Biography
Kesi Ah Hoy was born and raised in Hauʻula and Lāʻie and graduated from Kahuku High School in 2017: “the best class in Kahuku history,” as he likes to say. BYU–Hawaii has always been a familiar place to Kesi. Growing up in a coaching family, he spent much of his childhood in gyms and on courts while his mother coached volleyball at Kahuku High School and later at BYU–Hawaii. Those experiences earned him the nickname “gym rat” and helped shape his love for athletics, leadership, and developing others.
Kesi attended Oregon State University, where he majored in Human Development and Family Sciences while working with the football program in a graduate-assistant capacity. After a career-ending neck injury during his freshman season changed his path as an athlete, Kesi turned his attention toward coaching. For three and a half years, he experienced firsthand the preparation, discipline, long hours, film study, and attention to detail required in collegiate athletics. He planned to pursue coaching professionally after graduation, but marrying his wife and welcoming their first child caused him to reconsider what success meant to him. Kesi ultimately chose a path that would allow him to prioritize his family, guided by the principle that “no success outside the home can compensate for failure in the home.”
After returning home to Hawaiʻi, Kesi eventually entered the tourism industry, first as a tour guide and later as an operations manager on Oʻahu. He gained experience leading teams, coordinating complex schedules, and managing daily operations involving hundreds of guests. He also helped coordinate logistics for the annual Dec. 7 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade, supporting thousands of participants with unique schedules and itineraries.
Now, returning to BYU–Hawaii as the building services manager feels like coming full circle. Kesi oversees custodial and event setup and breakdown operations and approaches leadership with a simple message for his team: “We Set the Tone.” He believes that although much of their work happens behind the scenes, the cleanliness, preparation, and care they put into the campus directly influence the experience of everyone who enters it.
Kesi describes himself as a servant leader and a “player’s coach”—someone who leads from the front, will never ask someone to do something he is unwilling to do himself, and cares about the person beyond the job they perform. He hopes to help BYU–Hawaii students recognize the power of intentional choices, faithfulness, exact obedience, and understanding that Heavenly Father knows them personally and has a purpose for their lives.