Tongan software engineer, Ikani Samani: “I came from nothing, but education was the great equalizer”
Ikani Samani believes young Pacific Islanders have limitless career potential. After growing up in poverty and briefly pursuing a college football scholarship, Ikani decided to break the Polynesian athlete stereotype and pursue a career in software engineering. After graduating from Utah Valley University with a B.S. in Computer Software Engineering, he worked for 5 years as a successful software engineer. He is now pursuing his MBA at BYU while working full-time at WeWork. He hopes to mentor young Pacific Islanders interested in tech and empower students to find a skill that will make them valuable to their community.
Polynesian McKinsey Business Analyst, Aidan Reiri, encourages students to “break the mold”
After growing up in New South Wales and graduating from BYU with a degree in Finance, Aidan Reiri now works as a Business Analyst for one of the top management consulting firms in the world , McKinsey & Company. Aware of the lack of Pacific Islander presence in business settings, Aidan aims to mentor young Pacific Islanders interested in business and establish a space for Pacific Islanders within his company. He hopes to see more students branching out into different fields of study and pursuing leadership positions.