The Guam Alumni event was held on Friday, May 24 at Roy’s Lounge at the Guam Hilton Resort and Spa in Tumon Bay.
Dr. Babington greeted 50 of our alumni, current students, prospective students and their parents and gave an update of the University’s past year, Athletics Highlights, and her vision for Chaminade. It was a great evening connecting with the Chaminade ‘ohana while enjoying delicious food and drinks.
Chaminade University Board of Governors member Julie T. Watumull and her husband JD Watumull have gifted over $100,000 to start an endowed emergency student fund at Chaminade University. The “Julie T. and JD Watumull Fund for Emergency Student Grants” will be the first of its kind at Chaminade, specifically created to help students who have experienced an unexpected temporary hardship while attending the university.
Students who receive the emergency grant will not need to repay the funds. There is an application process, and grants range from $100-$1,000, depending on the situation. The Watumull Fund will be administered by the Dean of Students, Allison Jerome, in close consultation with the Office of Financial Aid and other support service areas on campus.
“We have students who need assistance with unexpected and unforeseen emergency expenses, and this new fund gives us the ability to provide support in a different way,” said Jerome. “Our goal is to help students during a time of need so that they can address the emergency and continue to make progress towards their degrees. Being able to provide a small grant to a student is just one way to show how the Chaminade community cares for each student.”
Members of the Watumull family are longtime supporters of Chaminade with a 14-year philanthropic history at the university including the Fund for Chaminade and the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s business study missions to India, through the J. Watumull Foundation and Gulab and Indru Watumull.
Julie and JD’s vision to establish a new student emergency fund is bound to help generations of students at Chaminade for many years to come.
What factors influence opioid addiction? Are fish ponds sustainable? What is the public opinion of Hawaii’s homeless population?
Twenty one Chaminade students spent a month this summer trying to answer these questions and more. Their quest was part of the Supporting Pacific Indigenous Computing Excellence (SPICE) Summer Institute in Data Science Program, a partnership between Chaminade University and the Texas Advanced Computing Center held on campus from May 20 to June 14.
The students, all from diverse majors and backgrounds, joined together for four weeks to explore the field of data science and how it can be used to solve some of our most pressing problems.
They spent the first week choosing a topic to investigate—anything from social, political, environmental, economic and health issues. Choosing a good topic was essential.
“One month is a long program, and we didn’t want the students to burn out,” says Dr. Rylan Chong ’10, data scientist and postdoctoral researcher at Chaminade University. “We wanted to make sure they were passionate about what they were doing, and that they believed in their project.”
During the second week, the students collected their datasets. They learned to access publicly available data, using sources like the Department of Education, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau, among others.
Week 3 was spent interpreting the data and piecing together their story. And in week 4, they learned to present their data and turn it into graphical visualizations, easy for a lay person to understand.
The summer program served as a launchpad for the new data science major at Chaminade University, starting this fall. Upon completion of the month-long institute, several of the students are exploring adding a minor or certificate in data science, and some are even working with outside entities to continue their projects.
“Data science provides the tools to do things on a broader, bigger scale,” says Dr. Chong. “I’m excited to see how far these students take their projects, and to see the new projects that come out of the first cohort of students in the new data science program.”
To learn more about the new major in data science, the first of its kind at a Hawaii university, visit chaminade.edu/nsm/data-science.
Ernest Mendoza notoriously puts his students first.
In his 27-year tenure for St. Anthony School in Maui, one of our sister Marianist institutions, he has impacted the lives of countless students. Whether it’s staying late to help a student on an assignment, inspiring students to find their faith in God or coming in on a weekend to fix things around campus, his legacy runs deep.
He was a natural choice for this year’s Teacher of the Year award, presented by Chaminade University and Hawaii Catholic Schools.
“When we looked at Mr. Mendoza’s commitment to his students and service to his school, and the incredible testimonials we received from his students, alumni and colleagues, it was clear he deserved this award,” says Dale Fryxell, dean of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences at Chaminade University and member of the selection committee. “Mr. Mendoza exemplifies everything that this award stands for—a celebration of the effect teachers have on the lives of their students.”
Mendoza received the $1,000 award, made possible by the generous support of John and Mary Lou Brogan, at the annual Hawaii Catholic Schools Recognition Luncheon on May 22.
Our own Dr. Helen Turner, dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and vice president of innovation at Chaminade University, was the event’s keynote speaker. She addressed the audience about innovation in Catholic schools.
A sincere thank you to Hawaii Catholic Schools for making these accolades possible. We look forward to our continued collaboration and partnership.
Raemie Pagaduan ’06 found her calling during an internship at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School while she was getting her master’s at Chaminade.
“What drew me to school counseling was being able to be an advocate for students, being that voice for some students who might not have one,” Pagaduan said.
The Master of Science in Counseling Psychology alumna began her career at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School 13 years ago as a 7-12th grade counselor and is now the school’s college and career counselor.
Pagaduan’s passion for counseling, commitment to helping students thrive and her instrumental role in Nanakuli High and Intermediate School’s Early College program made her an ideal candidate for the 2019 Hawaii School Counselor of the Year, awarded by the Hawaii School Counselor Association.
Since Pagaduan started counseling at Nanakuli, the number of students participating in Early College has increased from one percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2018. The rate of student enrollment at a four-year college has been the highest in more than a decade, at 24 percent.
The Early College program, which allows high school students to take college classes on their campus for high school and college credit, has been an important initiative to Pagaduan because many of her students will be the first in their families to attend college.
“I am a very strong proponent of putting minorities in places of power so that they can affect change,” Pagaduan said. “I think [getting an education] opens doors.”
The Chaminade alumna found out she won the award at an assembly held before the school year ended in front of all her students and the principal who nominated her. She said the students’ reaction, their clapping and cheering, was the best part and that she is humbled to receive this recognition. In January, Pagaduan will travel to Washington, D.C. to be recognized by the American School Counselor Association.
“[Nanakuli is] such a great place and that’s where you really see change and that’s where you really understand what hope is when you’re working with these amazing, amazing students,” Pagaduan said. “I just want to highlight Nanakuli and the people of Nanakuli who’ve taught me so much and made me the counselor that I am.”
The Master’s of Science in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) program is part of the School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. The program includes three concentrations: School Counseling, Mental Health Counseling, and Marriage and Family Counseling. MSCP prepares graduates for careers in community and school settings. Graduates assist children, youth and adults in adapting to various educational, family, organizational and societal demands. The program includes the foundational use of standards established by the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
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.
