News Release
General Authority Seventy Vaiangina Sikahema to Speak at Commencement May 3
Elder Vaiangina Sikahema, a member of the General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will address graduates, faculty, staff, students, and friends of Southern Virginia University at Commencement honoring the Class of 2024 at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 3, 2024.
Elder Sikahema was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 3, 2021. At the time of his call, he had been serving as a member of the Tenth Quorum of the Seventy in the North America Northeast Area. He has also served in various Church callings, including ward Young Men president, bishop’s counselor, bishop, counselor in a mission presidency, counselor in a stake presidency, stake president, and Area Seventy.
In 1986, Elder Sikahema began his career as a professional American football player as the first Tongan to play in the NFL, playing for eight seasons from 1986–93 for the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Philadelphia Eagles. Upon retiring from football in 1994, he started his broadcasting career for NBC 10 Philadelphia as the station’s sports director and later their morning news anchor, until his retirement in 2020. In 2013, he was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame.
Elder Sikahema received a bachelor of arts degree in broadcasting and communications from Brigham Young University and served as a missionary in the South Dakota Rapid City Mission. He married Keala Heder in 1984, and they are the parents of four children.