Chaminade University of Honolulu

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Student’s Heritage Motivates Academic Journey

Chaminade junior Alexis Lambert loves to see history come alive through culture.

Alexis Lambert - online undergraduate student majoring in psychology

And so when her professor tasked her with writing a research paper for History 201, a course that explores America through the Civil War, she knew exactly what she wanted to write about: Her people.

Lambert, 21, is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

She was born and raised in Cherokee, North Carolina, and still lives on reservation land there with her mother and two younger siblings. It seems a world away from Chaminade, but Lambert says the university’s online program has turned out to be a perfect fit for her—and her studies.

Alexis Lambert - online undergraduate student majoring in psychology

Lambert first applied to Chaminade while still in high school, but then decided to attend her local community college for two years. After receiving her associate’s degree, she was looking for an online bachelor’s degree program that would allow her to stay in Cherokee while also getting access to quality educational programs. She remembered what she’d read about Chaminade and decided to apply again.

“Everything fell into place,” she said.

Lambert is now majoring in Psychology and pursuing a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Chaminade.

She dreams of bringing her unique perspective to her future profession just as she brings it to her courses today. “I love my culture and cannot imagine growing up any other way,” she said. “We have pow-wows and festivals that celebrate our food and culture all throughout the year.”

For History 201, Lambert worked with adjunct Professor Willis Moore to tell the story of her people before 1865 into present day. The paper explores what the Cherokee people have gone through—and how they have survived to keep their traditions, customs and language alive for future generations.

It also unpacks her tribe’s laws and political structure, comparing them to the US government.

Lambert said she jumped at the opportunity to write the paper for a simple reason: “I want more people to know about my culture and to know about the other side of history—the one that is not in the books. Cherokee is a federally recognized tribe in the US. We have our own laws and land.”

Lambert said she’s come a long way—and is looking forward to graduation and beyond.

She’s interested in becoming a clinical psychologist or a forensic psychologist. Whatever she chooses, she’s confident that she’ll get there because of having her foundation rooted at Chaminade. “I love it here and cannot wait to learn more,” she said. “I am very happy right now and very proud of myself.”

Students Set Sail Aboard an Outdoor Classroom

Learning at Chaminade University, more often than not, takes place beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Students on the Golden Rule Peace Boat

Take our RE 431: Environmental Ethics course, for example. Designed to introduce students to effective methods for dealing with ethical issues within environmental studies and sustainable practices, the course has taken a variety of forms, the most recent of which has allowed students to take to the sea aboard the Golden Rule Peace Boat.

It started with professor Sr. Malia Wong, who’d been working closely with a few Buddhist monks with connections to crewmembers aboard the Golden Rule Peace Boat. A project spearheaded by Veterans for Peace, the Golden Rule first set sail in 1958 to promote opposition to nuclear weapons and war. Following a restoration, the Golden Rule once again set sail on an expedition to the Marshall Islands and Japan to commemorate the lives of those affected by nuclear warfare.

Docked at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor in Honolulu, the Golden Rule is a majestic and historic sight to behold. The restored vessel—and the vision of world peace it symbolizes—has inspired books, poems, lyrics and songs over the course of its 62-year existence. And in its 62nd year, a group of Chaminade students and Sr. Malia had the privilege of boarding and later sailing on the boat by invitation from the crewmembers, who are also peace movement activists.

For the students, climbing aboard the Golden Rule was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

According to Dean of Humanities Cheryl Edelson, the mission of the Golden Rule Peace Boat is intricately linked to the efforts to protect the environment that she’s currently teaching her students. It also embodies Chaminade’s own commitment to the Marianist values of service, justice, and peace.

“It was an amazing experience,” said student Cara Gutierrez ’23, a communication major who’s passionate about climate change. “While on the boat, our class had the chance to talk with Helen, the project manager. She shared that the boat actually inspired Green Peace, which really hooked me and drew me in.”

Gutierrez is now working closely with Helen as a youth ambassador for the Golden Rule in Hawaii.

“During our sail, I had a great conversation with Helen about how much I admired her passion and her lifelong devotion to this project,” Gutierrez said. Chaminade is proud to equip our students with opportunities to explore the world beyond the classroom. During field trips such as the Golden Rule sail, students are embracing experiential learning while making memories that will last a lifetime.

Student Named to Most Promising Multicultural Class of 2020

Chaminade Communication senior Sofia Vela jetted off to New York in February for a four-day conference of the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Multicultural Class of 2020.

Sofia Vela in NYC for Most Promising Multicultural program

Vela was among just 50 students from around the country selected for the class, a prestigious honor that recognized her portfolio of work and academic accomplishments. A panel of industry representatives from across a host of big-name companies selected the honorees.

The federation launched the Most Promising Multicultural Student program in 1997 to link the advertising industry with top multicultural students from around the country, setting up sit-downs with mentors and recruiters in a bid to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

Those selected this year traveled to New York from February 10 to 13 for a packed agenda—with workshops, “industry immersion” opportunities, and the Building Bridge for our Future luncheon.

The students were also treated to a Broadway show: “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.”

Vela said she couldn’t contain her excitement when she’d found out she was selected for the honor.

And the New York City conference didn’t disappoint. “I had no idea that this trip would be so life-changing,” Vela said. “Each MPM student was hard-working and driven. Together, we lifted each other up and created an energy that continues to motivate me, even after returning home.”

All the honorees in the class are minorities and 43 are women. The diversity left Vela inspired. “We were all there for a similar, unspoken reason: to redefine the norm,” she said. “The time to increase populations of multicultural men and women in the workplace is now.”

Vela said she’s now ready to take on just about anything after college. Whatever her next steps, she knows she’ll have some new peers to share them with. “I made some lifelong friends on the trip,” Vela said. “The students on this trip were all absolutely wonderful.”

Growing as a Writer and Learner

Sami Eastwood published her first book at 17, when she was a freshman at Chaminade.

Three years later, she’s completing final edits on a sequel and has already started working on a third novel in her science fiction series. She’s also the co-founder of a boutique publishing house, helps her parents grow their business in her spare time and is a year away from finishing her bachelor’s degree.

If that’s not impressive enough, Eastwood decided to double major in English and History.

Sami Eastwood, an online undergraduate student who lives in Oregon

Eastwood is an online undergraduate student at Chaminade, taking classes, completing assignments and communicating with professors and her peers remotely. While she lives in Oregon, she said she counts her professors as close and valuable mentors who have helped her grow as a writer and a learner.

“Every term I’m learning new things that contribute to sparking my creativity,” Eastwood said.

She said she decided to pursue her degree at Chaminade after taking a few classes at a large public university that she said wasn’t a right fit. Chaminade’s Marianist tradition of helping others and building a better world was an especially important element to her and her family, Eastwood said.

“I decided on an English major because I want to write books for a living and it’s good to know the rules of any trade you go into and how to analyze other works of fiction and nonfiction,” Eastwood said. “I chose history as well because I’ve always been fascinated by it, especially American history.”

In fact, Eastwood said she’s also interested in pursuing a future career in museums.

Her first love, though, is writing. And she has no plans to give that up. “My goal is to stay as closely connected to both worlds as possible,” Eastwood said. “The literary world of writing books along with the historical world, and I’m hoping my degrees can help me with that process.”

To publish her first book, Eastwood worked closely with another online undergraduate student at Chaminade–English major Jodi Clark. The two are good friends (and Oregon residents) and have found the university’s online program has allowed them to pursue their passions.

Clark even served as Eastwood’s editor for her first book, “Blackstone Asylum.”

The book is set 100 years in the future in a world in which superpowers are common and misunderstood. The novel’s heroine, Andrea Rosales, was born with the ability to heal. It’s that power that makes her a target for a villain who kidnaps paranormal children to turn them into weapons.

Eastwood said all she’s learned at Chaminade has given her a multitude of new story ideas and techniques for tackling them. “I learn endless amounts of information from both my English and history classes,” she said. “Even the smallest fact can blossom into (yet another) story idea.”

The World is Our Classroom: E+ID Students Travel to Vancouver

Every year, students in Chaminade’s Senior Commercial Design dream up a major project to execute.

And this year, they wanted to design a boutique hotel.

Environmental + Interior Design Students in Vancouver for their experiential learning field trip

Dr. Elizabeth Lockard, associate professor of Environmental + Interior Design, was on board with the idea. But she also threw in a few curve balls. She required that the hotel be situated in a cold climate, where students would have to insulate for below freezing temperatures and strong winter storms. She also said the students would need to use the metric system.

The stipulations were meant to be especially challenging to a class studying in oh-so-balmy Hawaii.

That’s why, Lockard said, a central component of the design class is to visit a destination where their project could be centered. The idea: allow students to see firsthand how a given environment can be incorporated into their final design.

To meet Lockard’s requirements, the group settled on Vancouver and started raising funds to make the trip.

Environmental + Interior Design Students in Vancouver for their experiential learning field trip

And last month, four seniors and Lockard jetted off to the city for some invaluable hands-on research.

From February 6 to 9, they walked the city, visiting art galleries, trekking up Grouse Mountain and touring hotels and a proposed project site.

They walked away knowing so much more about cold climate design than a book or a lecture could ever tell them, Lockard said, allowing them to understand a place “viscerally as well as intellectually.”

“It allowed them to internalize their knowledge in a way that it could not happen in the classroom alone,” she said.

Allisen Caberto, who hopes to graduate in May, said the real-world exercise was rich with “ah-ha! moments.”

“Rather than role-play hypothetically, you get to become part of the lesson,” she said.

Caberto added the trip also hammered home for her how vital it is to consider sustainability in a final design project. “Whatever we build and create has an impact on it, and so as designers who have a larger influence on building designs, we should try to build consciously and harmoniously with the natural environment to help reduce human footprint,” she said.

Environmental + Interior Design Students in Vancouver for their experiential learning field trip

“And from visiting Vancouver, it is visibly clear they keep the natural environment in mind and embrace the outdoors.”

Senior Elyssa Shirai also took the trip and said it left her “inspired.”

“Not only are you seeing a place that isn’t like Hawaii but also to take in the lifestyle of the people who live there, the amazing sceneries and different landscapes of that place,” she said. “There were many special moments on this trip.”

Lockard said one of the major takeaways for students is that interior design is a practical field that requires hands-on learning. She noted that details like pedestrian or vehicular traffic patterns can have a significant impact on a design and can’t be discerned solely by looking at a map.

The trip allowed the seniors to “internalize” their knowledge, she said.

That kind of transformational experience “could not happen in the classroom alone,” Lockard said.

There are No Boundaries When Pursuing Your Passion

Jodi Clark knew by the time she was 10 that she wanted to be a writer.

“I wrote a 400-page manuscript that has never seen the light of day,” said the English major, who’s minoring in History and Political Studies. “I fell in love with writing dialogue and complex characters.”

Jodi Clark, online undergraduate student

Fast forward a decade and change and Clark is still as inspired by words as she was back then. The difference? They’re central to her job now, and not just a hobby. In addition to seeking her undergraduate degree at Chaminade online, Clark is a content editor for a small publishing house and social media manager.

She says that being able to attend class remotely — she lives in Oregon — has allowed her to feel connected to her Chaminade professors and to the university while completing her coursework on her own schedule. “The online program at Chaminade is fantastic because despite weekly deadlines, there are no strict requirements for when and where you have to ‘show up’ for class,” Clark said.

She added the flexibility allows her to arrange her schedule in a way that makes sense for her.

Clark enrolled at Chaminade in winter 2018, after doing research about universities nationwide. She knew that she wanted to opt for an online program because she wanted to remain near her family. She was also looking for an institution that honored her religious values and belief in giving back to others.

“After much thought, we decided on Chaminade because of its religious values and because of its location since the Hawaiian Islands are very dear to my family and me,” Clark said, adding that what’s surprised her the most is how warm and welcoming the university community is — even from afar.

“Even from a distance, the family spirit of the school puts me at ease,” she said, adding that she’s planning to spend her senior year on campus. “My time at Chaminade feels so well spent and I am looking forward to the day I can visit … the people who have helped me pursue my education.”

People like Dr. Brooke Carlson, one of her English professors, who has helped Clark learn the “technicalities of writing” and challenged her to think more critically. Professor Justin Wyble, who encouraged Clark to take more risks in her writing. And Professor Karla Brundage, who worked with Clark on poetry.

Clark has also brought her own contributions to courses as a “beta reader.” She works for MaileKai Publishing, where she’s helped fellow Chaminade student Sami Eastwood publish her debut young adult novel “Blackstone Asylum” on Amazon and is in the revisions process for a sequel.

“Sami Eastwood came to me with the idea for ‘Blackstone Asylum’ as she wrote it,” Clark said. “I provided ideas and advice when and if she needed them. I started providing content editing for the book in about 2018, and by 2019, I helped plot and point out issues in large-scale revisions.”

She said working as a content editor, she enjoys “untangling knots in stories in their earliest stages.”

And her time at Chaminade has helped her become even more adept at that untangling, providing inspiration and feeding her creativity to as she works to develop her confidence in editing and writing. “When I was younger, my work ended up being either very formulaic or very scattered,” Clark said. “Thanks to my time in Chaminade’s online program, I feel that I have the tools … to take creative risks and see them through. My degree will be helpful for pursuing a variety of jobs in the writing world.”