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Crime Scene Investigation Camp

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Over the summer, Chaminade Forensic Sciences Professor David Carter and colleague Carlos Gutierrez led a group of high schoolers in a not-so-typical hands-on activity. After some intensive instruction, the teens spent hours poring over a mock crime scene to find “human remains.”

While the crime scene and remains weren’t real, the learning absolutely was.

And Carter believes the experience is also an innovative recruitment tool, helping students envision themselves in a forensic science career. “It’s neat for these students,” Carter said, “the hands-on activity, the experience with teamwork and documenting observations.”

The innovative exercise was part of the Maui Police Department’s 2019 CSI Camp, a unique week-long program of events aimed at giving high schoolers a taste for the work that criminal investigators do every day, from crime scene photography to blood stain pattern analysis.  

Chaminade’s Forensic Sciences department has been participating in the camp for four years alongside representatives from the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Maui Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division, and Maui’s Medical Examiner.

Tony Earles, an MPD crime scene investigator and evidence specialist, runs the program annually. He said students have come from across Hawaii and even the mainland to attend.

This year’s camp had 12 students selected after a competitive application process. Students submitted essays explaining their interest in the program and were required to submit letters of recommendation. And before the week even begins, the students go through training online.

“With the effect of CSI television shows, there’s a lot of interest in crime scene investigation careers,” Earles said, in an interview. “Of course, you can’t have kids in an actual crime scene.”

The CSI Camp is the next best thing.

“We try to cover everything – from what happens when the call is dispatched to 911, the investigation by the detective, beginning to end,” Earles said. “By the end of the week, the thing they always say is they would like to make it longer. They always say, ‘I learned so much.’”

Hands-on activities, like the one that Carter and Gutierrez lead, are particularly popular.

Maui Police Chief Tivoli Faaumu called this year’s CSI Camp, which ran from June 17 to 21, a “tremendous success” and said Chaminade’s presentation and hands-on activity triggered lots of questions and interest from students. “It is through collaborative efforts such as this Camp that we continue to inspire our youth to dedicate themselves to careers which support our community,” he said, in a letter to Chaminade Provost Dr. Lance Askildson.

Carter said he uses the camp to clue students in on what they need to do to pursue a career in forensic sciences. He also helps them understand the related offerings at Chaminade. But he’s quick to note that the University’s participation in the camp isn’t merely a recruitment tool.

It’s an opportunity to give back. “The camp is a really important community service,” he said. “It’s not at a high school or college campus, but a forensic science facility. And students participate in actual investigative work and experience being a scientist in the field.”

A Sustainable Campus

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When Sister Malia Wong isn’t teaching, you’re likely to find her around campus gathering, protecting and identifying native plants.

The humanities professor has made it her mission to help heal those around her using traditional Hawaiian plants and medicine. From a friend battling cancer to a colleague suffering from a skin rash, Wong has a cure.

“My teacher, Kumu Levon Ohai from Kaua‘i, kahuna la‘au lapa‘au, taught me an important lesson,” says Wong. “The creator provides us with everything we need.”

“Chaminade is a district of Kalaepohaku in the Kapalama ahupua‘a,” she continues. “On campus, everything that we need can be found right here. That’s what makes our campus so sustainable.”

But it’s not just about picking and using plants, it’s about having a relationship with them.

“If you don’t include prayer, attention and respect, then you’re just playing with plants,” says Wong as she rummages through a bag of tinctures and ointments. “It’s about having the interrelationship with the plants that makes it so special. Our plants speak to us, and share their stories with us.”

She pulls out a mason jar full of naupaka leaves that she collected from upper campus soaking in coconut oil. “This is a great natural sunscreen. You can take the plant and rub it on yourself to protect your skin from the sun.”

Wong is constantly sharing her knowledge and gift with the rest of campus and those around her—from stocking the Center for Teaching and Learning with homemade loose-leaf teas for her colleagues, to hosting a mini weekend-long summer institute workshop for the public, to teaching classes and collaborating with other professors on curricula. Her office is full of plant tags and stakes that she plans to use to label plants around campus. She’s even created an online database and a campus map identifying all of the native plants, including those of other traditions, that have medicinal uses.

Last year, in her environmental ethics class, her students got really involved in protecting the native foliage in the oval at the entrance to campus. Professors from other departments have also expressed interest in partnering, including an English professor who wanted to share Hawaiian lore about plants with students. Even participants in this year’s Montessori summer institute became involved, with groups of visiting teachers searching for and learning to identify native plants around campus.

“We all have this interconnectedness with everything,” says Wong. “And we have the wisdom of our elders within us. Why not just remember we are all a part of this earth? If we balance ourselves with nature, then we’ll be okay.”

Chaminade Kicks Off Undergraduate Summer Research Institute

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2019 summer undergraduate research institute

May 20 marked the start of Chaminade University’s very first Undergraduate Summer Research Institute with a kickoff event on campus.

The Undergraduate Summer Research Institute encourages a culture of undergraduate research at Chaminade and provides students with summer research opportunities. The kickoff event was the first time that all 10 undergraduate researchers and their faculty mentors gathered to socialize, review expectations for the summer and discuss the types of support the researchers will receive.

“We have seen the substantial growth in students who participate in summer research opportunities,” says Dr. Darren Iwamoto, director of the Undergraduate Summer Research Institute. “Students develop confidence, enthusiasm and a fearless approach toward research and we’re excited to bring a similar program to Chaminade.”

Throughout the 11-week program, student researchers will meet for weekly workshops led by the faculty mentors and guests. Workshops are designed to build the students’ skill sets and prepare them for post-undergraduate life. They cover a range of topics, including research design methods, effective personal statements and the application process for graduate schools and competitive internships.

Students participating in the summer institute are covering a wide range of disciplines including English, Philosophy, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Business, Religion, Behavioral Sciences, Environmental + Interior Design and Psychology.

Chaminade students applied for the program in March and were then matched with a faculty mentor based on their research interests. Students will collaborate with their faculty mentors to create individual research projects and will present their work at a poster session in August.

English Professor Receives Outstanding Mentor Award

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“No research topic is too unachievable.”

That’s one of the greatest lessons recent graduate Nicole Sagapolutele learned from professor Wyble, her mentor. “You can do research on anything you want…even though it’s something that not everyone knows. You shouldn’t be afraid to do a research topic that interests you just because you’re not sure how it will be received.”

Nicole Sagapoluetele, Justin Wyble (President Mackey Prize winner) and Dr. Lynn Babington
Nicole Sagapolutele, Justin Wyble and Dr. Lynn Babington

Sagapolutele recently nominated Wyble for the 2019 President Mackey Prize, otherwise known as the Outstanding Mentor Award. The annual award recognizes a Chaminade professor who has provided students with research experiences that go above and beyond the classroom experience. Wyble was named this year’s recipient at Na Liko Naʻauao, the university’s undergraduate research conference on April 26.

“My philosophy of teaching is a student-centered one and I definitely carry that over into any sort of mentoring that I do, so I think it only makes sense that Nicole is in the spotlight,” Wyble said. “I think it’s as much her award as it is mine.”

In her nomination letter, the Sagapolutele highlighted the various ways that Wyble went above and beyond in helping her with her research project, titled “The Importance of Hawaiian Representation in American History Textbooks According to Avatar: The Last Airbender,” which explored the connection between how Native Hawaiian history is often inaccurately depicted in American history textbooks and how a genocide is depicted in the fictional children’s show, “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”

She shared how Wyble used his knowledge of Pacific Island literature to offer feedback and revise her research paper, introduced her to secondary sources he had used for his own research, helped her apply and prepare for conference presentations and encouraged her to pursue graduate school. But what really stuck with Sagapolutele about Wyble’s mentorship style was the creative freedom he gave her to explore topics that interested her.

Prior to mentoring Sagapolutele, Wyble had never seen “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” but did his research when she voiced that it was a topic she was interested in.

“That’s what a student-centered classroom means to me. I always try to start with where the students are, what their interests are,” Wyble said. “I’m constantly searching for those stories that I think they might enjoy reading and then trying to push their thought a little bit higher. I definitely start with them and see where I can take them.”

Throughout the mentorship, which officially lasted from fall 2018 to spring 2019, Wyble helped Sagapolutele prepare to present her research at two undergraduate conferences: Na Liko at Chaminade and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

But the research partnership is not over yet. With the support of Wyble, Sagapolutele will be presenting her project at the Science Fiction Research Association Annual Conference 2019, which Chaminade is hosting in June. Unlike her experiences at Na Liko and NCUR, she’ll be presenting alongside professional scholars even before she has begun graduate school—though, she will start soon.

A week before graduation, Sagapolutele received the news that she was accepted into Chaminade’s Master of Arts in Teaching program where she plans to study secondary education starting in the fall and eventually become a high school teacher. However, her time at Chaminade and the mentorship she received from Wyble has also opened her up to the idea of getting her doctorate and teaching at the university level.

“I’m very honored to receive [the President Mackey Prize],” Wyble said. “It’s nice. It feels good. I really like that this award is focused on the teacher-student relationship and it really foregrounds the importance of mentoring, of that close teacher-student relationship we have at Chaminade.”

Pre-Term Birth Research takes Professor and Students to Paris

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Nainoa Ing '21, associate professor Dr. Claire Wright, Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis '12 and Justin Padron
Nainoa Ing ’21, associate professor Dr. Claire Wright, Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis ’12 and Justin Padron

In March, sophomore Nainoa Norman Ing presented the research he’s been doing at Chaminade on the placental membranes at an international conference in Paris, France.

He was the only undergraduate to do so.

Norman Ing, a biochemistry major, made the trip to the annual Society for Reproductive Investigation conference with two other team members at Chaminade’s Placental MembranesIntegrity Lab along with the professor who leads it: Dr. Claire Wright.

The laboratory is focused on figuring out how placental membranes works in regular pregnancies, and what goes wrong when it fails—leading to premature births.

In a recent interview, Norman Ing joked that he learned more during the week-long Paris conference than during a semester of courses.

Listening to experts in the field discuss their research is “a little eye-opening,” he said.

“You can hear in the way that they talk that they’ve thought about the subject a lot,” Norman Ing said, during a recent interview at the lab. “There’s a huge amount of time behind what they say. So even if they just ask a simple question, it has deeper meaning.”

The trip also reinvigorated the lab’s team members as they tackle big research questions.

Last year, Wright received a three-year, $438,000 National Institutes of Health grant aimed at funding scientific projects to better understand how placental membranes works in the body.

The placental membranes surrounds the fetus during pregnancy. And in normal pregnancies, it naturally fails after nine months, and a woman’s “water breaks.”

Wright, an associate professor of biology at Chaminade, said problems with placental membranes are among the biggest causes of pre-term births. Studying how the tissue operates normally is a vital first step in understanding what happens when things go wrong.

The research is especially significant in the islands.

Hawaii has among the nation’s highest rates of preterm births, and the rate is even higher among populations with greater health disparities, including Asians and Pacific Islanders.

And the impacts of prematurity can last a lifetime. Preterm babies, or those born earlier than 37 weeks, can face physical and cognitive issues into adulthood.

“So when you’re thinking about this as a health disparity and a social injustice, that’s a really important thing,” Wright said, speaking in her lab on a recent day. “It’s impacting people all the way into their adult life and impacting their quality of life.”

Justin Padron, a graduate student at the University of Hawaii, also works at the lab and presented his research at the Paris conference.

And the newest addition to the team—Dr. Chelsea Saito Reis—also traveled to France. She came on in January as a post-doctoral researcher, and saw the Paris conference as a chance to better understand the cutting-edge projects underway in the field of reproductive studies. Reis completed her undergraduate degree at Chaminade in 2012, before going on to get her doctoral degree at the University of New Mexico.

She said research into placental membranes is of emerging interest, but is still nascent. “For something that’s such a normal process, there is still a lot that is unknown.”

Saito Reis and Norman Ing are the first to admit that the Paris trip wasn’t all work, though. The two said they got their fill of French cuisine and took in as many of the sights that they could.

Saito Reis called it an “adventure.” And by the way, she added, the Mona Lisa is actually quite small in person.

While the group was there, they also saw the Yellow Vest demonstrations—which closed thoroughfares in the heart of the city—and described them as something out of a movie.

It was the architecture of Paris, though, that really spoke to Norman Ing.

“Paris is a city of inspiration,” Norman Ing said. “Staying in such a place has reminded me that life is so much more than the mundane routine. Goals exist which one should strive for.”

Chaminade Celebrates 2019 Graduates at Commencement

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The evening of May 13 was a time of celebration for Chaminade University of Honolulu’s class of 2019 as family, friends, faculty and staff gathered at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena for Chaminade’s 61st Commencement ceremony.

Following the Oli chant, a traditional Hawaiian welcome and blessing, delivered by Chaminade class of 2014 graduate Kaipo Leopoldino, university president Dr. Lynn Babington welcomed graduates and guests to celebrate the work of faculty, new beginnings and to reflect on changes in the university since its founding in 1955.

In her welcome, Dr. Babington highlighted one of the five Characteristics of a Marianist education that Chaminade, the only Catholic university in the state of Hawaii, emphasizes: educate for adaptation and change. These values and Chaminade’s commitment to service proved to be a consistent theme throughout the evening’s exercises leading up to the graduation of nearly 500 students from 25 undergraduate and six graduate degree programs.

Among the honored guests in attendance were Governor David Ige and his wife Dawn Amano-Ige, who gave the Commencement address.

“You made it,” Amano-Ige said as she began her speech. “You own it. This is your moment. Tonight is your night as we honor you and your achievements.”

Amano-Ige became the first lady of Hawaii in December 2014 when her husband was sworn in as Hawaii’s eighth governor. She has also been an alumna of Chaminade since 1986 when she graduated with her master’s degree in business administration. In her address, Amano-Ige bestowed a few pieces of wisdom on the soon-to-be graduates. She encouraged them to make the most of every opportunity they’re given, to be realistic when starting off in their careers and to take action in moments of uncertainty instead of holding back or withdrawing. The first lady, similarly to Dr. Babington, emphasized how valuable a Chaminade education is because of its values.

“You are so fortunate to be graduating from a place where diversity is celebrated in culture-based learning and where ethical leadership is the focus,” Amano-Ige said. “The rich combination of the two gives you the power to make a difference. When done collectively with your classmates, that power is multiplied to have a great impact on our community.”

Savannah Lyn Relox Delos Santos, the Undergraduate Speaker, delivered an equally impactful speech in which she conveyed the gratitude she feels toward the Chaminade community and her family.

Delos Santos, who earned her bachelor’s degree in business marketing, has spent her years at Chaminade serving as a peer mentor and tutor, student office assistant and president of the Residence Hall Association—all while excelling in her classes, working and volunteering.

She was also an active participant in Campus Ministry, student government and Chaminade’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Program. Her commitment to service and the university’s Marianist values earned her the prestigious Founders’ Award earlier this year. Delos Santos’ dream is to be the second and youngest Native Hawaiian fashion designer to present their work at New York Fashion Week and plans to move to the Philippines after graduation to pursue her professional goals and learn more about her roots.

“Our differential advantages are the Marianist values and the Aloha Spirit,” Delos Santos said. “We are the only university with both and we all live it in our Chaminade community. So embrace it, use it, because we are so blessed.”

Both Amano-Ige and Delos Santos were the first college graduates in their families and shared how education and Chaminade were significant contributors to who they are today.

And finally, after many semesters of hard work and sacrifice, the Chaminade class of 2019 turned its tassels and became alumni, forever part of the Chaminade family.

“Your passion, along with your education and experiences here at Chaminade, will be part of the sometimes messy but beautiful process we call life,” Amano-Ige said. “So tonight be jubilant, be proud, go out and celebrate—safely of course—the joy of your achievement. Tomorrow, your focus shifts to putting your college education to good use for your community, for our Hawaii, for the world and for generations to come.”

Commencement 2019 (short version)
Commencement 2019 (long version)