THEY MEAN
BUSINESS Stud ent s f ace f ut ur e s w i th s uc c es s in t he Co nfe re nce o f C ham pi o ns
Students all across campus took part in the two-day Conference of Champions March 24-25. Hosted by the Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship (CIE), the conference was expanded from last year’s successful Business Plan Competition to include 15 competitions, spanning every college of the university. “One of the main purposes of BYU–Hawaii is to train moral, capable leaders that can return to their respective homelands and influence society for good,” reads CIE’s mission statement. “In support of this ambition, our goal at the CIE is to empower each student with an enlarged vision of what he or she can individually accomplish, and the courage, assurance and confidence necessary to seek out and better their respective lives through entrepreneurship in their home countries.” Brother James Ritchie, director of CIE, explained the conference was designed as the middle step in a three-part process intended for the students to become active in their pursuit of excellence. This starts with the Great Ideas Exchange in the fall, then on to the formulation of those ideas into tangible plans in the Conference of Champions in the winter. Finally, it is hoped that those 6
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plans will be carried out during the summer. “We want the students to think, plan, and then do,” said Ritchie. “[With the expansion of more competitions], we hope the whole campus will become doers. … We don’t want any more observers.” “I think the Conference gives students a great opportunity to work on a project, share it with others and then receive valuable feedback. It also gives them help for future projects,” said Ashlin White Kamoe, senior business major and peace-building minor from Utah. The conference this year included competitions for web page design, accounting case study, presentation of research, art exhibition and creative writing. Kamoe was the winner of the nonprofit Business Plan Competition with her idea for the Lumina Addiction Rehabilitation Center. When asked about her motivations for her presentation, she said, “I just saw a need in my community and went from there.” – kat ie d ea rd en
Left to Right: Natanael and Hayley Ulie
College of Human Development
TESOL Winner: Natsuke Ischikawa Social Work Winners: Chi Keung Jonah Lai and Arialle Haiola Westman Education Winner: Charlene Ignacio
College of Math and Science David Higueria Daniel Kaonohi Kari Fowler Joann Diray Brett Carrington Asuka Fukuyama Lazel McGill Nozomi Imai Matthew Styles Shin-Young Jung