Chaminade University of Honolulu

Business & Communication

Entrepreneurship Soars in Silversword Competition

In the spirit of entrepreneurship and creativity, business and community leaders gathered in Chaminadeʻs Ching Conference Center on November 20 to hear and judge five student business pitches in the annual Silversword Business Competition. Director of Chaminadeʻs MBA Program, Masahisa “Masa” K. Yamaguchi, and Dean of the School of Business and Communication, Annette Taijeron Santos, as well as President Lynn Babington greeted guests. Program. 

As part of the Business Strategy Class in the School of Business and Communication, student businesses provided goods and services that ranged from  baked goods to menʻs hair cuts to fitness. All of the student presentations and business plans were well-done. 

1st Place: Open Oven – Team Members: Kyla Castro, Daniella Bali, Lrae Anne Pungtilan

2nd Place: C.U.H. Cuts – Team Members: Jace Tsutomi, Cade Fujii, Max Patterson

3rd Place: Fuel Soda – Team Members: Adrianna Nichols, Marianna Carpenter, Owen Malone

Wags for Wishes – Team Members: Isabella Minaudo, Nathan Medina, Delaney Poling

Step Wealth – Team Members: Eli Loebll, Kira Ferguson, Killen Kawelo

Following each presentation, judges asked students about their finance and marketing strategies as well as provided guidance and advice for their  emerging businesses. 

Judges included: Eric Fujimoto, MBA ʻ94 member of the Chaminade University Board of Regents and President of Hoʻea Wealth Advisory; Jerry Garcia ʻ82, former Chief Financial Officer of Aria Home Health in Dallas, Texas and and owner of Consolidated Sports Products Hawaii; Alana Iuga, co-owner of Voyage Rental Cars; Stacey Katakura, Chief Financial Officer of Accumulus: Lisa Kracher, Vice President at Array Corporation; Lori Lum, Senior Vice President at Anthology FINN Partners; and Tim Moore, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Hawaii at Republic National Distributing Company. 

Mahalo to all of the judges who shared their wisdom, insight and served as role models for students. Special thank you to Eric Fujimoto, MBA ʻ94 who provides the prize money to encourage students to gain real-world experience while applying what they’ve learned at Chaminade to an actual business plan.

    • Chaminade Students Organize Special ‘Unity Prom’

    There are few events in high school more memorable than prom.

    A group of Silverswords made sure that was especially true for more than 120 special education high schoolers, who gathered on November 18 at the Salvation Army Kroc Center for the 2025 West Oʻahu Unity Prom.

    Students in Chaminade’s Business and Sport and Event Management programs planned the event, from the decorations to the live music and photo booth to the buffet. Meanwhile, some 80 Chaminade student-athletes volunteered as dance partners for the guests of honor.

    Wendy Lam, Ph.D., associate professor of Business Administration and Sport and Event Management, said students from Waianae, Waipahu, Nanakuli high schools, DreamHouse Ewa Beach and Kamaile Academy attended. There were also a number of Chaminade administrators there, including President Lynn Babington, Ph.D., along with community members.

    • The event was sponsored by Ho’ea—The Foundation.

    Lam said last year, Chaminade students volunteered at the East Oʻahu Unity Prom and were inspired to put together a special event for students on the other side of the island. She added Silverswords were integral to all elements of the gathering as part of field experience courses.

    “This event exemplifies Chaminade’s commitment to community engagement, servant leadership, and the Marianist values of inclusivity, compassion, and formation through service,” Lam said.

    “Our students are not only applying their classroom learning but also living out our mission to serve others and build a more just and caring community.”

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    Trysten Mooney ’27, who is majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Sport and Event Management, was among those who helped put the event together. At the prom, he joined classmates to manage activity booths, including fun make-up and photo stations.

    “Seeing all of the smiles from the students and teachers made all the work worth it,” Mooney said.

    “This project helps connect Chaminade to the community by showing our love and core values with everyone. It is a cool experience for both the students involved and us students working it.”

    Leading with Service

    Before Christine Baleto ’91 left her native Guam for college, her dad sat her down for a conversation she’ll never forget. He told her many people leave the island to pursue higher education, but too few return to use what they’ve learned to give back to the community.

    Christine Baleto ’91 (right) poses with Annette Taijeron Santos, DBA, interim dean of Chaminade’s School of Business and Communication.

    “If our own people don’t come back to help improve our island and create opportunities, who will?” Baleto recalls her father asking her all those years ago. “He urged me to get my education, but more importantly, to come home and use it to serve our people and our island.

    “That conversation left a lasting imprint on me. I left Guam with a clear purpose: to return.”

    And that’s exactly what she did.

    Today, Baleto is president and CEO of telecommunications firm Docomo Pacific, the largest provider of mobile, internet, television and phone services in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

    Despite her high-stress day job, Baleto still makes time to serve on nonprofit boards, volunteer her time to civic organizations and serve as a mentor to young people.

    That focus on giving to others is something Baleto says was ingrained in her throughout her childhood, and a value she was able to foster during her time at Chaminade.

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    While a student, she served as president of the National Honor Society and volunteered for a long list of clubs. “That commitment to service shaped how I lead today,” she said.

    Baleto came to Chaminade as a transfer student.

    After graduating from high school, she headed to Eastern Oregon State College on a full scholarship. While she says she enjoyed the opportunity, Baleto struggled with the climate and the distance from her island home, so she made the decision to transfer to Hawaiʻi.

    Christine Baleto ’91

    “I wanted connection and community,” Baleto said.

    She found it at Chaminade.

    “The intimate campus environment was exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want to be just another face in a large lecture hall; I wanted a place where professors knew my name and where mentorship and one-on-one engagement were part of the learning experience.”

    Baleto says she thrived in Chaminade’s tight-knit community and enjoyed the University’s values-based education. Chaminade’s mission of service, in particular, resonated with her.

    “From a young age, I felt a strong calling to serve,” she said. “My earliest passions were rooted in social service, and even as my career evolved, that sense of purpose never faded.”

    It’s why today, Baleto sees her role as a leader as an opportunity to make a broader positive impact. “Returning to Guam and contributing to our community wasn’t just a personal goal. It was a responsibility I embraced, and one that continues to guide my path today,” she said.

    Her message to tomorrow’s leaders at Chaminade is twofold.

    First, she says, there is no substitute for hard work.

    And secondly: “True leadership is rooted in humility, kindness, and a continuous willingness to learn from others,” Baleto said. “If you aspire to be a leader or a changemaker, remember you cannot do it alone. Real, lasting change happens when you empower those around you.”

    Baleto said her Chaminade years were formative, including in helping her develop her community-focused leadership style. And this spring, Baleto had something of a full circle moment when she got the opportunity to visit campus for the first time since she’d graduated.

    “Stepping onto campus 30 years later brought back so many wonderful memories— of the professors who knew me by name, the close-knit community, and all the ways I was active as a student,” she said. “I was especially proud to see how much the University has grown.”

    Baleto added she’s grateful to be part of Chaminade’s past, present and future. “Chaminade is not merely a place to earn a degree,” she said. “It is a community that fosters one’s values, stimulates intellectual growth, and equips individuals with the skills necessary for purposeful leadership.”

    This story appears in the Fall 2025 edition of Chaminade Magazine. To read the full issue, click here.

    Entrepreneur Seeks to Inspire Tomorrow’s Leaders

    Connie Kramer, MBA ’24, EdD ’28 craves new projects—and her resume proves it.

    For more than two decades, she worked in the fast-paced world of media production, film and television before launching her own event planning company, collaborating with local businesses to put together high-end destination weddings, corporate and nonprofit events.

    She took her company far and then, as a young mother, sold it to return to marketing and a more predictable work schedule. In 2013, she landed a role as director of sales and marketing at a Hawaii hotel chain—a position she held until 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

    It was an unexpected departure.

    But it gave Kramer a chance to do what she does best: Find a new challenge to take on. “Getting a master’s degree was always in the back of my mind,” she said. “And then the opportunity came up.”

    She enrolled in the Professional MBA program at Chaminade, a year-long program designed for experienced professionals that includes online and in-person instruction and an international study trip. Kramer said she was nervous about going back to school, but quickly found her Chaminade classes were a perfect fit.

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    “The classes really pulled from real-world case studies,” Kramer said. “That allowed me to bring my own experiences while broadening my leadership skills. That was one of the big sellers for me.”

    Kramer said she not only enjoyed learning from her professors, but collaborating with her classmates. She was also challenged to think about the next steps in her career. “I thought I was going to use the MBA for director-ship roles,” she said. “But the faculty at Chaminade inspired me by making learning relevant in the classroom. I realized I wanted to give back through education.”

    Kramer said she realized that she had trained teammates throughout her business career.

    Why not, she asked herself, use her skills to prepare the next generation of leaders?

    That’s why Kramer now finds herself pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership for Adaptation and Change at Chaminade. She started her first doctoral classes in July, while also tackling a lectureship role at the University. Her ultimate goal is to become a professor.

    “I never thought this would be something that would be on my radar,” she said. “But because of the warm relationships I’ve established with my professors at Chaminade and joining the Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, it’s inspired me to pursue this new passion.”

    At the same time, Kramer is still juggling other roles, including as an entrepreneur.

    Coming from a family of avid golfers, she started a business selling fun plush golf covers with Hawaii themes. Golf Plush Paradise sells almost exclusively online, but Kramer also makes time to get to a few fairs and markets as she’s looking to build the brand.

    “There’s so much golfing in Hawaii, but these speak to the female golfer like me,” she said.

    At the same time, Kramer is looking to expand her volunteer work. She said while her resume reflects a diverse set of skills, at the core of all of her work has been a desire to give back.

    Air Force Honors Silversword for Leadership, Service

    Yazmine Esquivel, MBA ’24 is accustomed to wearing many hats.

    As a maintenance management analyst for the Department of Defense in Honolulu, she helps supervisors and senior managers improve unit performance, equipment condition, fleet health and personnel skills. The Air Force veteran also has nearly a decade of experience in supply chain management, logistics planning, inventory forecasting and import/export compliance.

    Perhaps most importantly, Esquivel is a leader—and she’s thankful to Chaminade for that.

    She says her MBA studies at the University and her participation in Chaminade’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program helped her build confidence, broaden her perspectives and translate her extensive knowledge into opportunities for innovation and process improvement.

    That dedication is now getting noticed.

    This summer, Esquivel was recognized as among the “best and brightest” of the Pacific Air Forces with a Civilian of the Year Award, which honors those who exemplify excellence in their work, participate in educational opportunities off the clock, and give back to their communities.

    Esquivel says the award was “deeply meaningful,” reminding her of the long hours she put in and moments of self-doubt she overcame to achieve her education and career goals. “I am grateful that others see value in the work I care so much about, and I feel encouraged to keep growing,” she said.

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    An average work day for Esquivel is, well, anything but average.

    “I help the U.S. Air Force keep nine Boeing C17 cargo jets ready to fly,” she said.

    “My role is part planner, part problem-solver. I pull data from our maintenance system, double-check every detail lines up, make sure the right parts are on the shelf before work is due, and map out each aircraft’s maintenance schedule up to a year ahead. Then I brief our production team so everyone knows what is coming next. It’s a behind-the-scenes job … but it never stops being exciting.”

    She said her MBA experience at Chaminade was like a “rehearsal” for her day job.

    The courses in human resources, leadership, finance and marketing helped build a “technical toolkit” to rely on, she said. But her biggest takeaways from the program came from the leadership values that her professors instilled, including bringing a solutions-oriented attitude, always showing up prepared and remembering that people always come first in every project.

    Yazmine Ezquivel, MBA ’24 says her experiences at Chaminade helped her develop as a leader.

    “Beyond that, the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program took those lessons beyond the classroom,” Ezquivel added. “Through volunteer projects and mentorship in the local community, I learned to connect business goals with service, to listen before acting, and to stay adaptable at all times.”

    She said she’s grateful to many of her mentors at Chaminade, including Marketing Senior Lecturer Wera Panow-Loui, M.B.A., who recruited Esquivel into her Women in Leadership Development program, and School of Business and Communication Interim Dean Annette Santos, D.B.A.

    Esquivel said Santos connected her with the Soroptimist International of Waikiki, a volunteer organization where she now serves as a delegate, “paying it forward” by working to empower women and girls to reach their goals of economic empowerment through higher education.

    Photo Gallery: MBA Alumni Pau Hana

    More than 40 alumni and guests came together to mingle and network at last month’s MBA Alumni Pau Hana.

    Heidi Bow, Chaminade director of development, said the event “was a chance to connect, reminisce and share a memorable evening with our Chaminade MBA ‘ohana. We enjoyed hearing attendees’ stories and learning about the incredible paths they’ve taken since graduation.”

    • The pau hana August 7 at the Oahu Country Club included addresses by President Lynn Babington, Ph.D. and Provost Lance Askildson, Ph.D.

    Bow offered a special mahalo to Rodney Harano, MBA ”84, who was the event sponsor and generously donated wine for the evening.

    For more on the MBA program at Chaminade, click here.

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