Featured Story

Annual Ceremony Anoints the Hands of Healthcare Workers, Nursing Students

November 3, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

“There may come a time when recovery lies in the hands of physicians, for they too pray to the Lord that he grant them success in diagnosis and in healing for the sake of preserving life.”

Ecclesiasticus 38:1-4,6-10,12-14

In the book of Ecclesiasticus, it is said, “to honor physicians for their services, for the Lord created them.” The same could be said for students who seek a career in the medical field, and for all caregivers and those working in the medical profession. Sponsored by Campus Ministry, the annual St. Luke’s Blessing at the Mystical Rose Oratory honors these students by anointing their healing hands.

“Let us pray for all healthcare workers and those preparing for the healthcare profession,” said School of Nursing Professor Edna Magpantay-Monroe, in her closing prayer. “That their healing hands might bring comfort, hope, reassurance and joy to all those whom they serve.”

University chaplain Rev. Marty Solma, S.M., presided over the blessing, noting that this is a wonderful opportunity every year to honor those who embrace a life of service through healthcare nursing and to receive an anointment of their hands to recognize the importance that hands are in this critical profession. He then rhetorically asked, why is it that we bless the hands of medical professionals?

“It’s a tradition in in a number of churches in our Catholic tradition,” he replied. “It recognizes that of all the tools you have available to you, your hands will serve your patients directly and most personally. Medicine is important; surgery is often needed. But it’s your hands that will bring tenderness and care, and comfort and reassurance.

St. Luke was indeed blessed with the gift of healing. Deemed the first Christian physician on record and the Patron of the Medical Profession, Luke has influenced thousands of healthcare workers who have followed in his footsteps.

In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul describes Luke as “the beloved physician,” (Colossians 4:14). In Lives of Illustrious Men, written circa A.D. 393, St. Jerome refers to him as “a physician of Antioch.”

Believed to be the author of the Gospel that bears his name, as well as of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke’s profession as a doctor is apparent in his writings. He includes more miracles of physical healing than any of the other Gospels, 13 compared to 12 in Matthew, 11 in Mark and only two in John. He uses more medical terms than any other New Testament writer. His description of the ailing reveals a knowledge of medicine that is absent in the other Gospels, using such precise medical terms as “dropsy” (Luke 14: 1-6), fever and dysentery.

“It’s my honor to participate in this very important ceremony to bless the hands of our nursing and healthcare professional students, and any of you who may be practicing nurses or other healthcare professionals,” said Chaminade University president, Dr. Lynn Babington. “The professionalism, care and compassion inherent in your profession are strengthened by this blessing. It also symbolizes commitment to your patients.”

2022 Innovation Awards Winners Announced

October 31, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Modeled after the National Catholic Education Association’s Innovation in Catholic Education annual awards and sponsored by Hawaii Catholic Schools, the Ka Ho’oulu Awards focuses on “Innovation for Mission.”

“It recognizes and celebrates talent in Catholic education,” says Dr. Helen Turner, professor of biology and CIFAL research director and former vice president of Strategy and Innovation, which established the Ka Ho’oulu Awards in 2020. “Nominees exemplify innovation in education inside and outside the classroom.”

Award applicants submit projects that illustrate the Catholic worldview, support quality academics, integrate technology, demonstrate data-driven decision making or promote operational vitality. Submissions with the highest marks receive recognition at an annual award ceremony and a grant to continue their work. Eligible nominees can be individuals or teams, and faculty and administrators/staff currently employed at a Hawaii Catholic School (all grade levels K-12).

In an interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald, retired Hawaii Catholic School’s superintendent, Michael Rockers, said his office’s close collaboration with Chaminade University “helped establish catechetical institutes, the “Teacher of the Year” award, the “Innovation Award,” and to provide a quality review of the Hawaii Catholic Schools office’s goals, objectives and communications.”

“He really wanted an award that was similar to the national innovation award,” Turner says of Rockers. “That’s how we came up with the Ka Ho’oulu, which honors teachers and administrators who are continuously innovating in support of their students.”

The 2022 Ka Ho’oulu Awards winners include Mary Star of the Sea School Honolulu in the team category and Dan Mawyer of Damien Memorial School for the individual award.

“We are pleased to continue our sponsorship of these annual awards,” Turner says. “Mary, Star of the Sea and Mr. Mawyer exemplify education in Hawaii. They are committed to implementing innovative strategies and teaching methods that leverage state-of-the-art technology to create the highest quality students.”

Team award: Mary Star of the Sea School, Honolulu
This award recognized the Mary Star of the Sea’s 2021-22 Schoolwide Literacy Project. The team, nominated by Laci Hitchcock, described a yearlong project that exemplifies the Ka Ho’oulu themes of supporting quality academics, technology integration and data-driven decision making. The review committee was struck by the strategic and comprehensive “whole school” approach to the important goal of improving literacy and mitigating COVID impacts on student reading.

According to the three-member panel, the literacy program holistically integrated student-centered activities with teacher professional development and such enriching programs as guest speakers for parents and the whole school community to engage with. The program collected data on its own impacts, and is now refining the program for its continuation in the new school year. The nomination mentioned that the goal was “to make reading a part of everyday culture.” Drs. Turner and Dustyn Ragasa and Fr. Martin Solma, S.M., were impressed by the commitment of staff, teachers and school leadership to make this goal part of the school’s DNA.

Individual award: Mr. Dan Mawyer, Damien Memorial School
This award acknowledged Mawyer as a school champion in the areas of technology, computing and robotics. A math teacher, Mawyer is passionate about preparing students for the future. He has built coding challenges, robotics teams and STEM activities that engage students in technology, critical thinking and teamwork.

“During the COVID crisis, (Mawyer) stepped up to the plate and offered his expertise to use technology, particularly digital communications, to keep the school community informed and unified,” Turner says. “The entire school benefitted from his innovative approach to creating visually appealing and informative content for information sharing and online learning.”

The review committee further noted that this work has quickly evolved into the leadership of a new project for a broadcast communications center at Damien. Catholic educators are passionate, expert, and student-focused and Dan exemplifies these qualities.

Leading Scholar of Religion Discusses Disaffiliation

October 28, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

One of the most urgent issues in social science research and among catholic institutions stems from the fact that people are leaving the church and disaffiliating from religion. It’s a serious concern that Fr. James Heft, S.M., discussed during a Marianist lecture at the Mystical Rose Oratory.

Themed, “Where Have All Young People Gone?,” Fr. Heft outlined complex solutions to a complicated question. Addressing the crowd, he shared his anecdotal stories, one of which occurred during a wedding rehearsal dinner.

“I asked a young woman named Monica about her religion, to which she answered, ‘Religion was forced down my throat,’” Fr. Heft recounts. “Whoa! I told her now that you can feed yourself, what do you think? It started five years of correspondence.”

Such candid conversations need to start happening across that nation if we want to find the reasons for disaffiliation.

A 2018 study by the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies (IACS) at the University of Southern California found that the Catholic population has been declining in the U.S., and Catholicism has experienced a greater net loss of people than any other religious tradition. The study also found that the majority of millennials raised Catholic typically now report that they are unaffiliated and there has been a significant drop in weekly Sunday attendance.

In a more recent Pew Research Study released in December 2021, those surveyed said they no longer go to church, but they still believe in God and pray. The report also revealed that those in the 18-29 age range represented the fastest decline in religious affiliation, with 36 percent rejecting any type of affiliation with a religious denomination.

“Our interdisciplinary study, ‘Empty Chairs,’ published in 2021 by Oxford University Press, offers a more detailed—I think informative—and contextualized description of disaffiliation than the Pew study, which has its limitations,” Heft asserts. “The Pew provides a good overview of a specific demographic, mainly white, affluent and well educated.”

In contrast, Heft described the sample group for “Empty Chairs” as more inclusive and representative of a more diverse cohort among the unaffiliated. The study included immigrants whose approach to religion is different than white young adults. College non-graduates, high-school graduates, non-affiliated theists, the economically disenfranchised and an older generation—that had not affiliated with any religion for decades—also participated.

“The study, however, provided some good news,” Heft said. “We document how religious parents provide warmth, appropriate religious structures and space for appropriate autonomy.”

The research also documents how fostering religious religious development in youth protects against delinquency, violence, depression and anxiety. In short, the healthy practice of religion cultivates psychological and physical well being, as well as civic involvement.

“Religious education and institutions continue to make a positive impact,” Heft asserted. “The question is: Is it secularization, the general movement in the culture, that has marginalized and privatized religion, and contributed profoundly to the situation we’re in?”

Heft admitted that disaffiliation is serious and alarming, but we shouldn’t become discouraged; there is hope. As the late religious scholar Huston Smith liked to say, “Religion gives traction to spirituality.”

“There are a lot of people suffering and hurting, and there’s nothing like an easy answer to make them more distant from faith,” Heft said. “We need to be careful in wanting to promote the faith in a deep way but not to promote it superficially. Afterall, Jesus said, ‘My God, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”

Watch the full Marianist Lecture featuring Fr. Jim Heft, S.M, here.

From Trauma to Transformation and Beyond

October 20, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

The road Kimmy Takata ’22 took to college wasn’t traditional—or easy.

But while she says much of her life has been defined by struggle, Takata is choosing to focus on everything she’s accomplished and all the people who have helped her along the way. “My journey has been one from trauma to transformation,” she said, on a recent afternoon. “It takes a village to save somebody and it took 10 villages to save me, including the village I found at Chaminade.”

Now the 53-year-old is setting her sights on new goals—from serving as a mentor to other women exiting prison to even going back to school to pursue a graduate degree. She said her story is an example of what’s possible when you work hard, dream big and get plenty of help along the way.

“People believed in me. That’s the key,” she said.

Takata wasn’t always confident in herself.

As a child growing up in an abusive household, she struggled with low self-esteem. She said she was constantly being called “dumb” and “stupid”—and often heard those words in her head when she was at school. Throughout her teens, Takata was in and out of youth lockup and struggled with drugs.

Eventually, she dropped out of school.

“I never even thought of myself going to college,” she said. “College wasn’t even in my vocabulary.”

In the years that followed, things got worse for Takata. And then, she hit rock bottom.

She was arrested and charged with 16 counts and sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Then in 2003, Takata escaped from Oahu Community Correctional Center and was gone for four days. When she was arrested again, she was transferred to a women’s prison and placed in lockdown “for a very long time.”

She thought that all was lost. But it was at that moment things started to turn around.

Takata was given the chance to enroll in classes and earned got her GED. She also participated in a program that allowed her to share her story through poems—pieces that she eventually shared with her children to help them understand her grief about how much of their lives she’d missed. And she was placed in a substance abuse program, where she was encouraged to continue her journey of self-reflection. “I really had to take a look at the damage I’d done to everyone,” she said.

After getting out of prison on parole, Takata knew she had to make the most of out of her new perspective. She got a job and paired up with the Pu’a Foundation, which helps incarcerated women transitioning back into the community. “I was locked up for 15 years. The transition wasn’t easy,” Takata said. But she eventually got her sea legs. And then, she started looking for opportunities.

Friends encouraged her to go back to school. And at first, she didn’t even entertain the idea. It was too far-fetched. “I’m not good enough for college,” she remembers thinking. “I’m not smart enough and I’m scared.” But her friends and mentors didn’t give up. And before long, she found herself enrolling.

With the help of the Pu’a Foundation, she first enrolled at Kapiolani Community College.

From there, she found her way to Chaminade University. Bro. Dennis Schmitz, of the Marianist Center of Hawaii, happened to work with the Pu’a Foundation and encouraged her to apply. Takata also clinched a Hooulu Scholarship, which covered her tuition and included robust career development and advising resources.

On her first day of classes at Chaminade, Takata couldn’t believe how far she’d come.

“It was like Disneyland to me,” she quipped. “I found myself smiling all day long.”

And while she had plenty of jitters about going back to class, she found no shortage of professors, counselors and peers ready to cheer her on—and give her the help she needed. As an Environmental Studies major, Takata formed a particularly strong bond with Dr. Gail Grabowsky, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and director of the CIFAL Honolulu Center at Chaminade.

In fact, she still keeps in touch with Grabowsky.

“She is absolutely the best professor in the world,” Takata said. “Her classes were hard, but she’s understanding. She helped me realize going back to school was the best thing I ever could have done.”

After a lot of hard work, Takata made it to graduation day—and invited friends to cheer her on.

Now she’s working with women as they leave prison, using her own life as a case study of what’s possible. She’s also ready to jump into the next big challenge. She’s seriously considering the master’s program in Criminal Justice Studies at Chaminade and is also busy growing a cleaning business on the side.

“There’s just so many things I want to do,” she said. “And I’m ready for anything.”

A New Frontier for Students

October 17, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Students were over the moon when National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) educators were on campus for a one-day Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) event. Among them was Elementary Education major, Alaina Mercado, who described the experience as creative and inspiring.

“I got to ride a rocket to the International Space Station—virtually, of course,” Mercado quips. “It really made science fun and gave students a true hands-on, simulation experience; I even got to move about the cabin, as well as conduct a spacewalk.”

The outreach program is a national educator professional development and STEM engagement organization designed to partner with NASA in support of STEM educators and their students across the country. Its primary mission is to help a broader group of educators access the best of NASA’s professional learning resources, which are integrated with culturally relevant STEM pedagogies. The goal, overall, is to inspire and motivate diverse student audiences to pursue STEM fields of study, careers and opportunities with NASA.

“NASA’s education and outreach programs are important to NASA’s mission, especially in STEM education for a few reasons,” explains NASA Ames Research Center Education Specialist, Sara Torres, Ph.D., one of the four NASA educators who led the event’s activities. “First, this is one of the ways that NASA not only informs the public of its programs and missions but engages the public through their educational competitions and hands-on activities that align with real-time work.”

Secondly, Torres adds, because NASA is aware of the demographic shift in the country, it has made a commitment to reach all students, including underserved and underrepresented population.

“NASA education specialists have the agency to connect NASA engineers and scientists to the public, allowing them to see the faces of NASA,” says NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Education Specialist Monica Uribe, another event participant. “This opportunity not only creates spaces to learn about the important work NASA does but to connect with them in a way that students see themselves in the people who work at NASA and, most importantly, begin to see the possibilities that they, too, one day can work at a place like NASA.”

Associate Professor at the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences and Director of Teacher Education Programs, Dr. Katrina Roseler first established a Chaminade connection with NASA in 2016, but it wasn’t until a NASA summer workshop in 2018, when she met Dr. Torres, that opened the possibility of an on-campus visit.

“Since 2018, Chaminade students and I have participated in NASA Education activities, specifically online webinars, some of which have been facilitated by Dr. Torres and Dr. Monice Uribe (another event attendee and a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center Education Specialist),” Roseler says. “In the spring of 2022, I reached out to Dr. Torres about an opportunity to collaborate virtually to support elementary education majors. Those conversations evolved into the face-to-face experience and subsequent activities that occurred during the three-day event in September.”

The day’s event at Chaminade featured various technology-based activities, an art project, as well as an engineering design challenge, which entailed using different materials to develop a Lunar Lander with a paper cup, note cards, channel sticks, rubber bands, adhesive tape and construction paper. Students were tasked to design and create a capsule that astronauts would be safe in when dropped from a height of 4 -5 feet.

“My Lander didn’t work so well,” Mercado laughs. “All the educators, though, were so very kind and encouraging.”

“We chose NASA activities that aligned well with the topics presented,” Torres says. “One was the moon. Students created their own rover out of recyclable materials. Their objective was to have the cardboard rover move using a rubber band, pencil, straw and Life Savers candy.”

NASA educators also covered the topic of Aeronautics. During the “Navigate Your Zone” module, students were able to use small ball robots, called Spheros, to simulate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs. In another activity, students used templates of the experimental plane X-59 to fold paper airplanes then use their own breath as the thrust to make the paper airplane fly.

“The X-59 is NASA’s experimental plane, which is designed to lower the sonic boom,” Torres says. “Succeeding in this will allow for commercial travel to only take half the time it currently takes.”

A secondary component of the event included a visit to Palolo Elementary School, where Chaminade students took what they learned from NASA educators and shared it with the students in grades three to five.

“We transferred our knowledge to the kids,” Mercado says. “So it was kind of going full circle.”

Torres notes that their experience with the Chaminade education students was a joy, adding every student was motivated and ready to engage in the activity.

“More importantly, students were working—not only to learn the activities—but they understood they would be leading the activities with elementary students the following day and took their learning seriously,” Torres says. “Every student engaged positively, asked questions to better be prepared and did a phenomenal job facilitating the activities the following day.”

Roseler believes that such hands-on learning activities—which model what teachers should be doing in classrooms—are always beneficial.

“I imagine that these activities will resonate with Chaminade Education students for years to come,” Roseler says. “I plan on using them as examples throughout the remainder of the semester as examples of active learning with real-world applications.”

Kapaa High School Students Earn College Credit Through Partnership

October 7, 2022 by University Communications & Marketing

Chaminade University is taking its early college initiative to new levels, forging a cutting-edge partnership with Kapaa High to connect rural Kauai students to hands-on, online instruction created exclusively for them.

The idea grew out of the need for robust remote learning options during the pandemic, explained Chaminade Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Dr. Janet Davidson. Shortly after many campuses went fully to distance learning, Chaminade delivered a “train-the-trainer” workshop for Kauai teachers on best practices in online instruction. From there, a relationship was formed—and grew.

And roughly a year later, those same partners with the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) on Kauai approached Davidson with an idea: would you be interested, they asked, in helping us stand up a dual credit college program exclusively for students at Kapaa High? The answer: a resounding yes.

So Chaminade and the DOE started developing a program and seeking financial support for it.

The inaugural cohort was launched in Fall 2021, giving participants—both juniors and seniors—the opportunity to earn high school and college credit at the same time. The program was designed around Kapaa High School’s bell schedule and online courses are delivered live by Chaminade faculty members.

Davidson said students take the courses on Kapaa High School’s campus with a teacher on hand to offer assistance. Chaminade also provides supports to participants, including advising and educational tech.

That first term, students were able to enroll in Human Nutrition and English 101: Introduction to Expository Writing. In Spring 2022, Chaminade offered College Algebra and PSY 101: Intro to Psychology.

Davidson said a junior entering the program has the chance to earn 24 college credits in all.

“The students who are participating have all different types of interests and are at different levels,” Davidson said. “This is really about expanding opportunities—and helping students imagine themselves going to college after graduating from high school. We want to help strengthen that pipeline.”

Students even participate in labs remotely.

Davidson said 23 students took courses through the program in the 2021–2022 academic year.

Of those, all 11 seniors graduated from high school and applied for college.

With 31 students at Kapaa High School in the program this Fall Term, Davidson is proud about how quickly the program has matured and is excited about the potential for future expansion. “We do want to expand—with the right partner,” Davidson said. “The biggest factor for the success of this program is mutual trust. Together, our goal is to make a positive difference in the lives of these high schoolers.”

Davidson added student mentoring is a critical element of the program.

Members of the inaugural cohort, for example, were invited to spend a weekend at Chaminade for intensive workshops on everything from how to finance college to how to succeed in higher education.

“We had an opportunity to engage the students and they were universally very appreciative of the experience,” Davidson said. “The faculty is what made all the difference. They also felt very supported.”