Approximately 460 students representing 39 countries will participate in the upcoming BYU–Hawaii Commencement exercises on Saturday, April 12, 2014. Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will address the graduates. Elder Christensen, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He also holds a master's degree in business administration degree from the University of Washington. Over the years, he has been a visiting instructor of business and religion courses at several universities, including Brigham Young University.
At the time of his call as a general authority in 2002, Elder Christensen was a self-employed businessman in the retail automotive, insurance and real estate development industries. He previously worked as an executive with several privately-owned companies and with an international accounting and consulting firm based in San Francisco, California. He has served on several business and volunteer boards and with several charitable organizations.
Other speakers include Roger G. Christensen, assistant to the Commissioner of the Church Educational System, and President Steven C. Wheelwright. The student speaker will be Larissa Suwanto from Indonesia, who is graduating with a degree in piano performance.
Commencement will be held at 9:30 AM (HST) in the George Q. Cannon Activities Center. For parents, family and friends who aren’t able to be at Commencement, the event will be streamed live online at http://flash.byuh.edu/live.html.