On a breezy evening, over 100 BYU-Hawaii students and Laie community members responded to the invitation of David O McKay Center to the intercultural peacebuilding (IPB) opening social on March 5 in McKay Foyer.
Attended
the activity, Seeley Dopp, an IPB junior from Idaho, said she wanted to show support to
her IPB fellows. “I love the IPB program. It is about learning people’s story
and bridge the gap that separate people.”
Opening
the activity with welcome, Dr. Chad Ford, Chair of the IPB, introduced special
guests of the evening Stephanie Catudal, the first IPB graduate from BYU-H, and
Richard and Paula Vial, the board member for McKay Center IPB.
Visiting from Arizona, Catudal is
planning to be a professor in BYU-H regarding to IPB topics in the soon future.
“Peacebuilding is all about daily interaction, academic, and life,” she said. “It
helps people to grow in credibility with colleagues and peers because people can
sense that you are different, which means you are quicker in turn with people’s
need. This knowledge in pacebuilding allows you to reach out to people and see them
as people instead of object.”
As
member of the board, the Vials help to raise fund, find students jobs, and to
support the faculties as well as department to do research. “I think
relationship is the most important in the world,” said Richard Vial and
explained why he wants to aid IPB over other programs. “No business can be
successful without a good human relationship.”
Leading
by IPB students, the opening social were divided into 3 workshops. The first
one told the story of Mckay Mural. As President David O. Mckay prophesied, BYU-H
was built for a special purpose: students would leave the school as a
peacemaker in their country.
The
second workshop taught the Arbinger theory - a theory of leadership and
self-deception by Terry Warner. It is about different way to view people. The
theory says a true leader sees people as human with strength and weakness, but a
leader with self-deception oftentimes see people as objects like tool,
obstacle, or someone does not matter.
Students
can learn more about mediation from the third workshop. Michael Ligaliga, a
McKay Center Graduate Intern, was invited to introduce the IPB major and
certificate. He urged students to “be the change that you want to see and
needed to the world”.
Concluded
the evening with his experience as alumni of BYU-H, Dr. Chad Ford said, “I was
a trouble maker, but BYU-H changed my life. It changed the way I see the world:
Zion isn’t zion
if there are conflict and disagreement. It will fall short.”
Student got
watery eye when he related his testimony with IPB. Ford said, “Think of the
cycle of pain, prejudice, hatred, and hopeless you see on news. There are
people out there having the desire to change, but they don’t know how. They
even doubt if change is possible. Peace is possible and we are not here [BYU-H
and the Earth] by chance. We are here to learn how to be one with different
people, race, and language. We are the model of the world and the instrument of
God to give people hope and peace.”
Clover Cheng
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