Chaminade University of Honolulu

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Bethesda Bound

Like most soon-to-be college graduates, the world outside of Chaminade was a bit intimidating for Chloe Talana.

The aspiring doctor knew she wanted to gain more research experience through a post-baccalaureate program, but they can be hard to come by.

Chloe Talana

She tried several times, unsuccessfully, to find the right research position and was beginning to feel uneasy. “You put so much into those applications,” says Talana. “And then if you end up not getting in…to me that’s just not cool.”

Just as she was starting to come up with a backup plan, she got an email from the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

Led by Dr. Tony Fauci, NIAID has been thrust into the limelight lately as they diligently work to address the spread of COVID-19. Talana’s heart lies in finding a cure to another global pandemic, though—HIV. And it was the HIV vaccine lab that reached out.

“I was just so happy because at least someone noticed me,” beams Talana. “They noticed that I might be of help and that, to me, is just so rewarding.”

One of Talana’s first research opportunities was through a summer program at Johns Hopkins University, where she studied blood samples from HIV infected individuals to document how their immune cells function.

Chloe Talana receiving the Sue Wesselkemper Award during Na Liko Na'auao

After her project, she was one of eight students selected out of a group of 103 to be named best poster presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. She also received the President Sue Wesselkamper Prize for being an outstanding student at Na Liko Na’auao, Chaminade’s annual undergraduate research conference.

“HIV is my favorite virus to study because it’s just so clever in tricking the body so it can use the important components it needs to stay alive,” says Talana. “HIV is just so fascinating to me.”

There’s currently no cure or vaccine for HIV. But the lab at NIAID is studying ways to stimulate a body’s natural ability to produce antibodies to combat HIV, known as broadly neutralizing antibodies. Given the rate at which HIV replicates and mutates, this type of vaccine is widely considered to have the most potential.

When the email came that Chloe had been offered the position at NIAID, her initial excitement was immediately followed by fear.

“At first, I actually didn’t want to accept it because my inner saboteur was telling me I wouldn’t be good enough,” confesses Talana. “But with the help of the Chaminade faculty, I was able to clear my mind. They kept reminding me that the reason I had been accepted was because I could do this.”

For the Farrington High School graduate, this will be her first time living off-island for more than two-months—though she knew an eventual move to the mainland was inevitable with her career goals.

Talana has her eyes set on dual M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Her time at Johns Hopkins opened her eyes to the powerful work that can be done when research and medicine go hand-in-hand. She got to shadow the principal investigator of her lab, and saw how he would bring blood samples from his patients straight back into the lab.

“I found it so amazing and eye-opening. I want to do that—I don’t want to just be able to care for my patients and treat their symptoms, I want to help them alleviate their pain and suffering by actually finding a cure.”

In between preparing for her move and researching her new home in Bethesda, Maryland, Chloe reminisces about her time at Chaminade.

With COVID-19, her time on campus came to an abrupt halt and her graduation ceremony was postponed to December. Now, she’s not sure when she’ll be able to see her professors again—who to her are more like mentors and friends—and she won’t be able to say goodbye in person. “I’m grateful for everyone at Chaminade and for Chaminade itself,” shares Talana. “I’ve said this many times before, but without them, I would not have been able to get to where I am today and I’m very grateful for that.”

“We Care” Packages

Though unable to gather in person, Chaminade students still felt the love. Faculty and staff volunteers gathered to distribute celebratory care packages to all students (day undergraduates, online undergraduates, graduate students and PsyD students) at a drive-through event today.

Students who pulled up to the Chaminade campus were greeted by a group of Chaminade staff and faculty members cheering them on and giving words of encouragement. They were directed to pull up to the distribution table, where they were handed a care package full of hot meals, breakfast foods, fresh fruits, baked goods, snacks and more through their passenger side window.

“With COVID-19, we have to be creative and find new ways to show our students that we care about them, and we miss them, says Allison Jerome, Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students at Chaminade University.”

For some students, this was the last time they got to see Chaminade faculty and staff before graduating next week. “I’m so grateful that they took the time to put on this event for us,” says Theresa Dao, a soon-to-be-Chaminade-graduate and biology major. “It’s been really hard having to finish out my senior year without seeing my Chaminade ‘ohana, so it was nice having a chance to say goodbye, even though I could only wave from my car. I’m really going to miss them.”

Chaminade plans to reopen campus in the fall, and their official graduation ceremony has been postponed to December 14, 2020.

Continuous Learning in Humanities

When Dr. Allison Paynter received the call for one-minute plays from the Dramatists Guild, she immediately got to work. The Chaminade English professor had only a few days to write a microplay consisting of no more than 150 words about the novel coronavirus. If selected, her play would become part of The Coronavirus Plays: A Project Created by the One-Minute Play Festival, America’s largest and longest running grassroots theater company.

Allison Paynter

She was sitting in her office with an older performance poster from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on her wall when the email came through. “It was the first play my son was in,” says Dr. Paynter. “He played Charlie.” The poster provided the perfect inspiration.

Dr. Paynter’s dark comedy emerged to tell the story of two individuals in the time of coronavirus who meet on a street corner. One is carrying a packet of toilet paper, and when the other tries to grab it, a golden ticket falls out—a ticket for a free trip to South Korea and a stay in a luxury hotel, complete with a bidet.

Her play was selected to be part of the festival that aired on Zoom from April 8-17. “Since I’m a new playwright, I wasn’t certain if I could turn something around so quickly and make it accessible,” says Dr. Paynter. “I was very proud that I was able to be part of this collection.”

Dr. Paynter also wrote a play last summer that was scheduled to be performed at Chaminade in April, but it was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. This summer, she will spend a month participating remotely in a New York University fellowship through the Faculty Resource Network, where she plans to write her first musical.

“I’m a continuous learner,” says Dr. Paynter. “It’s such a joyful process to continue lifelong learning.”

She has that in common with her colleague, Dr. Richard Hill. The associate professor of English at Chaminade University was recently published in the journal Humanities.

Richard Hill

“Research and publishing is just something that I really enjoy and have been quite lucky with,” says Dr. Hill. “I am in a small field and it’s really rich to be able to research and do things people have never done before.”

For his recent publication, “From Braemar to Hollywood: The American Appropriation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Pirates,” he partnered with Dr. Laura Eidam from University of Virginia to explore how today’s popular culture pirate tropes can be traced back to Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel, Treasure Island.

“I look at stereotypes and try to trace them back to their source,” says Dr. Hill. “Stereotypes get created through literature, and then that literature gets forgotten and you’re left with the stereotype.” His current research explores how illustrations get turned into movies—specifically, how Stevenson’s illustrations get used to create film images.

For Dr. Hill, this historical lens on literature has been a valuable teaching tool. He enjoys taking common perceptions that his students have and tracing them back to historical literary depictions. “I’m lucky that I get to teach some of what I research, and they both feed into each other,” says Dr. Hill “I can bring [my students] through what they know and back into what I teach them.”
His new project is one that is sure to resonate with his students—it explores how the modern day Incredible Hulk is based on Stevenson’s 1886 novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon 2020

Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon 2020 event

One of the most rewarding parts about donating is seeing your donation in action. As more than 70 donors witnessed on February 20, a donation to Chaminade has tangible benefits and changes the lives of our students.

Each year, the Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon brings together donors who have supported our scholarship fund with students who have received a scholarship. It’s an opportunity for the students to thank their scholarship donors personally, and let them know just how much their support has made a difference in their educational journey.

“Our students really understand and appreciate the choice every one of our donors made to invest in them,” says Dawn Johnson, scholarship manager at Chaminade and organizer of the luncheon. “Most of them have shared that they intend to one day ‘pay forward’ the gift of scholarship they received while at Chaminade.”

The event started with an oli from the students to the donors. Following, the students draped lei on the donors in gratitude, and then sought out the individuals who created the scholarship they received to join them for lunch.

Leslie Blount attends the event each year representing the Richard T. and Leslie N. Blount Scholarship for military students and dependents. The scholarship was established by her late husband, Richard, right before he fell ill. “This event is one of my major highlights,” says Leslie. “I just love interacting with the students. They never seize to impress me with all of their accomplishments and I’m just so grateful that they are living my husband’s dream. It gives me such joy to know that his wish to help students connected to the military is being fulfilled.”

Chaminade University has more than 100 scholarships that have been generously established by individual donors and foundations. Many of them are endowed, and several are renewable investments that are replenished each year. This year alone, our students received nearly $2.3 million in donor-funded scholarships.

Ke‘alohi Canady '20 speaks at the Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon 2020

Ke‘alohi Canady, a fourth-year business administration major and first-generation college student from Honolulu, spoke first-hand about how much her scholarship has impacted her time as a student.

“I am beyond grateful and so fortunate to have been awarded a scholarship,” said Ke‘alohi. “I’m really lucky that I don’t have to struggle or work crazy hours just to finance my education. It allows me to have a sustainable work-study life balance, meaning that I can devote my time to soaking up all the information in my studies. I was able to have this opportunity because of you all.”

Edward Adachi, a third-year environmental science major, spoke to the individual transformation he has undertaken while at Chaminade. He was raised on the island of Oahu by his maternal grandmother, and he has always sought to become a person that would make her proud.

Edward Adachi '20 speaks at the Mahalo Scholarship Luncheon 2020

“I came to college thinking I had life all figured out,” he began his address to the room. “I had made a list in high school of what college I wanted to go to, what degree I wanted to pursue, how I would obtain my career and what I would do in retirement—at the age of 18, I had 50 years planned out. My friend once told me, if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. Well, God must have been rolling on the floor when he heard mine.”

Edward entered Chaminade as a business administration major. Within the first year and a half, after rethinking that decision several times, he finally landed on environmental science. He’s now planning a graduate degree in public health, and looks forward to a career educating communities across the pacific on how to be healthy.

His time at Chaminade has introduced him to a world full of possibilities and opportunities. He has met friends from all over the world, from all walks of life, and he’s traveled to the mainland and throughout the Pacific. He also discovered his faith at Chaminade, and now identifies proudly as a Roman Catholic.

“To be at a school that is so dynamic motivates me to be just as dynamic,” said Edward. “To live, is to change. Thank you for changing my life, and the lives of all of our students.”

To learn more about how you can support a student at Chaminade, contact Dawn Johnson at [email protected].

Student Videos: Tips & Guidance For Pandemic

When students fist returned from winter break to start their spring term, little did they know that taking BI 312: Epidemiology and Public Health would be more applicable now more than ever.

With the COVID-19 pandemic posing a real-world problem and threat, biology professor Michael Weichhaus took the opportunity to have his students apply their classroom learnings to the current situation. The students were broken into groups and were assigned to develop a short video to provide tips and guidance to their fellow students about COVID-19 risks and personal responsibilities that should be taken to flatten the curve.

Watch the videos the students produced:

Healthcare Heroes

In the midst of this global pandemic, our healthcare system has taken centerstage. Every day we see healthcare heroes on the frontlines–sacrificing their own health and wellness to serve their communities, stepping up in times of need, making due with minimal resources and finding creative solutions on the daily.

For our nine soon-to-be-alumni heading into graduate healthcare programs this fall, these images are shaping their vision of who they want to become. They know there’s never been a more important time to become a healthcare provider.

We’re proud and honored to help them answer this call, and to support them in their dreams of becoming doctors, dentists, therapists, nurses, pharmacists and more. It’s why we recently launched a new MBA track in Healthcare Administration. It’s why we’re launching a new B.S. in Community and Public Health this fall. And it’s why we’ve set up partnership agreements with medical schools around the country.

We currently have articulation agreements with 11 different healthcare graduate schools across the nation, including A.T. Still University, Boston University, George Washington University, Pacific University, Samuel Merritt University, Tufts, University of Dayton and Western University. Through these agreements, our students are eligible for early admission provided they meet certain criteria and take certain classes.

These agreements range across the spectrum of healthcare, from medical to dental to pharmacy. Through A.T. Still University, for example, students can choose between osteopathic medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology or dental medicine.

With Boston University and George Washington University, our students participate in their early selection programs designed to be a direct pipeline into their medical schools. Some time in their sophomore or junior year, they enter into an agreement with the university. As long as they meet all academic requirements, they are provisionally accepted into the university’s medical school upon graduation. 

Four of our students are taking advantage of these programs this fall, and 19 of our graduates are currently enrolled in one of the programs.

We’re also a member of The Leadership Alliance, a consortium of 32 academic institutions dedicated to addressing the shortage of diversity in graduate schools and academia. Through the program, we’ve built partnerships with universities who want to admit our students into summer research programs. Our students have participated in programs at Harvard, Yale, Purdue and UCLA–to name just a few. This early exposure to research greatly enhances a student’s graduate school application, particularly for medical schools.

It’s no surprise that Hawai‘i ranks No. 1 in healthcare. It takes a certain kind of person to become a health provider. Someone with compassion, heart and patience–all values that go hand in hand with our island culture.

Healthcare is the perfect complement to Chaminade University’s mission. As a Marianist institution, we educate our students to embrace adaptation and change, family values and community service–core components of our healthcare system. And as a liberal arts school, we ensure our graduates have a wide breadth of knowledge and are able to think critically across a range of disciplines.

Congratulations to our future medical care providers. We thank you for your dedication and service, and we are honored to be a part of your journey.

Chaminade Students Entering Healthcare Programs This Fall

  • Rachel Arakawa* – M.D., George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington D.C.
  • Camille Burgos – M.D., Ponce Health Sciences University, Puerto Rico
  • Theresa Dao* – D.O., A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona
  • Noelle Dasalla – D.V.M., Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado
  • Estelita Estay* – D.O., A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Missouri
  • Jerika Gomez – Pharm.D., UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, California
  • Hiʻilei Ishii-Chavez* – D.O., A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Arizona
  • Tomomi Kohno – Pharm.D, UH Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, Hawaii
  • Ann-Janin Bacani – Pharm.D., UH Hilo Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, Hawaii

*denotes students who are entering their program through an articulation agreement