More than 100 Chaminade students participated in the 15th Annual Celebration of Student Scholarship – Na Liko Na’auao. Held on April 21, the conference provided a place for the exchange of research ideas and afforded participants a time to celebrate a culture of diversity and scholarship. Open to students from all divisions, the event exhibited 62 projects which demonstrated student learning and research covering a range of disciplines. From Business to Russian politics, from the sciences to the fine arts, students explored in depth their fields of interests.
Available to answer questions and discuss their projects, the students showcased their exhibits in various forms. Categories included poster presentations, artwork, video and portfolio displays. Presentations were done individually and by small groups and completed in the past academic year. All Chaminade University day undergraduate students who had a faculty sponsor to mentor them through the process were eligible to present.
At the closing ceremony, Chaminade associate provost Patricia Lee-Robinson recalled the early beginnings of the Na Liko Na’auao. She and Henry Halenani Gomes co-founded the event in 2003. Then the conference only took up half of the Clarence T. C. Ching Conference Center. This year the number of student exhibits nearly overflowed the room’s capacity.
Lee-Robinson reminded the crowd, “President Bro. Bernie and the late President Sue Wesselkamper supported Na Liko from the very beginning 15 years ago. Since our first Na Liko on April 24, 2003, hundreds of students have participated in this event.” Then turning towards Bro. Ploeger with a lei, she offered the school’s heartfelt gratitude, “We would all like to thank you, Brother, for your unwavering support of undergraduate research at Chaminade.” The crowd applauded in agreement.
Lee-Robinson praised the students for their hard work and pursuit of academic excellence. She also thanked the 21 invaluable faculty mentors and sponsors who motivated, guided and inspired students to pursue their scholarship and publically present their endeavors.
Lee-Robinson also announced the winners of the President Sue Wesselkamper Prize and the Outstanding Mentor Award.
Arielle Regis won the President Sue Wesselkamper Prize, endowed by Henry and Charlotte Clark. Nominated by faculty members Eva Washburn-Repollo, Ph.D. (Communications) and by Edna Magpantay-Monroe, Ed.D. (School of Nursing), Regis was recognized for her academic excellence, community service, leadership and work ethic. Regis will graduate this spring with her bachelor’s degree in Nursing.
Chaminade associate professor of English Allison Paynter, Ph.D. was the recipient of this year’s Outstanding Mentor Award. Nominated by Chaminade student Madison Choi, Paynter continues to be instrumental in opening students’ minds to the value of the Humanities and literature. She teaches courses on creative writing, poetry, short story and novel, women’s Literature, gender, and ethnicity, and she facilitates the Aulama (Chaminade’s student literary journal). Dr. Paynter inspired Choi’s choice of English as a major.
After the two announcements, it was time for student participants to be recognized. Students had their names individually read aloud as they received their certificates of commendation. The crowd applauded for each student individually in appreciation of the excellence demonstrated.
Dr. Charissa Kahue BS Biology ’07 returned recently to her Chaminade University alma mater to meet with students of the HP 390–Advanced Topics in Health Professions Preparation class. The 
“Her decision to leave for medical school to grow and explore her options for her medical career pathway was one of the things that stood out because this is a decision that I will need to consider when it comes to applying and deciding whether or not I would want to leave home to attend medical school,” said Bacani.
Thursday evening’s Mocktails and Masterpieces event kindled the fire with bursts of creativity. With artist Jenny B. facilitating, alumni painted canvas masterpieces that they could take home. The alumni mingled and caught up with old friends. The familiar warmth of campus ‘ohana surged feelings of nostalgia and fanned their anticipation for Saturday.
Outside of the Sullivan Family Library, a photo booth captured the memories of friendships and newly made friends. There was a ceramic pot sale setup by Fine Arts professor Yukio Ozaki, and the Campus Store offered Chaminade logo items for sale. Alumni like Teresa Fujino, MBA ’16 guided activities such as “DIY – Salty Scrubs,” where participants made bath scrubs. Kacie Cohen, MSCP ’13 and Darren Iwamoto, MSCP ’98 with Dale Fryxell, grant director of the E Ho‘opili No Na Haumana Project and interim dean of Education, manned the 110-AOK (Acts of Kindness) beading table.
The Reunion Street Festival – Food Truck Rally had many memorable highlights, thanks to the collaboration of the Office of Alumni Relations and Residence Hall Association. Tasty smells from the food trucks permeated the air as people lined up in front of Hawaii’s favorite food trucks on Second Road. Chardonnay Pao, BA ’13, MBA ’15 and Cherie Ann Park, MSCP ’13 served various ono plates from Kapakahi Grindz. The Nalo Made Lemonade booth was a hit. Shawn Niwa Kadooka, BBA ’91 mentioned how happy she was to be a part of the event, and said it required two resupply runs. Also, depending on your appetite, you could also choose dishes from Prime Sandwiches or Chamorro Grindz or something refreshing from Tats Shaved Ice.
“Featuring alum or alum related vendors is the best! It brings a sense of pride to the event knowing that Chaminade is investing and supporting alum businesses. I saw alum, current students, and employees coming to buy our product. The positive vibes were just on a whole other level of awesome,” Pao said. “Good music, ono food, and the use of Chaminade Dollars brought another sense of school spirit to the event.”
During a more structured part of the evening, Aunty Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61 in her melodic voice started a Lei Aloha ‘oli that cued alums to form a line as Chaminade president Bro. Bernard Ploeger, SM was escorted to the lawn. The chant continued as alums showered Bro. Ploeger with lei, warm hugs, and bid him a fond farewell as he concludes his 23 years of service at Chaminade University.
Then Micah G hit the stage and got the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and Marianists to get out of their seats and dance. The lawn in front of the library turned into a huge dance floor.
Mahalo to all, especially the Alumni Reunion Committee Volunteers: Alice Kaahanui BA ’86, Bernard Lum Hoy, BA ’59, Lolita Lum Hoy, BS ’61, Christy Aiwohi, BBA ’87, David Dinh, MBA ’15, Heather Nakao, BS ’12, BA ’15, Jeannie Pinpin, BA ’05, BA ’07, Lois Nakamura, BA ’85, Linda Tavares, BS ’63 Michael “Pika” Ahakuelo, BA ’02, MBA ’11, Scott Kishimori, BBA ’87, Shayne Iwamoto, AA ’12, BS ’13, Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61, Sweetie Pacarro, BA ’89, Terrence Kong, BS ’89, MSCP ’03.