Building a Brighter Future

January 2026

The aim of BYU–Hawaii is to prepare students to be lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ who will live and lead in their families, communities, careers, and congregations. For Grace Tueli Taliu of Fiji, that mission has become a personal reality. Through the gener¬osity of donors and the IWORK program, she is gaining an education with a foundation of faith, resilience, and self-reliance that will bless her family and her homeland for generations.

“It was because of the IWORK program that I chose to come to BYU–Hawaii,” she says. “I’m so grateful for it.”

A Leap of Faith

Before arriving in Laie, Taliu worked as an air traffic control assistant in Fiji, where she joined the Church and met her husband, Iosefa. Encouraged by their bishop to apply to BYU–Hawaii, the couple saw the university as an opportunity to strengthen their education and discipleship.

The leap of faith wasn’t without challenges. “With everything that was happening the first year here—the culture shock, the homesick¬ness, having to work hard, and no family to look after our kids—it made me turn to the Source of All Strength,” she says.

Moved by Ministering

Taliu and her family found support in Sione and Hehea Vaioleti, a Tongan couple in their ward assigned to minister to them. “We saw them wake up at 4:30 in the morning to read their scriptures. We saw how they looked after their kids, and that was exactly what we [wanted for our family],” Taliu recalls. “I thought, ‘I can change and be just like that if I start today.’” She is grateful for how the Vaioletis’ faithful example inspired her and her husband to increase their scripture study, temple atten¬dance, and focus on the Savior in their home with their two children.

On campus, Taliu has been equally uplifted by professors and mentors, including her computer science professor, Geoffrey Draper. “He made me feel seen as a parent,” she says. When Taliu’s young daughter accompanied her to class and grew restless one day, Professor Draper paused class and brought her a bag of toys. “My daughter was so focused on the toys that I wasn’t disturbed in class, and I’ll never forget that,” she recalls. “He also made me see myself as a computer science student. He would give me ideas on career paths that he could see in me—my potential—without me seeing it.”

Education for Self-Reliance

Taliu says her BYU–Hawaii experience has transformed her spiritually as well as academically. “It’s education that gets you self-reliant,” she says. “It’s so nice that all of this is within the scope of the Church. Our leaders know exactly what is important for an individual’s growth.” 
Grateful for those who make her educa¬tion possible, she wishes she could person¬ally thank every donor: “I would first give them a hug. I would say thank you and express to them how truly, truly grateful I am.”

Today, Taliu and her husband are build¬ing a gospel-centered home and preparing to return to Fiji ready to serve, lead, and lift others—just as BYU–Hawaii’s mission prom¬ises. Taliu shares, “I’m glad that our home is centered on the gospel and that our kids get to grow up the way they are growing up right now.”