatas for the past five years.
The Yamagatas have helped turn a fledgling internship program, involving only a handful of students, into the strong program it is today, with hundreds of BYUH students that have completed internships around the world, said Wally Thiim, Donor Liaison for LDS Philanthropies. “No one has done more for internships than Brother Yamagata. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have the success with the program that we have,” he said.
At the banquet, five international BYUH students presented information on internships they had completed, most of them resulting in offers for full-time employment. Kim Austin, Director of Career Services who is in charge of coordinating the internships, explained exactly how the donated funds from the Yamagatas are used: “The funds are primarily used to fund airline tickets for BYU-Hawaii students to travel to other parts of the world as well as the mainland U.S. to participate in internship programs with employers. However, in quite a few cases, the funds are used to pay for housing or other essentials for the students- based on individual need.”
Austin also shared how important the internships are to the success of students after graduation. “These internships allow the students to apply concepts and theories learned in the classroom to the workplace and experience the real world of work first-hand.” She said several studies show about 75% of employers now seriously consider internships in the hiring process. She added, “Thus the generous contribution of the Yamagatas has opened up a potential hiring opportunity through these internships for many of our students. Without this financial assistance, most of these students would not be able to go.”
-Photos by Monique Saenz