Arlene P. Sewell

Sewell was raised by her parents, Elama Pele and Loretta Tupua in the village of Utulei in American Samoa. One of her most enduring examples of Christlike love comes from her mother. Sewell was eight years old when her parents separated, and it wasn’t until she was 15 that she would be reunited with her mother again. What she saw from her mother in those teenage years has shaped every facet of her life since. Her mother had started over with very little. Her days were filled with labor-intensive work, schooling, and household responsibilities, yet she always seemed to have something left to give. 

Sewell still remembers the day a neighbor came to the door asking for help so she could feed her grandchildren. Sewell recalls watching her mother quietly walk into her room and come back with money she could not really spare. This was a prime example of the quiet sacrifice and devoted service her mother embodied. When Sewell asked why she gave when they themselves had so little, her mother answered with words that would stay with her for a lifetime: “If I have, I will always give because the Lord provides, and He always blesses us.”¹ 

This same standard of living followed Sewell throughout her adult years. In 1996, at around 20 years old, Sewell joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and later arrived at BYU–Hawaii for her first semester studying information systems. As a young wife and mother, a change like this required sacrifice and strong faith. Sewell took on two part-time jobs and managed a schedule where she and her husband could work and watch their children at alternating times. Her faith in Christ and her mother’s example were what helped Sewell and her family get through this difficult time of life. 

Sewell graduated with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems from BYU–Hawaii and later earned a master of science in information systems security from Colorado Technical University. Across more than 25 years in information technology, she has held leadership and project roles at Rady Children’s Hospital–San Diego, Blue Sky Communications, American Samoa Community College, Dixie State University, and BYU’s Office of Information Technology. In September 2022 she returned to BYU–Hawaii as its Chief Information Officer. Now in Provo, she works as Portfolio Director of Artificial Intelligence at BYU, leading enterprise AI strategy for the university. 

She and her husband, Gabriel Sewell, are the parents of five adult children—James, Nephi, Penei, Noah, and Gabriella—and the proud grandparents of a growing family. 

Sewell is best known for her humility, warmth, and refusal to let any problem get in the way of a person who needs to be loved. She testifies, from her own experience, that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains—and that the top of one mountain is only the bottom of the next.² 

Notes: 

1. Arlene Sewell, “Faith to Move Mountains” (devotional address, Brigham Young University–Hawaii, Laie, HI, February 21, 2023), https://speeches.byuh.edu/devotionals/faith-to-move-mountains.
2. Sewell, “Faith to Move Mountains.”