Originally published on January 29, 2021.
Oscar Fakahua is a robust fellow with a personality to match. A widely sought-after football recruit, he stopped in Cedar City and SUU one day in 1988 and ended up staying for 32 years and counting.
He was a dynamic campus figure, not only as a football player, but also as student body vice president, leader in the Polynesian Club, and as a popular entertainer, all of which imbued him with confidence and taught him he had gifts and talents to benefit others.
Born of parents who were among an early group of Polynesians who emigrated from Tonga in the late 1950s, he grew up in San Bruno, California, and following his SUU years, began a career in what he calls, in dry terms, the “human service industry,” but truly has always been about helping others.
Over the years he has molded a career leading, counseling and teaching mostly youth in structured settings, and has become renowned as a trainer. He mentors and addresses various groups and teams, conducts training for multiple businesses and shares messages of promise and potential for people around the country as an inspirational and motivational speaker.
“The best part of what I do is watching people heal by embracing their fears and vulnerability and figure out how to overcome adversity,” he says.
He calls himself the ultimate family man, which extends to his unofficial work as an SUU recruiter, as he can point to nearly a dozen family members, including three sons, who have matriculated at the University. He met his wife, Jennifer Rowland, at Ricks College.
As a result of the COVID19 quarantine throughout the past half-year, he launched a Facebook program, “The O Show,” and it is his goal is to reach a multitude of others and be an influence of hope and inspiration for them.
