With a contagious smile and a passion for her work, Brigham Young University – Hawaii student Carla Rada, a native of Bolivia, works hard to infuse her passion for media and cross-cultural communication with her international cultural studies major focusing on communications. She explains that her interests for television and communication stem deeply from her own personal experiences, long before she set foot on campus. “My father is a journalist so when I was young I had the opportunity to actually have a national teenage-themed television show that brought in music and culture.” This opportunity, Rada says, helped to provide the foundation for her educational goals.
Before college, Rada already found herself enriched with global experience. Rada enjoyed a rare opportunity to study at a Jewish-affiliated high school in Bolivia where she learned Hebrew. A few years later, she served a Spanish and English speaking mission in Texas. Rada recounts that her mission means especially much to her because of her own family’s history in joining the church. Rada’s father, in fact, was one of the first converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Bolivia.
When Rada considered where she would prefer to attend college, she recalls, “I knew I wanted to come to a Church college and I felt BYU-Hawaii was the right place for me. I knew the school offered a good communications program and I knew that it is so multi-cultural here and I wanted to be here.” After attending the University of Hawaii for a few months, Rada came to BYU-Hawaii and has thrived.
When Rada arrived at BYUH, her dreams and passions took flight. Immersed in a uniquely diverse environment at a crossroads of international communication, Rada became involved with the university’s television studio, working to produce and prepare countless multimedia projects for the BYUH campus and the Laie community. Remembering her own years in front of the camera with her father as a child and teenager, Rada says she feels right at home at her work with the studio. Here, though, Rada says she has the opportunity to learn more about the actual production of the shows that are created. “I love working at the television studio,” she says, “I love learning about what goes on behind the camera and the technical side of it.”
Working with the television studio at BYU-Hawaii has profited Rada tremendous real-world experience, but she affirms that what she has learned during her time at BYU-Hawaii extends far beyond even her career and educational pursuits. The international community and sense of collegial friendship that exists at BYU-Hawaii, combined with its unique commitment to personal standards and faith have all strengthened Rada’s character and reinforced her ideals. “So much of what I have learned here will help me in my future goals,” she says.
Once Rada graduates, she says she hopes to take what she has learned in all aspects at BYU-Hawaii and use it to promote peace and communication abroad. “Bolivia is so diverse,” Rada explains, “And because of that, there are a lot of conflicts between the different people. I want to earn a Peace-building certificate from BYU-Hawaii to help solve those conflicts through the use of media to unite rather than divide like it does now.” Whether Rada hopes to find herself reporting from the field or working behind the scenes making it all happen? She says that now, with all her new technical savvy, “Probably behind the camera.” Rada will seek to serve and promote strengthening communication between her native Bolivians, hoping that in doing so, her nation will see more unity.
Rada has set out an incredible course for her career and life, and she affirms that BYU-Hawaii has provided her with tremendous experience and foresight to steer her in the right direction. “BYUH has inspired me to understand that there is more in life and more that I can do to help others. I have learned that there are so many different ways to serve – to really serve and love what we do.” As she prepares to graduate and return to Bolivia, Rada takes with her a passionate drive to serve and love that she finds invaluable – truly genuine gold.