Campus and Community

Designing Women

May 5, 2023

E+ID students present their works at the Senior Showcase Exhibit

After all the late nights, tears and sweat, 2023 graduating seniors, Montserrat Lanfranco, Laura Flor, Maria Bernaldez, Angela Huber and Sarah Robertson had one last hurdle before Commencement: the Environmental + Interior Design’s Senior Showcase Exhibit. Presenting their projects to industry designers, family and friends on a Thursday night, the five seniors were eager to share a compilation of their works over the course of their undergraduate studies.

“There will be no more crying in the studio and calling security late at night to open the doors,” Flor laughed. “It’s exciting to be done, but it feels surreal because we’re all still busy.”

During her freshman year, Lanfranco built a “light box,” as required in her EID 205 Color for Interiors class, which focused extensively on the use and application of color in interior environments, including color notations, the Psychology of color and human response and application of color.

Using a flashlight utility on an iPhone, Lanfranco pointed a beam inside the box—which had several round cutouts, each covered with a different patch of color cellophane—and explained the effects that color has on people’s moods.

“Imagine this is a building and the sun is moving through it, casting different colors and lighting,” said Lanfranco, shining a beam across her light box. “Color and lighting can certainly impact a person’s behavior and mental state.”

For her senior Capstone project, Bernaldez presented a re-design proposal to members of the Kahuku Medical Center Kupuna Caregivers. She also participated in a pitch to Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center in East Oahu.

“I also had an internship with RMA Architects,” Bernaldez said. “And I just received an email about a full-time junior interior designer job offer from my supervisor at RMA, so I’m absolutely thrilled.”

The mission of Chaminade University’s Environmental + Interior Design Program is to educate, engage and empower students to optimize design of the built environment as it relates to our global, multi-cultural, multi-generational living and working communities. Graduates, like Bernaldez, are prepared to make the transition to entry-level professional practice, and to collaborate with architects and related industry professionals.

“The scope of design has expanded and much broader now,” explained E + ID program coordinator Matthew Higgins. “Here at Chaminade, the program added ‘Environmental’ to the curriculum in attempt to breakdown barriers, and to think beyond windows and doors.”

This was precisely the approach that Fuentes took when she worked on her Art Museum project. “I wanted to see how someone diagnosed with autism—which includes such a broad spectrum—would experience an art exhibit,” Fuentes said. “So, I set out to create more of an interactive exhibit.”

Above and Beyond

May 4, 2023

Co-Curricular Awards recognize students for their leadership

As it has often been said, “Most students learn the most outside of the classroom.” And last month, students, student organizations and clubs proved this adage to be true during the 18th annual Co-Curricular Awards. The annual event recognizes awardees for their unwavering commitment to better the campus and the community as a whole.

In all, 22 awards were presented, including for service, scholarship and to outstanding student-athletes. Students are either nominated by fellow classmates or faculty and staff. Students may also nominate themselves.

Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington gives students a round of applause for going above and beyond their academic curricula.

“Chaminade’s co-curriculum programs intentionally align with, augments and enhances standard curricular goals,” says Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington. “Our co-curriculum is developmental, transformative and future-focused. It is also experiential, offering authentic, hands-on opportunities to hone skills, put ideas into practice, and showcase achievements of potential interest to employers.”

One member of each undergraduate class was selected to receive the Bro. Joseph Becker Award of Excellence, which recognizes those who display exceptional leadership skills through involvement in co-curricular activities. The awardees, with a diversity of scholarly ambitions, were: freshman Selena Buttery ’26, sophomore Sophia “Noe” Tugaoen ’25, junior Sean-Zacharry Lorenzo Jr. ’24, and senior Kobe Young ’23.

The Bro. Elmer Dunsky Outstanding Student Organization Award went to the Student Organization of Latinix, which promotes awareness, within and beyond the Latinx community, and incorporates all facets of the culture. The award recognizes the organization’s significant contributions to helping create an inclusive campus environment that embraces all cultures and fosters a true sense of ‘ohana.

Nominees for the Fr. Stephen Tutas Program Award of Excellence could be a student who—or student organization that—demonstrates exceptional creativity, planning and execution of a university program that contributes to the quality of life and academia at Chaminade. This year’s recognition went to The Chemistry Club.

Dr. Abby Halston, Associate Professor and Psychology Clinical Director at the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, was named the Rev. David Schuyler Advisor of the Year. The award recognizes members of the faculty, staff or administration who seek to encourage and support students in leadership development and campus involvement.

Women’s Volleyball Coach, Kahala Kabalis Hoke, presented the Male Athlete of the Year to Men’s Basketball guard Isaac Amaral-Artharee.

With an infectious can-do personality, Eri Leong ’23 personifies the characteristics required by a Frederick K.K. Kauhane, Sr. Aloha Spirit Awardee. She exhibits a humble, cheerful and generous spirit; a dedication to fostering a sense of ‘ohana around campus, and the ability to buoy other’s spirits by consistently improving the environment around them. Leong was also awarded the Outstanding Peer Mentor.

Lucy Lee ’23 was named this year’s Henry Halenani Gomes Alaka‘i Award winner, recognized for her excellence in leadership and service to the Native Hawaiian community.

“After the nomination due date, a small group of staff members will go through the nominees and select the winners,” explains Allison Jerome, Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students. “In addition, many of the departmental awards are chosen by staff within those departments (ie. Athletics, Student Success, Campus Ministry and so forth).”

The Resident Assistant Award of Excellence went to Jannabel Bielza ’23, while Christopher Diego ’23 and Jacqueline Martinez ’23 were bestowed the Outstanding Orientation Leader Awards. Kamipono Abella was awarded Tutor of the Year and Kobe Ngirailemesang ’23 picked up the Dean of Students’ Special Recognition Award.

For the third straight year, men’s basketball’s Isaac Amaral-Artharee ’23 was named Chaminade’s Male Athlete of the Year, while women’s volleyball players Lataisia Saulala ’23 and Kaybrie Pe‘a ’23 captured the Female Athlete of the Year and The Silversword Award, respectively.

To round off the ceremony, Campus Ministry handed out three awards: Kaycia Mailo-Kaheaku ’23 for Retreat Leader of the Year; Tyanna Hemmings ’23 for The Liturgy Award; and Alaina Mercado ’23 for Campus Ministry Award.

Nursing Scholarship

May 4, 2023

Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union Announces New Scholarship Fund

During a check presentation to Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington, Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union’s Board Chairman, Neil Shimogawa, said this would be the first of hopefully many to follow in the years to come.

“We couldn’t do this without our community partners like yourselves,” said Dr. Babington to Shimogawa and fellow board members Ariel Chun, Director, and Alan Yasuda, Secretary. “Scholarships are often the optimal form of financial aid since, unlike student loans, scholarships do not need to be repaid.”

According to U.S. News & World Report, the average college student graduates with about $30,000 in student loans. That’s nearly a 25 percent increase from a decade ago. Many of these student loans carry high interest rates, and create a severe financial burden for young professionals. In contrast, scholarship programs can help students afford college without strings attached. As a result, scholarship recipients can pay off loans more quickly and use their extra income to start saving for the future.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities experienced significant budget cuts. And while public schools experienced a squeeze in funding, passing these costs along to students, Chaminade did the opposite. Instead of increasing its tuition, the university introduced its Hawaii Guarantee pilot program, which ensures all graduates of Hawaii high schools entering as first-time freshmen pay the exact same tuition rate as the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s annual resident undergraduate tuition, and an achievable path to graduate in four years.

These days, many scholarship opportunities target communities that haven’t historically had access to higher education. These include students from communities with lower household incomes and who also represent the first generation of their families to attend a four-year university.

While many scholarships are need-based, or select winners based on academic achievement, others prioritize community service. The latter is one of the reasons that spurred board members of the Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union to establish its scholarship at Chaminade.

“Chaminade has one of the best nursing programs in Hawaii, and it was a perfect fit for what we wanted to do for the community,” says Shimogawa, with Chun and Yasuda nodding in agreement. “Our scholarship fund is targeted at nursing students, who are entering a field that the community really needs.”

Chaminade’s student-centric focus also appealed to the three Board Members. “This is all for the students,” Babington said. “I was reading the remarks of our student speakers at Commencement this year and it was inspiring to hear, and it’s why I come to work every day.”

Na Liko Naʻauao

April 28, 2023

Students present their thought-provoking research findings

She suspected that she couldn’t be the only one feeling isolated and alone. With COVID cases spiking during her freshman year, Iris Hirata sheltered in place in her dorm room with her family support 5,000 miles away.

“I usually like being alone, but that was too much—even for me,” Hirata recalls. “It was depressing and I felt I had no one to talk to.”

As pandemic numbers started to decrease, and a semblance of normalcy emerged, Hirata never forgot those earlier times. “Biologically, I knew about COVID’s impact on the lungs,” Hirata says. “But I told Dr. Darren Iwamoto, we didn’t know the impact that COVID had on the mental health of individuals.”

It turned out to be a lot.

In an earlier research project she worked on with psychology professor Tracy Trevorrow, Ph.D., Hirata studied the effects of COVID on sleep quality. They learned that during the nascent stages of the pandemic, people tended to be more on their phones, which would disturb their sleep patterns and quality of sleep.

Iris Hirata stands in front of her presentation about COVID-19 and mental health.

“I was really big on healthcare at the time, which is what led me to do a research project on the impact of COVID on mental health,” says the biology major, who presented her findings during the 21st annual Na Liko Na’auao Symposium on April 14.

Pointing to a chart with spikes of blue and red lines, Hirata explains that the graph indicates the “bounce back” or the resiliency rate of the 200 students surveyed during her research.

“The epidemic has had a significant impact on university students’ mental health, including things like stress, anxiety, depression, and a lack of behavioral and emotional control,” Hirata concludes in her findings. “The findings support the literature that resilience is a key factor in influencing mental health and overall wellness.”

According to Amber Noguchi, Ph.D., Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs director, undergraduate and graduate research experience can look like a number of things. It can range from formal and clinical studies to data analysis, and creative works and beyond. On the occasion of this year’s Na Liko Na’auao Symposium, 25 student presenters covered a broad spectrum of issues and questions, from Hirata’s “How does COVID-19 Impact the Mental Health of Individuals?” to “Eat Healthy, Live Strong: Understanding Eating Behaviors of NHPI on Oahu” and “Sports Analytics: What Factors Determine a Winning Team?” and “Decolonizing Hawaii’s Diet.”

“All of these presentations stem from research projects that have been collaborations between the student researchers and their faculty mentors,” Noguchi explains. “This undergraduate conference celebrates student scholars from across all academic disciplines.”

In her research project with Dr. Guanlin Gao, “Eat Healthy, Live Strong: Understanding Eating Behaviors of NHPI on Oahu,” Autumn Fairall, ’23, examined the barriers to eating a healthy diet. “I started working with Dr. Gao as a research assistant in the Spring of 2022,” says Fairall, who will earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May. “Initially, the project we worked on focused on the landscape of economic and personal finance in Hawaii. However, after talking with Dr. Gao and discussing personal interests in wellness and past, informal research connected to diet, the research focus altered.”

Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington presents Dr. Rylan Chong and Kawailani Luat with their respective awards.

During the conclusion of the Symposium, President Dr. Lynn Babington, defined a scholar as “A person with a desire to pursue and learn new things; a person on a quest for knowledge and a dedication to learning.” By not focusing on one academic discipline, Na Liko Na’auao gives all student scholars an opportunity to present their work in a formal setting, and receive feedback from both faculty and other scholars within their field.

Every year, after all the student scholars have presented their work, the Symposium concludes with a presentation of two special awards. Given annually, The President Sue Wesselkamper Award acknowledges a student who has demonstrated extensive community and university service. In order to qualify for the prize, a student must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, show scholarship beyond classroom requirements by undertaking their own independent research or study, and must have presented their work both on and off campus.

Kawailani Luat is this year’s recipient of the President Sue Wesselkamper Award. A senior, majoring in Data Science, Analytics and Visualization and minoring in Forensic Science, Luat consistently excels in her coursework and has taken on leadership roles through her extracurricular and volunteer services.

“To be recognized with this award validates all the hard work I’ve done to get here,” Luat said. “I finish my senior year with this last achievement, so I am beyond ecstatic.”

“Kawailani is very active within our Chaminade community, including the Animal Advocacy Club, I am a Scientist, and has helped at every Preview and Admitted Students Day,” Babington says. “She also served as a student panelist for the Women in Data Science Hawaiʻi program and volunteers at Palama Settlement, a non-profit community-based social service agency working in the Kalihi and Palama neighborhoods.”

Honoring the close student-faculty relationships formed at Chaminade, the President Mackey Award is presented to an outstanding faculty mentor, nominated by a student participating at the conference. This year’s recipient is Dr. Rylan Chong, nominated by LaVelle White.

“He personally helps students step outside themselves to try things that were not thought possible,” wrote White in his nomination letter. “He encourages and pushes students to go for internships and research programs like SPICE. He stays after class to help students answer questions, and he has a way of speaking that demystifies the whole process, giving students the confidence to essentially go for the gold.”

Upstream Battle

April 6, 2023

Freshmen students help in Palolo Stream cleanup

Empty bottles and cans. Cartons and styrofoam containers. A neon pink plastic ball. These were just some of the debris littered along the banks of Palolo Stream. Huddled below a large banyan tree above the flotsam and jetsam, John Watase and Hideki Kimukai said they’ve seen worse—even in just the past couple of days.

Pointing to a group of Dr. Lupita Ruiz-Jones’s ENV 100 students as they climbed down a slope to reach the banks of the stream, Kimukai said, “they have no choice,” referring to students’ responsibility of being good stewards of the aina.

“They represent the future,” said Kimukai, an Education Specialist + Japanese Education Program Lead with Sustainable Coastlines. “They’re the ones inheriting this earth. They’ll be the ones to fight for climate change, and they’ll be the ones affecting and writing policies.”

Dr. Lupita Ruiz-Jones and her ENV100 students help with the cleanup efforts along Palolo Stream. — Dr. Lupita Ruiz-Jones and her ENV 100 students help with the cleanup efforts along Palolo Stream.

An environmental teacher with Saint Louis School, Watase is urgently sounding the alarm bells, not only about the stream but the state of the environment. “I don’t know what people are thinking when they’re tossing their trash,” said Watase, who graduated from Saint Louis in 2006. “I’ve seen so much waste that’s simply inexcusable.”

Before setting off along a wooden path that Watase helped build, Ruiz-Jones instructed her students to grab some gloves and trash pickers, warning them of the challenges they might encounter during the hour-long cleanup, including large pieces of debris and the foul stench.

“In this short amount of time, you can make a difference,” said Ruiz-Jones, encouraging her students to participate in other cleanups around the island. “It’s not easy work; it’s hard, but you’re contributing to the solution, and helping to prevent rubbish from making its journey to the ocean.”

A 10-year service member and veteran of the Army, LaVelle White ’26 quickly filled his bag with plastic bottles, aluminum cans and other rubbish even before he reached the banks. “I’ve volunteered on a couple of cleanups around the island,” said White, a freshman who is using the GI Bill to earn a Chaminade degree. “And I’ve also participated in cleanups in Oklahoma and San Antonio. It’s my way of contributing to the community, wherever that may be at the time.”

In her ENV 100 class, Ruiz-Jones introduces students to rudimentary environmental issues, providing them theory in the classroom and practicum outside the campus with such experiential opportunities as the Palolo Stream Cleanup, a Beach Cleanup in Waimanalo and internships with nonprofit organizations.

“At the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, for example, students are collecting data and using their findings to help restore the fishpond,” explained Ruiz-Jones, whose passion for the environment was sparked when she attended a Bioneers Conference in Northern California when she was in high school. “This is what service learning looks like. It connects student learning in the classroom with real-world experiences in the community.”

At Saint Louis, Watase teaches his students all about composting, from permaculture to vermicompost. It’s a matter that’s close to his heart since he runs his own farm in Waialua. The Palolo Stream is also spiritual for him, which is the reason he leads his students on regular cleanups along the banks.

“The ultimate goal is to restore the path and manage the debris in the stream,” Watase says. “We’re also trying to rid of the invasive fish to give ‘o‘opu (the Hawaiian word for fish in the goby family) a chance to thrive. The last fish cleanup we did in the stream, we caught 1,700 fish in a few hours. And of the 1,700, only four were ‘o‘opu and the rest were tilapia, small-mouth bass and lots of catfish—all invasive.”

As students scaled back to the top of the embankment, Kimukai commented that he wants to teach students “to re-learn what they’ve learned.” “I enjoy talking story with students of all ages, from K to K—keiki to kapuna,” he said. “We try to inspire the kids and be inspired by them. They can change the future, as long as they have the mindset.”

Show Time

April 6, 2023

Powerful Play Examines Race in the U.S.

Written and directed by Chaminade English Professor Dr. Allison Francis, “The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man” is a three-act play adaptation that evokes the music, imagery and energy at the turn of the 20th century in America.

Jason Lee Hoy plays the play’s lead character.

“James Weldon Johnson wrote the novella in 1912, and it was only about 120 pages,” says Francis, who is the first writer ever to adapt the novel into a screenplay. “The play will feature ragtime music, racial identity and depictions of lynching with the main character traveling across U.S. and Europe.”

The first fictional memoir ever written by a black person who was also the first black executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), “The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man” influenced a generation of writers during the Harlem Renaissance, and served as eloquent inspiration for Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison and Richard Wright. In the 1920s and since, it has continually compelled the reader to challenge assumptions about race. It has also given white readers a new perspective on their own culture, revealing the double standard of racial identity imposed on African Americans.

Narrated by a mulatto man whose light skin allows him to “pass” for white, the novella describes a pilgrimage through America’s color lines at the turn of the century—from a black college in Jacksonville, Florida to an elite New York City nightclub, from the rural South to the white suburbs of the Northeast.

This is a potent, painfully honest examination of race in America, a canticle to the anguish of forging an identity in a nation obsessed with color. And, as the late poet Arna Bontemps pointed out decades ago, “the problems of the artist [as presented here] seem as contemporary as if the book had been written this year.”

The three-day performances will run from April 21-23, with shows starting at 7:30 p.m. on April 21 and 22, and a matinee program at 2 p.m. on April 23. Seating is limited at the Vi and Paul Loo Theatre. Click here for tickets.

“It’s an ambitious undertaking to stage this play,” says Performing Arts assistant professor Christopher Patrinos in praise of Francis. “Allison deserves a lot of credit for writing and directing such a challenging theme.”