Chaminade University of Honolulu

Humanities, Arts & Design

E+ID Student Receives Interior Design Scholarship

Hawaii interior designers – and interior designers-in-training – gathered in October to honor those who are making significant contributions to the field.

E+ID student Jacqueline Harbin receiving her scholarship

Among those recognized at the inaugural International Interior Design Association (IIDA)-Hawaii Ho’ohuli Awards: Chaminade University student Jacqueline Harbin.

Harbin is in Chaminade’s Environmental + Interior Design program, the only accredited and degree-granting program of its kind in Hawaii.

And at the October 12 event, she took home the Student Scholastic Award, which recognizes a design student who exhibits a strong work ethic, team leadership and is a strong advocate for the International Interior Design Association.

Harbin was awarded $2,000 – and showered with no small amount of praise from her mentors.

To apply for the honor, Harbin wrote an essay about her craft. She also had to be nominated by a faculty member and underwent an interview with an awards committee.

Organizers from the IIDA Hawaii Pacific Chapter say the awards gala, held at the Prince Waikiki, was an evening dedicated to celebrating “outstanding and original commercial interior design in Hawaii.”

Congratulations to our Chaminade Po’okela Award Winners

Every year, Hawaii’s theatre community comes together to celebrate the best in local stagecraft. The Po’okela Awards are considered Hawaii’s answer to the Tony Awards.

And this August, Chaminade University students, alumni and productions got plenty of recognition. 

Among the awards netted by Chaminade students: Excellence in service, presented to Chaminade senior Katelyn Shedden, and excellence in ensemble performance in a musical, which the cast of Chaminade’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” took home along with musicals performed at Manoa Valley and Diamond Head theaters.

Meanwhile, Chaminade Technical Director for the Performing Arts Claire Paul, who’s a Chaminade MBA student, won an excellence in scenic design award for her work in Leeward Theatre’s “In the Heights.” And Chaminade’s Brother Gary Morris, a performing arts associate professor at Chaminade, was honored for excellence in performance for a non-traditional production for his featured male role in The Actor’s Group’s “Mining for Coal.”

Chaminade graduate Christopher Patrinos, who teaches in the University’s performing arts program, was recognized for directing the Leeward Theatre’s production of “In The Heights.”

Chaminade was also honored to see participants in the University’s 2018 Summer Theatre Festival spotlighted at the Po’okela Awards, including the cast of “Dead Accounts,” which won for excellence in an ensemble performance. The summer festival, a tradition at Chaminade, features student actors, designers and technicians from universities around the country.

The Po’okela Awards were launched in 1984. A panel of judges selects honorees in 23 categories, including for producing and directing, individual and cast performances, and design.

Here are all of this year’s awards to Chaminade students or faculty:

  • Excellence in Service: Chaminade senior Katelyn Shedden
  • Excellence in Ensemble Performance in a Musical: The cast of the Chaminade’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Those honored were: Aulani Oka, Elijah Abramo, Angelo Oasay, Kainoa Enos, Jr., and Sofia Vela
  • Excellence in Scenic Design: Chaminade Performing Arts Technical Director Claire Paul
  • Excellence in Performance in a Non-traditional Production: Brother Gary Morris
  • Excellence in Direction in Musical Theatre: Christopher Patrinos

English Professor Receives Outstanding Mentor Award

“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.”

Senior Profile: Christopher Cobb ’19

Christopher Cobb served four years in the United States military, completing his career as a petty officer in the Navy. Now, he’s a Chaminade student in the Environmental + Interior Design (E+ID) program and works part-time at one of the top architectural firms in Honolulu, Architects Hawaii, Ltd. (AHL).

When he graduates from Chaminade University this May, he will be the first male in his family to obtain a four-year degree.  

Struggling with what to pursue after transitioning out of the Navy, Cobb considered studying architecture or civil engineering, but ultimately decided on interior design after being encouraged to do so by his wife.

Chaminade University was an obvious choice. It was the only institution to offer an accredited interior design program in Hawaii, where he and his wife were determined to stay.

Being 10-15 years older than most of his peers and an African American male in an all-female class, Cobb brought a fresh perspective to his classes and found Chaminade to be an inclusive place to learn.

“Chris takes his mission as a designer very seriously, and as an iconoclast has stood up against the stereotypes about interior design as well as the stereotypes about black men,” Elizabeth Lockard, E+ID associate professor, said. “His transcendent ways of thinking have enlightened other students and have helped them see the world from a broader perspective than their own.”

After graduation, Cobb plans to continue working for AHL and save up with his wife so that they can eventually open a home staging business on Oahu as well as multiple online businesses, and travel the world together.

Congratulations on your graduation, Christopher!

Students Redesign Mystical Rose Oratory Patio

Two environmental and interior design students met with Marianist brothers in late February to propose a new design for the Mystical Rose Oratory (MRO) patio. The Environmental + Interior Design department at Chaminade University was approached by the Marianist community earlier in the school year to create a new design proposal for the patio. The Marianists wanted a space that was both beautiful and functional and could be used for large campus and community gatherings.

E+ID students Aurelia Vining and Jacqueline Harbin presenting their MRO project

Two students, Aurelia Vining ‘20 and Jacqueline Harbin ‘20, met with the Brothers from both Chaminade University and St. Louis School to determine their needs and wants. The current patio space has 1,700 sqft. of useable space, and they wanted to increase that. They wanted something low maintenance that was protected from the sun and included lots of natural lighting.

The two students worked closely with their professors to create two design options that both increase the useable space to 3,000 sqft. The first, titled “Petals,” played off the rose design of the MRO, extending the petals from the roof of the MRO onto the patio. The second, titled “Contrasting Lines,” was inspired by nature and focused on celebrating the surrounding natural landscape.

The Brothers will now bring the two design options back to the Marianist community for input and will continue to work with the students for alterations and refinements to the designs moving forward.

Chaminade Hosts Honolulu District History Day

2019 History Day student displaysOn Saturday, March 2, more than 200 junior high and high school students from 11 public and private schools participated in Honolulu District History Day at Chaminade University.

The Honolulu district is one of nine districts to participate in the statewide Hawaii History Day, which is supported by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities. History Day is the result of a year-long program that encourages elementary to high-school students to study history through a research-based approach. Throughout the program, students create a presentation based on their research and submit it for evaluation by a panel of judges. Projects can take the form of an exhibit, documentary, performance, paper or website.

2019 History Day student displays“History Day turns students in grades 6–12 into real historians,” says Michio Yamasaki, Chaminade professor and chair of the Hawaii Council for the Humanities Board of Directors. “They do original research on a topic, studying primary sources, such as letters, diaries and photographs.”

According to this year’s History Day theme, Triumph & Tragedy in History, students from the Honolulu district submitted more than 100 projects on a range of topics like the Stonewall Riots, the Hanapepe Massacre, the Spanish Flu and more.

Based on evaluations conducted by 43 judges at Honolulu District History Day, three Junior Division (grades 6–8) projects and three Senior Division (grades 9–12) projects from each category advanced to compete at the statewide competition.

Those who passed the Honolulu district competition will join students from across the state to participate in Hawaii History Day on April 13 at Windward Community College. Projects to advance from Hawaii History Day will be presented in June at National History Day, held at the University of Maryland, College Park.