Benjamin Lim has been appointed as the new Alumni Association President for Alumni Relations. This new role will have him train other chapter leaders throughout the BYU–Hawaii Alumni network.
Born and raised in Laguna, Philippines, Lim graduated from BYUH in June 1989, gaining a bachelor’s degree in business information management and an associate degree in accounting. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington, and works as a Supply Management Analyst at Paccar Inc. He is married to his wife, Cathryn, with whom he has four children.
Lim joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 1981 at the age of 18 and subsequently learned about BYU–Hawaii from one of his friends in Church. Lack of financial support led to Lim being denied initial admission at BYUH, which then led him to serve a mission in the Philippines Manila Mission from 1983 to 1984. Although he lost interest in BYUH, his mission president encouraged him and helped him find financial assistance to revive his college plans, allowing him to be admitted to BYUH in August 1985. Reflecting on these events, Lim says, “Regardless of my trials, the Lord saw that I was firm in my faith and provided me the blessings to attend BYU–Hawaii.”
Reminiscing on his time at BYUH, Lim professes that the first thing that made him love the university was the people. “To me, the students, the faculty, the administrators in the university were like family. They were my ʻohana. We relied on each other, and even now, I never lost contact with them.” Lim said. The second thing that he loved about BYUH was the environment. “The school’s environment is just beautiful. It’s beautiful now, but it was beautiful then, for us.” Lim stated. Lastly, he said that BYUH’s intertwined relationship with the Church was what made him love it the most. “The university is linked with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It helped me stay on the ‘straight and narrow path,’ especially with the temple so close to the school grounds.” Lim said. He adds, “It’s a fantastic experience to have the secular and spiritual aspects of education mixed together.”
Lim’s first exposure to the world of BYUH alumni began after he and his wife moved from Hawaii to Utah, then from Utah to Washington State, acquiring a position at Microsoft. In 1998, Lim started to think about BYUH again, saying, “I missed the ‘ohana environment and the aloha spirit of my alma mater, so I began to inquire about alumni.” He then contacted the BYUH Alumni Office and asked if there was any association or local chapter within or near Washington. The office contacted him back by saying that although no such chapters existed nearby, Lim was more than welcome to start one. A stunning turn of events began as Lim was named the chapter chair of the newly created Washington State Alumni Chapter and met with Bobby Akoi, the BYUH Alumni President at the time. He then proceeded to plan the chapter’s first event, a ‘lu’au’ with some fellow alumni in the area and successfully served as ‘chapter chair’ for two consecutive terms.
After 25 years of success and various roles in the Washington State Alumni Chapter, Lim reflects on his quarter-century milestone, saying, “It wasn’t easy. The first thing is to keep the alumni spirit alive and keep that communication open. Challenges arise, visions clash, morale drops, and chapters are either disbanded or created, but I’m not a quitter. I saw the vision here in Washington to establish connections, build relationships, and give scholarships. Those were the driving forces that made me resilient until now.”
Lim’s resilience and experience in leading the chapter inevitably led to his new position within Alumni Relations, leading to a new era where Lim trains other chapters in achieving similar success.
Overall, Lim emphasizes the importance of alumni, saying, “You don’t really know the real meaning of being ‘genuine gold’ or ‘going forth to serve’ until you serve the alumni.” He also emphasizes how this relates to the mission and vision of BYU–Hawaii, adding, “Jesus Christ is the example. His example was to serve. You cannot be a disciple of Jesus Christ if you do not serve. That’s what basically the vision is. In other words, serve.”
