Institutional

Iceland Beer Spa

December 11, 2023

E+ID students enter International Architecture/Design Contest

E+ID students’ presentation board for the Iceland Beer Spa International Architecture/Design Competition.

After electronically submitting their final design concept to the Iceland Beer Spa International Architecture Competition, Katherine Liu ’26, Farrah Dinh ’25, Jazlynne Williamson ’25 and Soraya Ortiz ’25 were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. For the past several weeks, the Chaminade Environmental + Interior Design majors were busy conceptualizing an eco-friendly space that would include a brewery, café snack bar, souvenir shop and full-service day spa facility.

“I asked them if they wanted to enter the competition, and they jumped at the chance,” says associate professor of Arts and Design Junghwa Suh, D.Arch, of the four students in her EID 384 class that focuses on sustainability in design. “It’s really impressive what they’ve been able to come up with in such a short amount of time.”

The overall competition was to replace an existing building on the property of the Sel Hotel, a family-run establishment, which is situated right in the Lake Myvatn area next to the legendary Skutustaoagigar craters, offering a prime location for a groundbreaking multi-purpose facility. The competition sought to create a landmark destination that reflects the spirit of the region and provides an unforgettable experience for both tourists and locals alike.

Katherine Liu ’26, Farrah Dinh ’25, Jazlynne Williamson ’25, Soraya Ortiz ’25 and Dr. Junghwa Suh take a selfie before submitting their final design concept to the Iceland Beer Spa International Architecture Competition.

“Dr. Suh informed us that during her trip to Iceland, a tour guide explained how horses huddle and have formations to maintain warmth,” explains Liu, who initially wanted to pursue a degree in industrial engineering. “We wanted to integrate this idea into our design somehow since Icelandic culture values horses a great deal, and our project was strongly based off of organic forms and the idea of ‘life emulating nature.’

“The showers and bathrooms, for example, represent a cell or ecosystem within the organic crater shape of the building,” Liu adds. “Since we needed a modular element in our design, we decided to have our terrace furniture mimic the horse formations, showing the different groupings, which could be easily rearranged.”

According to organizers, the competition was a rare opportunity to contribute to the evolution of hospitality and wellness in one of Iceland’s most enchanting regions. Designs had to be innovative and environmentally sensitive with the potential of making a lasting impact on the Myvatn Lake area and the world of architecture and design.

“This was the first time that Chaminade design students entered an international competition of this magnitude,” Suh says. “They’ve worked really hard and I’m proud of the final presentation.”

Praising Dinh, Williamson and Ortiz for their contributions, Liu says there was a lot of trust among them. “Jaz even let me take her laptop home because mine didn’t have some of the functions I needed to edit the design,” adds Liu, a student representative with the American Society of Interior Designers and a former intern with G70, a Honolulu architecture firm. “I even had her remotely take over my computer so we could finish this project on time.”

The finished design, “Da Crater Spa’t” creates a cohesive, functional and inviting space that caters to the various needs of guests. More importantly, the final product harmoniously incorporates the environs of Lake Myvatn, featuring basalt lava rock, natural ventilation, and eco-friendly finishes and materials that balance the serene beauty of the environment with the functional requirements of the project.

“They were super motivated and ambitious,” Suh says. “For three juniors and one sophomore, the level of their work is beyond impressive, and I hope they win.”

However, Liu, Dinh, Williamson and Ortiz acknowledge it’s going to be a difficult path. The competition, after all, is open to international licensed architects and designers who have years of experience in their respective fields. Still, the four Siverswords remain optimistic.

“If we win, we get to go to Iceland,” says Liu who plans on participating in a study abroad program in Florence, Italy next year. “After completing this project, my biggest takeaway was understanding the balance of adhering to a competition project timeline while continuously evolving design concepts through rigorous collaborative efforts.”

Cybersecurity Workshop

December 8, 2023

Expert warns of maintaining healthy online hygiene

Similar to what you would hear at a dentist office, Liam Wesley dispensed advice about the importance of daily hygiene during a Cybersecurity Workshop at the Data Science Center in Tredtin Hall. But for the cybersecurity expert, this means never using the same username nor the same password ever! Just like you would never keep using the same strand of floss.

In an era dominated by digitization, Wesley described the importance of robust cybersecurity measures that cannot be overstated. As online users navigate an increasingly interconnected world, the guardians of our digital realm are facing new challenges and adapting strategies to protect against evolving cyber threats. Wesley is among them fighting the digital perils.

The 90-minute Cybersecurity Workshop was hosted by the National Science Foundation ALL-SPICE Alliance, which includes the United Nations CIFAL CENTER of Honolulu, Information Technology and Services Department (senior director Jules Sukhabut), the Networking Department (director Joseph Rosario), Data Science, Analytics and Visualization Program (director Rylan Chong, Ph.D.) and the Computer Science Department.

Liam Wesley—a penetration tester and cybersecurity engineer with High Tech Hui, LLC and Cyberruptive—demonstrated some of the tools that professional hackers keep in their arsenal.

“We brought in Liam to demonstrate real cyberattacks, and discuss how a student can protect themselves for educational purposes and build awareness,” said Chong, Co-Principal Investigator of the National Science Foundation’s Alliance Supporting Pacific Impact through Computational Excellence (ALL-SPICE) grant. “Joe and I plan to pilot this cybersecurity workshop to Natural Sciences and Mathematics students to gauge interest. This will help us understand if there is interest for future workshops, larger workshops and/or a need for a cybersecurity course or program.”

Cybersecurity experts, like Wesley—a penetration tester and cybersecurity engineer with High Tech Hui, LLC and Cyberruptive—warn of the escalating sophistication of cyber threats, ranging from ransomware attacks that cripple essential services to targeted phishing campaigns exploiting the remote work landscape. The proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices—AI voice assistants like the Amazon Echo and Google Home—coupled with the rise of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks, adds a layer of complexity to the battlefield.

In the face of these evolving threats, organizations are doubling down on best practices to fortify their defenses. This includes regular employee training to recognize and thwart phishing attempts, implementing multi-factor authentication, and keeping software and systems up-to-date with the latest security patches.

“Patching is absolutely necessary,” Wesley said. “But wait a few days to avoid the potential for buffer overflow, which are memory storage regions that temporarily hold data while it is being transferred from one location to another.”

Initially limited to Rosario’s computer science networking class, the workshop was eventually opened to all Natural Sciences and Mathematics students due to the importance of the topic and the large interest from Chong’s previous presentation on the topic.

One of the workshop’s primary goals was to bring awareness and introduce education innovation. Chong explained that the topic is very important for the University’s DSAV, CS and NSM students, as many of them are doing research, working with data and sensitive data at various organizations for jobs and internships, and using computers.

“Instead of traditionally just bringing in someone to talk about cybersecurity in general, our goal was to make this relevant to the students to build awareness, address on the national security level the lack of cybersecurity education in schools, and an approach to work on better securing our campus,” Chong said. “In addition, we are planning to take an innovative educational approach by actually demonstrating how easy it is to hack and simulate how bad a cyberattack can be to an organization.”

The landscape of cybersecurity is indeed dynamic and ever-evolving. Experts agree that a collaborative, proactive approach—comprising technological innovation, regulatory compliance and ongoing education—is essential to safeguarding our digital world against the relentless tide of cyber threats.

“There was a lot of information, which was hard to keep up with,” said data science and visualization major LaVelle White ’26. “He explained pretty well how hackers get into systems, even though I can’t hack, but I understood the concept.”

Literary Honor

December 6, 2023

Professor Jim Kraus receives Loretta Petrie Award

It was poetic that Chaminade English professor James Kraus, Ph.D., was announced as the recipient of this year’s Loretta Petrie Award by the Hawaii Literary Arts Council (HLAC). After all, the award’s namesake was an early leader of HLAC, and a teacher and administrator at Chaminade University, where she took an active role in its literary magazine and sustained her own lifelong interest in writing. A legacy that Kraus helps perpetuate today on campus.

English professor Jim Kraus, Ph.D., was a recipient of this year’s Loretta Petrie Award by the Hawaii Literary Arts Council.

“This is meaningful because it is recognition for the work I have done on behalf of the literary community, trying to model what it is to be a good ‘literary citizen,’” says Kraus who, incidentally, was hired by Petrie as a full-time Chaminade faculty member in 1985. “I’ve been active in this regard for well over 40 years, since I was in graduate school at the University of Hawaii in the 1970s.”

An avid surfer who started teaching part-time at Chaminade in 1976, Kraus’ formative years were spent studying nuclear engineering with the Navy, with a dream of getting into the United States Coast Guard Academy. Then the Vietnam War happened, and he became a conscientious objector, legally claiming the right to refuse to perform military service on the grounds of freedom, and conscience and thought principles.

“I never wanted anything to do with nuclear technology ever again when I returned from the Navy,” Kraus asserts. “There was a lot going on in those days, including the 1970 massive protests that led to the Kent State shooting.”

From 1980-1984, Kraus was the founder, editor and publisher of Hawai‘i Surf & Sea magazine, a publication dedicated to all aspects of the ocean. It was a passion for Kraus, as was poetry. Today, he is a popular English professor and a prolific author, whose poems have graced multiple magazines and literary journals, including Virginia Quarterly Review, Pequod, Unmuzzled Ox, Kentucky Poetry Review, Bamboo Ridge, Hawaii Review, Neologism Poetry Journal, Poetry Hawaii and elsewhere. His latest essay Poetry and Anti-Nuclearism was published in the volume Toxic Immanence: Decolonizing Nuclear Legacies and Futures (McGill-Queens University Press). He has also recently taught a poetry class at Halawa Correctional Facility as part of Chaminade’s Higher Education in Prison (HEP) program.

“The intent is to honor resident members of the Hawaii literary community whose contributions have benefited the work and advancement of others,” said HLAC officer John Simonds of the Loretta Petrie Award. “The awardees may (but need not) be active writers, professionals or volunteers in roles that may include (but are not limited to) editing, publishing, mentoring, event-organizing, promoting, or serving as creative allies or catalysts.”

Now in its seventh year, the awards were inspired by a bequest from Loretta D. Petrie (1928-2014), whose generosity has enabled the HLAC to honor her legacy of unselfish service, particularly to other writers. The awards have resulted from her unrestricted bequest to the Council, a gift made known after her death in 2014 at age 85. Members of her family living on the mainland agreed with HLAC that such an award would be appropriate to her memory.

A professor of English, Kraus teaches creative writing, American literature and surf studies. Currently, he is the editor of the Chaminade Literary Review (CLR). He is also a past president of the HLAC.

“My experience in the literary community has included participating in the Poets-in-the-schools Program, helping organize and incorporate the Hawaii Literary Arts Council back in the ’70s, sitting on its board in the ’80s, then serving as its president,” says Kraus, who will be on sabbatical in the spring at New York University. “I continue to be active in publishing Chaminade Literary Review—which was initiated by Petrie in 1986—as well as organizing poetry readings and other events.”

Early Childhood Education

November 30, 2023

Flex program allowed Sienna Delano to work in a classroom and as a fairytale character

She has been Snow White. She has dressed up as Belle. And Sienna Delano ’23 has even donned on the wings of Tinkerbell. Her ultimate princess fairytale, though, came true in May when she slipped into her blue gown and sashayed across the stage to receive her Chaminade University bachelor’s degree at the Waikiki Shell. But, it has not always been an animated Disney fantasy world for the Kapolei resident.

“When I was in high school, I was dealing with health issues that impeded me from actually attending school,” says Delano, who received a B.S. in Early Childhood Education. “The underlying problem was gastritis, which caused me to pass out a lot, and I was throwing up everything I ate. I really hit rock bottom, but I used my mind to heal myself.”

And it worked with the help of her parents, Ken and Jacqueline, who are both psychologists. Delano ended up getting her high school degree online with Penn Foster. And when she finished her last class at 10 p.m., she recalled waking her parents up and screaming “I just finished.” She was only 16 years old, but this self-described “hustler” has always been somewhat of a wunderkind.

Chaminade University president, Dr. Lynn Babington, presented Sienna Delano with her bachelors degree.

“Even though I got better, I was already enrolled in Chaminade’s Flex program, and I decided to stay with it,” Delano says. “Plus, I didn’t have my driver’s license then, and even though I do have my license now, I still don’t really like to drive.”

Chaminade’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) bachelor’s degree is aligned with state requirements and National Association for the Education of Young Children standards. The ECE major is flexible, and is offered through online courses that allow students to fit instruction into a busy schedule.

“We did some surveys and early childhood educators indicated that their life situations don’t allow them to take in-person courses,” says Dr. Elizabeth Park, associate professor and director of the Early Childhood and Montessori programs. “So what we did was really spend the energy and time to design robust online courses, so that we could really meet the needs of our educators.”

Delano understands the importance of early childhood education, and how it lays the groundwork for a child’s lifelong learning journey, contributing to their intellectual, social and emotional development. The positive experiences and skills acquired during these formative years create a strong foundation for success in school and in life.

“I started the Flex program in 2020 and my goal was to become an early childhood educator in a couple of years,” Delano says. “I really liked Chaminade’s online modules, which allowed me to set my own pace.”

Delano decided she wanted to become a second or third grade teacher because she enjoys reading to kids, a skill that she cultivated and strengthened while working at Storybook Entertainment Hawaii, which primarily provides character entertainment for private parties.

“I’ve always loved reading,” Delano says. “When I was young, I would read with my dad in a green chair that was designated for reading. I’ve probably read six to seven books this year alone.”

Delano’s parents have always stressed to her and her three sisters the importance of the mind and how to best use it to their advantage. She believes in the importance of using one’s mind lies in its transformative impact on personal development, cognitive abilities, emotional well-being and the overall quality of life.

“Even though I didn’t have the in-person campus experience, I was still able to create a lot of memories online,” says Delano, who will finish her student-teaching requirement at Kapolei Elementary School in December. “We would have ‘Session Rooms’ and ‘Workspaces” where we could post our ideas and have peer interaction.

“Sr. Malia Wong even had us submit videos of ourselves so it felt like we knew each other,” Delano adds. “She made me cry … in a good way. She called me an inspiration and said to me ‘Maybe I’ll see you as a princess.’”

Community Garden

November 28, 2023

Students tend to the māla as part of EN102

Pushing a wheelbarrow in the māla, Zachary “Pono” Narcisco was learning how to garden—not exactly what he had in mind when he enrolled in his English class. The “cultivating” effort is all part of Dr. Koreen Nakahodo’s mandatory service-learning component of her EN102 Composition and Rhetoric course.

“We have to do at least six hours of service learning,” said Narcisco, a freshman and an aspiring nurse. “Dr. Nakahodo asked us to write about our experience at the māla, and what value we can bring out from gardening.”

Many universities offer some form of service-learning, which is an educational approach that combines community service with academic learning to provide students with a holistic and hands-on learning experience. This experiential learning approach also helps students deepen their understanding of course material and how it applies to the everyday world.

“Unlike community service—which might include something like a one-day beach clean-up and then you go home—service learning directly connects service-to-course content,” said Mitch Steffey, Chaminade’s Associate Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement Service. “Learners try to apply aspects of the course while simultaneously working to satisfy the needs of the community.”

Nakahodo’s pedagogical approach to teaching is based on three principles: place, space and transactional writing. For this Fall’s EN102, she initially themed it “Food Insecurity,” which would have involved Christina Klimo, University of Dayton’s Write Place Coordinator with the Office of Learning Resource.

“Two years ago, we met while participating in the Marianist Educational Associates formation program, and we shared similar ideas,” said Nakahodo, who has taught at Chaminade since 1998. “Then we started having weekly Zoom meetings and it just progressed from there.”

After numerous Zoom conference calls, Nakahodo and Klimo had coordinated to collaborate on a course this term that would be based on the two universities’ community gardens, hence the theme. The first session was hosted by Silverswords who held up their laptops to capture the views of Diamond Head and the ocean to show the UD students.

“It was a get-to-know-each-other meeting,” Nakahodo said. “The second session was going to be hosted by UD and the third session would have been a collaborative effort. But unfortunately, Christina got sick and we had to postpone the session.”

Shoveling mulch into the wheelbarrow, sophomore Maka‘ala Ng said it’s difficult to grow plants and vegetables in this garden because of the quality of the soil, but they’ll persist, as long as students keep helping to tend the garden.

“When vegetables do start growing, we’re going to give them away,” said Ng, an Environmental Science and Environmental Studies double major. “Right now, we’re planting corn, peas, cucumbers and indigenous plants. We also apply three different methods to compost waste: tumbler, which looks like a cement mixer; vermicomposting or worm farm composting; and in-ground composting.”

Steffey has spearheaded the garden endeavor for the past couple of years with the help of students like Narcisco and Ng, and professors like Nakahodo who want to address the disconnection between island residents living in today’s fast-paced, consumer-oriented society and their lack of awareness of food origins and production.

“Eighty-five to 90 percent of our food is imported,” Steffey said. “We need policies and actions to increase the amount of locally grown food consumed by Hawaii’s residents. And we’re trying to do our own little part for our community.”

I Go 2 College

November 17, 2023

Fifth graders experience campus life for a day

Trying to explain Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ (“Praise be to you,” a quotation from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Creatures”) to 12-year-old kids in a university environment is no easy task. Yet, Bro. Ed Brink, S.M. comfortably stood in front of a group of Sacred Hearts Academy, and St. Theresa and St. Elizabeth students and started his discussion with a simple question: have you ever received a birthday card in the mail?

Raising her hand, Charlie Yim screamed out “from my auntie.” Sitting next to Yim, fellow Lancer, Camryn Abe, echoed the same response. In fact, every student had received a card, either from an auntie or a grandparent. Some even said they had received letters, which was the perfect segue for Brink to ask his second question: Why do we send cards and letters?

Surely enough, students answered with “to let us know they care for us and they love us.” It was a response that could not have been any better scripted than if Brink had pre-written the answer himself. After all, the Pope’s 184-page encyclical letter—Laudato Si’— focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship among God, humans and the Earth. The encyclical’s subtitle, “Care for Our Common Home,” reinforces these key themes.

Bro. Ed Brink teaches fifth graders about Laudato Si.

“Pope Francis’ encyclicals are letters to the people,” said Brink, Vice President of Mission and Rector. “They are letters to show his care and love for the people. Earth is God’s gift to us, and it belongs to everyone, but it needs our protection and immediate attention.”

After shuffling slides of a PowerPoint presentation, Brink handed out sheets of a word search puzzle that contained vocabulary that directly pertained to the environment and sustainability. Working together in groups of seven, students eagerly searched for words in the puzzle, circling “recycle” along a diagonal path and “earth” along a vertical column.

The exercise wasn’t lost on the students who were part of a cohort of 166 fifth graders who visited campus to experience college life. Now in its second year, “I Go 2 College” is a partnership between Chaminade University and Hawaii Catholic Schools.

“The I Go 2 College event exceeded my expectations,” said Llewellyn Young, Ph.D., superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools. “Our preliminary surveys showed that all stakeholders including teachers, parents and students were very satisfied with the experience.

“Anecdotally, several parents called my office when we did our first event last spring to tell me that they thought the program was brilliant and inspiring,” Young continued. “Parents spoke with such enthusiasm. One parent told me that her son talked about it for a few weeks. He never mentioned college before the experience, but now he can’t wait to go.”

St. Theresa students, Heaven Lee and Katelin Nitta, and Sacred Hearts’s Lauren Schofield and Kiara Cruz all plan to attend university, and Chaminade may be their choice. The four fifth graders said this college experience was “fun—even with all the up-and-down hikes.”

Attending for a second year, St. Theresa fifth-grade teacher Alyssa Yabes said last year’s students “really enjoyed it a lot.” “They kept talking that they loved going to college,” she said. “All the hiking, they told me, was worth it.”

Started approximately 16 years ago, the “I Go To College” program aims to introduce 9-12-year-old students to higher education, even before they step onto a middle school campus. “The purpose of this program is to expose the students to college life at an early age and to provide them with a day that is fun and eye-opening,” said Kim Baxter, Director of Early College programs at Chaminade. “Additionally, one benefit to offering visit opportunities for younger students is that when they return as juniors or seniors, the students will be better prepared to participate in traditional campus visit programs.”