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Dr. David Furuto's journey of gratitude

Lisa Fehoko | University Relations | 20 May 2009

When Dr. David Furuto (pictured right with student), the state math expert and BYU–Hawaii Professor of Mathematics with the College of Math & Sciences, was young, he sporadically hitched rides to Laie Elementary, then later to Kahuku High School on the backroad plantation trains that ran from his home to just past what is now Crawford's convalescent home near Kawela Bay, Kahuku. "You rarely did that because it was not easy to find a train that came at your schedule; it came at its own schedule," said Furuto.

Although his rustic childhood was in the backyard of BYU–Hawaii (formerly known as Church College of Hawaii/CCH), originally an agricultural farming land prior to expanding into the Church College of Hawaii, Furuto summed, "I would never have even conjectured that I would be at this stage in my life…. In my mind I thought that after high school I was going to start working in Honolulu. I had no plans to go to college."

Ironically, Furuto attended CCH, and his stint as a college student was initially difficult because high school did not prepare him for college life. "When I came here, I almost flunked out of math," he confessed. But professors saw potential in him and by graduation, CCH offered to pay for his Graduate Record Examination (GRE)—both the basic and the specific (in math).

He tied with another person for the highest GRE Math score; his scores were so high that he "beat out people from Harvard, Stanford, and MIT," he said. "I would not have been able to afford to take the GRE tests because I was only earning 97.5 cents per hour and supporting a family. It was this GRE Math test score that opened a prolific number of doors for me," he noted. CCH gave him two things--first religion and second "it opened a plethora of opportunities for [him], such as scholarships in graduate school [and] a higher probability of finding a job with [his] GRE Math test score."

After working on his doctorate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign—ranked in the top five in mathematics at the time—he taught in several venues, looping through here for a season before moving on to the University of Hawaii systems before, ultimately, returning here to help build a stellar on-campus math program.

His focus was always to give back to what he felt gave him his future—the Church: "I said to myself, 'I owe the Church and I owe the university everything I have because without the university, without the Church, I would never have been where I am today. I'm really grateful and thankful. I love the place so much; I'll do everything I can to bring it up'."

Furuto (pictured above right) has long since found a vehicle that has helped his dream of giving back to school and the Church come into fruition—The Math Bowl, a statewide competition held annually that Furuto personally helped to begin from the ground up over thirty years ago: "My goal has always been to build up BYU–Hawaii, so, right after I came back to BYU–Hawaii, I joined up with Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics Association."

"The Math Bowl competition was born because of football," Furuto stated. "I played sports. In sports the athletes are worshipped. I said to myself, 'I don't think we can achieve that level but I want us to achieve a high enough level that these kids feel good about themselves because when you do good in academics no one recognizes you. Well this competition gives those math students recognition'," he said. (Current Math Bowl 2009 winners, staff, and Vice President for Academics Max Checketts pictured below; photo courtesy of Dr. Furuto)

In his current position as vice president on the board of directors—he has also served as president—for the Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics Association, Furuto finds "that many former BYU–Hawaii students who have participated in the State Math Bowl competition have found teaching jobs and other work through relationships cultivated in this volunteer service." Seeing their progress has been the proverbial feather-in-the-cap for him.

Aside from the Hawaii Council of Teachers of Mathematics Association, Furuto is also in charge of the American Mathematics Contest for the state of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin. Students in schools that participate in this competition are later considered for the U.S. Olympic team, to compete internationally. Competitions range from the grades 6-8 category, grades 9-10, and grades 11-12, which are held at their schools. "Hawaii usually does very well," said Furuto. The goal here has been to get the communities involved, start kids off young, and have them excel in math—and, ultimately, get good jobs, thereby bringing Furuto's dream that began on the dusty roads of Laie Malo'o full-circle.

 

--Photos by Monique Saenz