by Ken Jarvis, San Antonio Region Media Specialist
Joey Choi grew up on the island of O’ahu in Hawai’i. He was a big kid and enjoyed playing football. In fact that’s what he thought he wanted to do after high school.
He started his freshman year in high school on a positive note. He had a homeroom teacher who was very supportive of him. In fact, for a while, he thought he wanted to be a teacher and often helped his fellow students.
In his senior year he struggled with a lot of high level courses. He talked a lot in class and his grades weren’t very good. “I barely had a C average,” Choi admitted.
Then one day one of his teachers dropped a bomb. He looked Choi in the face and said, “Don’t go to college. You’ll never make it.” For whatever reason what that teacher said struck home. “For many years after that,” Choi recalled, “I was convinced that I was unable to go to college and succeed.”
Choi was always a very active Christian and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He went on a two-year mission to Korea and enjoyed the work and the people very much. After he came home, he was self-conscious when everyone asked him where he was going to go to college. His plans were simple; get a job and travel back to Korea as often as possible.
Then Choi got married and later a cousin who was working in San Antonio convinced them to move here in 2020. “I still lacked confidence in myself but my wife, Kristi, changed all that.” With his wife’s encouragement he started looking for a way to go to college. He decided to earn a BYU-Idaho online degree through BYU-Pathway Worldwide .
Fast forward to today. He now is a graduate with a degree in marriage and family studies. Choi was very grateful to find a program that helped him get a higher education online and for such a reduced cost. “I love [BYU-Pathway]! It’s set up to help people succeed.”
But Choi didn’t stop there. He is now enrolled to get an online graduate degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, at Lamar University, in Beaumont, TX. He admits his father’s example influenced him to choose that field of study.
His father, Stewart Choi, is a well-known marriage and family therapist in Hawai’i. “For the longest time I was known as my dad’s son, and I hated that. I never wanted to be like my dad,” Choi admitted. “But I always wanted to help people and finally when I was in school and debating what I was going to do I realized that the best way I could help people and serve them was through counseling.” That was a humbling experience for Choi. “In the last year or two I’ve really learned to appreciate my Dad. To be frank, I just want to be like him.”
In an address to the youth in Nairobi, Kenya, Russell M. Nelson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said, “In the Church, obtaining an education and getting knowledge are a religious responsibility. We educate our minds so that one day we can render service of worth to somebody else.”
With one college degree under his belt and well on his way to becoming a counselor what advice does Choi have for younger people? “It’s simple. Just show up and care.”