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Campus and Community

Making Dollars & Cents

August 4, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Demystifying Financial Literacy

Chaminade president Dr. Lynn Babington is flanked by, from left, Andrew Rosen, president and CEO of Hawaii State FCU, Greg Young, president and CEO of HawaiiUSA, Dr. Annette Santos, interim dean, School of Business and Communication, and Dr. Guanlin Gao, director of Chamiande’s Economic Education Center for Excellence and associate professor.
Chaminade president Dr. Lynn Babington is flanked by, from left, Andrew Rosen, president and CEO of Hawaii State FCU, Greg Young, president and CEO of HawaiiUSA, Dr. Annette Santos, interim dean, School of Business and Communication, and Dr. Guanlin Gao, director of Chamiande’s Economic Education Center for Excellence and associate professor.

For a couple of hours on a Tuesday morning, Hale Hoaloha’s R301 became a trading floor, with buyers and sellers brokering deals during a stock market simulation game. Waving a card in the air—like a trader would do on a Stock Exchange—Waipahu High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher Russell Park walked around the room, booming, “Who’s selling? I’m buying!” The exercise was all part of the Economics and Personal Finance Literacy Summer Institute, led by Dr. Guanlin Gao, Director of Chamiande’s Economic Education Center for Excellence and an Associate Professor of Economics with the School of Business and Communication.

“No takers,” said Park, after the first round. “What I’ve learned so far I wish I had known years ago. I have also realized the importance of sharing this information with kids—to prepare them for the real world.”

According to Gao, this summer institute offers students essential knowledge and skills on how to allocate limited resources they have in life, such as time and money, in the most efficient way to satisfy their wants and needs. It also prepares them to better understand and respond to the events that shape their economic environment and financial well-being.

“We’re all natural-born economists,” said Gao, while looking around the classroom. “You might not just realize it … for now.”

Initially intimidated by graphs and charts, DJ Woodard of Waianae High School, grew comfortable with the classes after the first day. On the trading floor, she used her savvy and some recently-learned buzz terms to clinch a deal and made a profit.   

Dr. Gao's Economics and Personal Finance Literacy Summer Institute curriculum included such topics as market operations and government interventions, environmental economics, personal finance education and financial wellness.
Dr. Gao’s Economics and Personal Finance Literacy Summer Institute curriculum included such topics as market operations and government interventions, environmental economics, personal finance education and financial wellness.

“This shows us how to give our students a financial foundation,” says Woodard, a transition coordinator. “It gives them exposure to financial literacy, such as budgeting and saving.”

According to Gao, this institute is taught in a combination of lectures (with an emphasis on real-life examples and situations), in-class games and group activities, hands-on projects and field classes. The curriculum includes the economics and personal finance concepts based on the Hawaii Department of Education (HDOE) Social Studies Common Core standards, including such topics as market operations and government interventions, environmental economics, personal finance education and financial wellness. 

“I wish this was available when I was young,” Woodard lamented. “I would have had a better financial foundation. But I guess at 60 years old, it’s never too late.”

Through the training, participating teachers received access to teaching resources, including ready-to-adopt lesson plans—which Woodard said she plans to use—and one-on-one assistance in adopting and adapting lesson plans for specific grade levels.

A 10th grade health teacher at Farrington High School, Jan Halpenny was part of the first cohort from last year’s institute. So, too, was Kalelani Ogata, a special needs teacher at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School.

“Students are so ill-prepared financially,” said Halpenny, who attended this year’s luncheon finale. “They don’t even understand the most basic of finances, such as supply and demand.”

Hale Hoaloha’s R301 became a trading floor, with buyers and sellers brokering deals during a stock market simulation game.
Hale Hoaloha’s R301 became a trading floor, with buyers and sellers brokering deals during a stock market simulation game.

For her part, Ogata set up a class store, where the only accepted currency is good behavior. “These are special need 3- to 5-year-old kids,” she said. “They learn to count, and they quickly learn that needs and wants aren’t the same thing. The kids go home excited to talk about what they learned.”

The Nation’s Report Card on Financial Literary gave Hawaii a D grade, but cited some significant accomplishments, including the establishment and maintenance of a financial literacy website by the HDOE. Available is the HDOE Standards with Opportunities to Integrate Financial Literacy Concepts with financial literacy concepts matched to multiple English Language Arts, Mathematics, CTE, Social Studies and Science standards for K-12. The website also provides robust financial literacy resources and programs for teachers to help implement financial literacy instruction in their classrooms. In 2021, Hawaii’s legislature passed a resolution “urging the Department of Education to coordinate with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs to implement a graduation requirement of at least a half credit in financial literacy during the junior or senior year.”

However, according to the report, although Hawaii has made efforts toward increasing its financial literacy instruction, mainly through establishing the Hawaii Public Schools Financial Literacy Task Force, it still receives a “D,” as it does not provide any substantial financial literacy instruction.

“We know we have work to do when it comes to financial literacy in Hawaii, but we are proud to be making a difference and serving as a hub for economics education,” Gao said. “Financial literacy doesn’t have to be hard and unreachable. In fact, financial literacy should be accessible to everyone.”

Filed Under: Business & Communication, Campus and Community, Homepage Large, Institutional Tagged With: Campus Event, Grants, Guest Speakers

Student-Athletes Score Awards

August 4, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

54 Silverswords honored with Academic Achievement Award

Nine seniors played their final game with the Silverswords Women's Soccer team.
Nine seniors played their final game with the Women’s Soccer team.

Now in its 16th year, the Division 2 Athletic Directors Association (D2 ADA) Academic Achievement Award is a program that recognizes the scholastic accomplishments of student-athletes at the Division II level. This year, a record 54 Silversword student-athletes were honored with the award, eclipsing last year’s number of 52.

“Intercollegiate athletics is an important component of the student experience at Chaminade,” says President Dr. Lynn Babington. “As a Marianist, Catholic institution, we value the development of the whole person, and athletics creates the opportunity for our students to not only excel in sports, but to learn teamwork and leadership and provide school spirit to the campus.”

To be honored with the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award, the school’s athletic director must be a current dues-paying member of the D2 ADA. Also, a student-athlete must have a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, have attended a minimum two years (four semesters) of college level work ,and have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during his/her academic year.

Eleven Silverswords posted 4.00 grade-point averages during their time at Chaminade with two senior student-athletes—Peyton Oshiro (men’s cross country) and Hoku Schatz (women’s soccer)—wrapping up their playing careers with perfect GPAs.

In all, a record-breaking 19,646 student-athletes from across 196 NCAA Division II institutions were recognized with the award.

Isaac Amaral-Artharee ranks 11th in the all-time scoring list with 1,326 points ... second in 3-pointers made (192) ... fourth in free throw percentage (83.5; 198-of-237) ... seventh in starts (69) ... sixth in minutes played (2,842).
Isaac Amaral-Artharee ranks 11th in the all-time scoring list with 1,326 points.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our student-athletes, who earned the prestigious honor of being a D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award winner,” said Chaminade Athletic Director Tom Buning. “Having a school record number of awardees is a testament to our Silverswords dedication to excellence in the classroom and competition. This accomplishment is even more noteworthy when considering that travel for the PacWest Conference competition requires extended absences from class.”

Of the more than 1,100 NCAA member universities and colleges, about 300 classify their athletics programs in Division II.
 
Division II is all about balance. Students participate in highly competitive athletics, have the best access ratio to NCAA championships of any division and can earn athletics scholarships, but their college experience includes so much more than sports participation. The balanced approach in athletics, academics and community engagement allows Division II student-athletes to focus on their academic pursuits, internships, studies abroad and all that interests them.
 
Among the most distinguishing features in Division II is its athletics scholarship model, which awards partial scholarships that students combine with academic or need-based grants to construct their financial aid package. Division II believes it is important to acknowledge and financially reward students’ athletics abilities. This partial scholarship model keeps athletics budgets more closely proportioned with the total institutional budget.

The following Silversword student-athletes were recipients of the D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award (listed by sport):

Men’s Basketball
Isaac Amaral-Artharee
Scott Ator
Dorian Harris
Kameron Ng
Braden Olsen
Patrick Renane
Kobe Young
 
Women’s basketball
Olivia Crigler
Mia Ming
Emma Morris
 
Men’s Cross Country
Elijah Bernardo-Flores
Peyton Oshiro
Peter Jan Ramos
Josiah Rodrigues
 
Women’s Cross Country
Leila-Jayne Casison
Montserrat Lanfranco
Eri Leong
Ashley Yoshikawa
 
Men’s Golf
Kal O’Brien
Schuyler Peterson
 
Men’s Soccer
Kekoa Kuloloia
Kaulana Navares
Daniel Villalva
Brandon Yasue
 
Women’s Soccer
Lece Aviles
Gracie Bowers
Ruby Burroughs
Caili Cain
Gracie Knowd
Jenna McLean
Kira Nishiki
Dayna Nishimura
Hoku Schatz
Clara Slate-Liu
Kyla Takazono
Nicole Vontsolos
 
Women’s Softball
Kobe Brown
Taryn Fujioka
Kailah Gates-Coyaso
Taylor Genera
Haley Hayakawa
Bailey Jacobsen
Kieren Lopez
Chasity McKean
Cheyne Obara
Keolani Takemura
 
Women’s Tennis
Sydney Danielson
Emily Ramirez Miranda
 
Women’s Volleyball
Alexia Byrnes
Sasha Colombo
Greta Corti
Brooklen Pe’a
Kaybrie Pe’a
Sophie Schilling
 

Filed Under: Athletics, Campus and Community, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured Story Tagged With: Athletics, Honors and Awards, Men's Basketball, Women's Volleyball

NOAA B-WET Grant

July 25, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Managing Hawaii’s Watersheds

The first field site to Paiko Lagoon provided a chicken-skin moment when a longtime resident of the area, Kai Hoshijo, a volunteer crew member with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, reminisced about the stories of her youthful days spent at the Wildlife Sanctuary in East Oahu, evoking a navigator mindset of observance and respect for the ‘aina (land).

“Kai grew up in Niu Valley and was telling a story in context of the sanctuary’s meaningful location,” recalls Katrina Roseler, Ph.D., shuddering while she remembered that exact moment. “It was the perfect start to our two-week workshop, demonstrating the reverence of place.”

Thanks to a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Roseler and Environmental Sciences assistant professor, Lupita Ruiz-Jones, Ph.D., were able “to enhance the capacity of Hawaii’s secondary science teachers to engage their students in ahupua’a education and cultivate stewardship.” Ahupua’a is a Hawaiian term for a large traditional socioeconomic, geologic and climatic subdivision of land, which consists most frequently of a slice of an island that went from the top of the local mountain (volcano) to the shore, often following the boundary of a stream drainage.

Cultural Engagement Specialist, Kahoalii Keahi-Wood points out limu near the shoreline of Diamond Head.
Cultural Engagement Specialist, Kahoalii Keahi-Wood points out limu near the shoreline of Diamond Head.

The summer workshops align with NOAA’s Bay Watershed Education (B-WET) initiative, an environmental education program that promotes place-based experiential learning for K–12 students and related professional development for teachers.

“We had our own play on acronyms with B-WET,” says Roseler, the grant’s Co-Principal Investigator. “We appropriately named our program M2M:WET, which stands for Mauka to Makai: Watershed Experience for Teachers.”

Much like B-WET, M2M:WET aims to foster the growth of new, innovative programs, and encourages capacity-building and environmental education partnerships.

During the field experience, teachers explored two primary questions: 1) How do we determine the health of our watersheds (ahupua‘a); and 2) How can educators engage students in thinking critically about the flow of water and cultivate a sense of stewardship for Hawaii’s watersheds?”

“My observation of the participating teachers was that they were super excited and nerdy in a positive science way,” says Ruiz-Jones, the grant’s other Co-Principal Investigator. “They were like kids on field trips, and eager to use some of the equipment we provided, like the GoPro, water test kits and water loggers, which is an instrument that automatically and continuously records fluctuations in water level.”

Participants visited Lyon Arboretum for one of their many workshops.
Participants visited Lyon Arboretum for one of their many field trips.

The outcome of the workshops helped inform teachers how to bring their field experiences into the classroom and their curriculum. They gained skills in environmental data collection, lab protocols, data analyses and data visualization. Water samples were gathered at the various sites and analyzed for nitrogen compounds, sulfate, phosphate and silica, using an automated spectrophotometry, as well as SEAL AQ400 chemistry and equipment. And they also collected water temperature data with the HOBO Tidbit temperature logger and learned how to use readily available water test kits.

Among the 16 K-12 teachers, Christina Chan of Highlands Intermediate School says she decided to participate in the program because she focuses on watersheds, which is one of her primary foci for her CTE (Career and Technical Education) class next year.

Chan adds that she learned about the use of five different field sites for studying the watershed; how to use a HOBO, GoPro and other devices for sampling water in the watershed; different pedagogy and Understanding by Design models; and making connections with other teachers and ideas on how to share watershed information.

Hanalani Schools’ Jessica Mountz opted in because she wanted to connect with other science teachers on Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, reasoning that in her 20 years of teaching, she found that collaboration with other teachers has been the most valuable tool in her professional growth.

Participants learned how to collect data during the M2M:Mauka to Makai workshops.
Participants learned how to collect data during the workshops.

“At the end of each day, I went home with so many lesson ideas my head was sometimes spinning,” says the high school science teacher. “From Wayfinding/ Navigation to Ahupuaʻa of Hawai’i, I plan on developing curriculum for my Biology and Advanced Placement Biology students that not only meets Science Standards (Next Generation Science Standards and College Board), but incorporates Hawaiian culture and empathy.  I look forward to continuing conversations and collaboration, not only with the other science teachers from the M2M:WET workshop, but with the faculty/staff at Chaminade University, Huli, and Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center.”

Since its inception in 2002, 929 B-WET grants have been awarded for a total of $117 million.  The B-WET program currently serves seven regions of the country: California, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England and the Pacific Northwest. Regional B-WET programs provide tailored grantee support and capacity building. This allows B-WET to include place-based STEM resources and expertise, and respond to local education and environmental priorities.

“The goal is to provide support for our K-12 science teachers so they can teach their students to become the future stewards of the land,” says Ruiz-Jones, with Roseler adding that they “hope to engage the students to appreciate the mauka to makai value of their ahupua‘a.”

Filed Under: Campus and Community, CIFAL Honolulu, Education, Homepage Large, Institutional, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: CIFAL Center, Elementary Education, Environmental Studies, Grants

Campus Romance Endures

July 21, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez enjoy life together after Chaminade

Her mom, Erinn Palmer ’81, graduated from Chaminade University. So, too, did her dad, Ron Palmer ’81. So a visit to the Kalaepohaku campus in 2010 easily convinced Emily Palmer ’17 that Chaminade University was the right fit. Meanwhile, Jason Perez’s ’18 reason to become a Silversword was so he could join his sister, Christela Perez ’19, on her journey to Hawaii.

“We met through my sister,” says Perez of his initial encounter with Palmer. “They were already close friends and because I’m close with my sister, I was always hanging around them.”

The young couple would eventually begin dating, and seeing each other every day. They would frequent the Sullivan Family Library’s lanai to study, preferring it over other outdoor areas because of its serenity and proximity to research literature.

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez constantly walked along Waialae Avenue.

Yet, what makes Palmer’s and Perez’s students-to-husband-and-spouse fairytale story is its rarity. Pew Research Center data reveals that when it comes to marriage after graduation, 28 percent of married graduates attended the same university as their spouse. But that percentage precipitously plummets to two percent when it comes to marriages between college sweethearts, according to researchers with CreditDonkey, a personal finance website.

This statistic highlights the fact that, while many college students may find themselves in romances, the chances of those relationships lasting into marriage are slim. It also serves as a reminder that college affairs can often be fleeting, and that it is important to be mindful of the potential for heartbreak.

However, because Chaminade has a nurturing environment and is rooted in community—which is the resounding sentiment echoed across the campus—students can be reassured that they will receive the necessary support. It’s not uncommon for this phrase—the prided, capital-c Community—to be interchanged with an even stronger word: ’Ohana.

Aside from the broader, communal ‘ohana that Chaminade fosters, it also often provides the backdrop to the infinite beginnings of new families, flesh and blood. Families like that of Palmer and Perez, and their 3-year-old son, Raiden.

“Maybe he’ll be the next generation to attend Chaminade,” jokes Palmer, who received her BS in Biochemistry, and is presently pursuing a pharmacology degree from Touro University California. “It was such a good choice for me to move away from California to attend university in Hawaii.”

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez are parents to 3-year-old Raiden.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communications Mass Media, Perez’s greatest takeaway while at Chaminade was the university’s diverse student population and its ability to bring people together.

“I still communicate with a lot of my classmates,” said Perez, who, along with Palmer, attended a Chaminade alumna event at Pitch Sports Bar at SALT at Our Kakaako earlier this year. “I really liked the different clubs, which were welcoming and inclusive.”

When Palmer’s education began at Chaminade, she was a shy, reserved teenager, and barely spoke out. But the four years she spent on campus transformed her from a meek 18-year-old teen to a confident young woman.

“I can speak out for myself now,” Palmer asserts. “I have my own voice and independence; I am a woman hear me roar!”

During her sophomore year, Palmer became an Admissions Department Telecounselor, entering prospective students’ data into the university computer system, maintaining contact with them to update their student status, and conducting campus tours of the university for incoming students and their families.

“Choosing Chaminade allowed me to be out on my own,” Palmer says. “It was a safe place where faculty, staff and peers would come to my aid if I ever needed it. It felt truly like ‘ohana.”

Perez says he became more worldly, especially as a staff writer with the Chaminade Silversword student newspaper, where he covered hot-button, controversial issues like the U.S. presidency, immigration and reform. “I liked the fact that the students all came from different walks of life and many from interracial families,” adds Perez, who is now the lead brewer for Heretic Brewing Company in Fairfield, Calif. “It felt so comfortable; it felt like being at home.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Business & Communication, Campus and Community, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Alumni

People, Planet and Prosperity

June 21, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Three-day conference sharply focused on issues of sustainability

We can no longer use the NIMBY (not in my backyard) argument when it comes to advancing future projects. We’ve arrived at a hinge moment when solving our biggest problems—from environmental to social—means we need to start saying YIMBY, yes to some things: from solar panels and wind turbines to battery production and lithium extraction to universal basic income and food security. These are challenges for sure, but left unaddressed, the consequences could spell disaster, as discussed during a three-day conference sponsored by Chaminade University’s CIFAL Center of Honolulu.

On the final day of the People, Planet and Prosperity for a Sustainable Future symposium, Dr. Gail Grabowsky addressed the United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s  (UNITAR) Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its corresponding 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which cover a vast range of subjects that impact all of us.

“I’ve been steeped in environmental studies for more than 25 years,” said Grabowsky, Chaminade’s Dean of the School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics and Executive Director of CIFAL Honolulu during her keynote address to attendees. “And a year and a half into establishing CIFAL Honolulu, we’ve brought sustainability into people’s consciousness. And we’ve sponsored more than 50 events.”

The CIFAL Global Network is composed of 32 International Training Centers for Authorities and Leaders, all coordinated by UNITAR’s Social Development Program. The strategic locations of the 32 centers, which can be found across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean, ensure a global outreach. Each CIFAL—a French acronym for Centre International de Formation des Autorités/Acteurs Locaux (International Training Centers for Local Authorities and Local Actors)—outpost provides innovative training and serves as a hub for the exchange of knowledge among government officials, the private sector and civil society. 

Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington with Hawaii Gov. Joshua Greene during the People, Planet and Prosperity Conference.
Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green during the People, Planet and Prosperity Conference.

In his keynote address, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green pledged to generate billions of dollars from philanthropy and outside investment to make Hawaii the first state to become fully reliant on clean energy. It’s a familiar stance that Green has taken since he introduced a slew of major climate policy initiatives earlier this year, including a recommitment to the U.S. Climate Alliance and the establishment of a Climate Advisory Panel.

“We have so many people in this room, find a project that will help Hawaii, help us with health care, help us with the environment,” Green told attendees. “I will bring in investors from across the globe because they are interested in Hawaii, but we will still need to do the job.  Be ready. It should be a dynamic few years.”

The presentations indeed reflected this dynamicism, featuring such diverse topics as “Teaching the Importance of the Ocean to Fight Climate Change,” “The First Statewide Initiative to Connect All Public Universities to Advance PK-12 Climate Literacy, Justice and Action,” “Innovation and Sustainability: The Negative Impact of the Protectionist Leadership Style” and “Food Insecurity.”

“Being part of the UN, we bring awareness to sustainable issues, and train people to get involved and to act on sustainability,” Grabowsky said. “We support economic sustainability in the context of still maintaining an aesthetic environment.”

As the only CIFAL Center in the Pacific, the Chaminade campus is part of a region that includes China, Korea, the Philippines and Australia. The CIFAL Network focuses on topics within four thematic axes: Urban Governance and Planning, Economic Development, Social Inclusion and Environmental Sustainability. Each center is locally managed by a host institution, with UNITAR providing academic content, technical support and quality assurance measures for their training activities. This allows each CIFAL to prioritize action in specific thematic axes, depending on local needs and priorities.

“The basic lesson of the Sustainable Development Goals is that human hopes, human aspirations, human fears are all interconnected,” said United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and executive director for UNITAR, Nikhil Seth, during last November’s “XIX Steering Committee Meeting of The CIFAL Global Network at Chaminade.  “You can’t separate them and follow them in discreet ways. The SDGs are like an umbrella of issues and almost everything you can possibly think of are probably covered in the 17 SDGs.”

And that includes Grabowsky’s pet project, “Pono Popoki Project: Malama Management of Free-Roaming Felines.” “Cats can be good for people’s mental health, which is Goal 3 of the SDGs,” said Grabowsky, pointing to a colorful chart that depicts all the SDGs. “And it also teaches our students biology and wildlife conservation.”

Filed Under: Campus and Community, CIFAL Honolulu, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured Story, Homepage Large, Innovation, Institutional Tagged With: Campus Event, CIFAL, Guest Speakers

Dreams Come True

June 13, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Faith Chang ’23 fulfills her lifetime dream

When she walks across the stage during the 65th Commencement, Faith Chang will have achieved one of her lifelong dreams: to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. For the newly minted alumna, the four-year Chaminade experience has only strengthened and bolstered her beliefs in community service and religious faith.

“I’ve always believed in helping the community ever since I was a kid,” says Chang, the 2023 recipient of the Hogan Entrepreneurial Leadership Program’s Aloha Spirit Award. “During my freshman year, I participated in a Service Learning opportunity at Kaimuki High School, where I helped high-school students with any of their class projects.”

Having the opportunity to intern while still studying affords college students a chance to build a professional network with industry leaders, and to hone their skills before entering the workforce. Internships also allow the intern to figure out one’s true passion.

For Chang, this meant following a path to seek a position with a nonprofit group, which could utilize what she learned at Chaminade and what she experienced as an intern with Make-A-Wish Hawai‘i.

Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington, left, and Christine and Glenn Hogan congratulate Faith Chang for her 2023 Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s Aloha Spirt Award.
Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington, left, and Christine and Glenn Hogan congratulate Faith Chang for her 2023 Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s Aloha Spirt Award.

“Faith was also an intern with Chaminade University’s Economics Education Center for Excellence (EECE) from 2021-2022,” says EECE director and associate professor, Dr. Guanlin Gao. “During her time there, she identified and adapted over 50 lesson plans in economics, personal finance and Hawaiian history for K-12 teachers. In addition, she presented her lesson plans and shared the resource pool she built with over 30 local public school teachers at the EECE 2022 Summer Workshop, which benefited the teachers and ultimately the next generation.”

During her stint with Make-A-Wish Hawai‘i, Chang interned with the Finance and Operations department, where her financial responsibilities included processing donations and payments, paying vendors, ensuring the monthly financial statements are accurate, and preparing for the annual budget, financial audit and Form 990.

“We rely a lot on our interns,” says Shari Young, Make-A-Wish Hawai‘i’s Director of Finance, who supervised Chang during her internship. “Faith had all the qualifications that we require of our interns, including being an active community member, a willingness to grow and learn, and she possessed the heart for our mission.”

A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates that the starting salary for college graduates who completed an internship and were employed in a private, for-profit company was $53,521, while those who didn’t complete an internship started with an average of only $38,572. The same study found that 72.2 percent of college graduates with internship experience got a job offer, in contrast to 36.5 percent for those who didn’t complete one. These numbers indicate that pursuing an internship during your college years can add a competitive edge on the side students, increasing their opportunity to get a well-paying job after graduation.

The same held true across industry sectors—nonprofit ($41,876 vs. $31,443), state/local government ($42,693 vs. $32,969), and federal government sectors ($48,750 vs. $42,501).

“I sought the internship to enhance my resume, and gain a better understanding of nonprofit finance operations and expenses,” says Chang who won this year’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s Aloha Spirit Award, which is given to a student who best embodies the spirit of the program. “Another takeaway from this internship was the reward of working with a nonprofit organization, like Make-A-Wish Hawai‘i, which is dedicated to the community, granting wishes and providing little girls and boys a lifetime of joy during a trying stage in their lives.

“I remember this one girl’s wish was to have a playground built in her backyard,” Chang recounts. “And when it was time for the reveal, her reaction and joy made me cry. And I immediately sent the video to my parents. It was just so heartwarming.”

With her expanded skill set, Gao predicts that Chang will continue her journey of making a real-world difference. “She is involved in so many community projects, including Chaminade’s Compassionate Cat Counting project, ‘Inana sustainability program, Earth Day thrift sale, as well as her church service at the Inspire Church conference,” Gao adds. “She has raised funds to sponsor children in Guatemala, as her passion is to make a real-world difference and give back to the community.”

Filed Under: Business & Communication, Campus and Community, Catholic, Hogan Entrepreneurial Program, Homepage Large, Institutional Tagged With: Business Administration, Hogan Entrepreneurs Program, Honors and Awards

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