The Business Department at the American Samoa Community College (ASCC) hosts a Fiafia Night once a year as a unique means of integrating student life with family life. The department invites the parents of its Business majors to share a fun and informative evening with the Business faculty and students. The most recent Business Department Fiafia Night, held on October 4th, proved another successful event which strengthened the bond between the department and the families of the students it serves.

Guests present included enough parents and family members to fill the large Teacher Education Department classrooms on the main campus to near capacity. ASCC Vice President of Administration & Finance Dr. Lina Galea’i-Scanlan and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs Letupu Moananu also joined the festivities to represent the College’s administration. While all of the department faculty took an active role in the event, they entrusted the primary organization of the program to the members of the department’s official student club the Business Ambassadors of ASCC (BAOA). Club President Mayanne Faatau gave the opening remarks, while club Treasurer Irene Mamao led the opening prayer and Vice President Elaine Misiluti served as the evening’s MC.

Following the introduction, Business Department Chairperson Dr. Faofua Faatoafe gave the main address, explaining in great detail to the parents how the Business faculty strives to achieve its mission of preparing its students to enter the workforce, continue their education, start a business, and become productive citizens in today’s global and high-tech workforce. Dr. Faatoafe’s talk led into an evening featuring a briskly-moving combination of information and entertainment, designed to give parents a thorough understanding of the Business Department’s policies and practices through the eyes of both its faculty and its students.

Among the featured items on the program was a demonstration of the BAOA official uniform, worn once a week by club members to instill the practice of dressing appropriately for the business world. Dr. Faatoafe explained that even when not in uniform, BAOA members are held to a dress code in which does not permit excessively casual wear. While appropriate for conducting business, the outfits of the young ladies in BAOA also proved durable enough for them to wear while dancing the siva, which they did at several points in the program for the entertainment of their guests.

Aside from Dr. Faatoafe, the other Business Department faculty members are Lam Yuen Lam Yuen and Ioapo Taua’i, both of whom spoke to the guests to share their experiences as instructors as well as their insights on how a career in business can benefit the lives of American Samoa’s young men and women. Towards the end of the program, a portion of time was set aside for any of the parents to ask questions of the Business faculty or to make comments about its efforts. The evening concluded with Dr. Faatoafe leading her faculty and the ASCC Vice Presidents in a Siva Samoa in which many of the guests and students joined in.

“In the Business Department, we ask a lot of our students,” reflected Dr. Faatorafe. “This is one reason why we reach out to their parents, to show them what we expect their sons and daughters to achieve and why we believe this is a step towards not only successful careers for the students but also a healthy future economy for American Samoa.” For more information on the College’s Business Department, see the ASCC Catalog online at: www.amsamoa.edu.