Chaminade University of Honolulu

Student Life

Chaminade’s First ‘Back to School Bash’ is a Smash Hit

A new tradition delivers music, food, and fun to the Chaminade University community.

Chaminade’s first ever Back to School Bash was held on September 25 with great success. The Bash was organized as a way for the university to welcome everyone back to campus after the summer break.

The festivities went on as scheduled and the crowd turned up in strength despite the potential for inclement weather with Hurricane Nolo’s approach.

Hundreds of Chaminade students stayed on campus Friday evening, joining alumni, faculty, and staff to celebrate the new academic year while enjoying good food and good music. Chaminade University President Lynn Babington, Ph.D. thanked the crowd for coming and indicated that plans are already in the works for many more such occasions to come.

“We hope this is the first of many Back to School Bashes,” she said.

Vice President for Advancement Jill Higashi said planning for the first Bash had been underway for several months. She said the organizers aimed for the Bash to help foster a better sense of family and belonging.

“It really came out of the desire or the goal to engage the Chaminade community, the current students who live on campus, but also the commuters,” Higashi said. “Something that would keep them on campus so they can mingle and build relationships with those that are dorming as well as with some faculty and staff, and alumni, too. So that was kind of the hope.”

She said Chaminade has hosted one-off gatherings for students and alumni in the past, but never at this scale.

This very first Back to School Bash was held on the lawn next to Sullivan Family Library and featured local musical talent. Denny Ono got things rolling, followed by Sons of Yeshua right around sunset. By nightfall, Kapena took to the stage to close the concert out.

Local food truck vendors parked nearby, while Chaminade’s golf team set up shop, serving up burgers and chips. Higashi said she hoped other student groups will be inspired to become involved at the next Back to School Bash.

Some lucky attendees were awarded with door prizes as the celebration kicked off.

More students turned up as the sun went down for the evening of food and entertainment. By nightfall, Sons of Yeshua put the crowd in the mood for some dancing.

Chaminade’s 2026 Back to School Bash was a welcomed break from classes and textbooks. The university ‘ohana is already looking forward to next year’s Bash.

“We’re talking with those that came, and also reaching out to some students from different areas for feedback, to see what worked well or what they would change a little bit,” Higashi said.

Employers Offer Options to Chaminade Students at Campus Career Fair

Private sector employers, state agencies, federal government offices, and nonprofits all turned up in force to the campus’ latest showcase of career opportunities, sizing up Chaminade students while advertising job openings and career paths.

The Chaminade University Career fair was held at Hale Hoaloha on Wednesday, and it was well-attended. Hundreds of students turned up for the three-hour gathering, spending time at dozens of employers’ booths to learn more about the positions state and mainland employers are trying to fill and the types of candidates they’re looking for.

Jeri Mara-Berger, Business Development Manager at Altres Medical, said she came to the Career Fair to set up an information and recruitment booth in the hope of making connections with students in Chaminade’s renowned nursing program.

“I’m here specifically for medical, because Chaminade has RN programs,” she explained. “A lot of RNs have difficulty finding jobs when they graduate, so we’re here to kind of let them know that there are options.”

Mara-Berger confirmed that there is an acute shortage of nurses in Hawai’i. Thus, Chaminade University’s nursing students are in a strong position to locate work post-graduation. All they need to do is reach out, she said.

“We’re always short staffed,”  Mara-Berger said.

Altres Medical was hardly the only medical and mental-health related employer represented at the fair.

Representatives at ‘Ike Loa Therapeutic Services said they were busy recruiting future counselors and were interested in speaking with psychology majors. Officials with Hale Kipa, an Ewa-based nonprofit that supports and empowers at-risk youth and families,  also said they were on the lookout for crisis counselors and mental health professionals soon to graduate from Chaminade.

Meanwhile, Chaminade’s criminal justice and forensic science programs drew in representatives of state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation set up a booth at the fair, as did the U.S. Secret Service and Maui County Police Department. FBI representatives said they were there to tout internship opportunities and the bureau’s efforts to recruit new trainees even among students still in their junior year in college, part of a new Collegiate Hiring Initiative that aims to foster new FBI recruits through its training and promotion system for years.

Employers looking for technically qualified candidates also turned up to the Career Fair in strength.

Shay Zykoba, Corporate Engagement Manager at Hawaiian Telecom, said this was her first year to recruit at the Chaminade University Career Fair.

Zykoba said the rising frequency of storms and related service outages in the state has her company mindful of the need to hire more personnel.

“There have been a lot of storms recently,” she said. “That’s why we need these positions filled. It’s very important to keep people online during bad weather.”

Zykoba said Hawaiian Telecom knows what it is looking for in new recruits. She was confident that Chaminade’s students meet those expectations.

“We’re looking for folks who are go-getters, who have the attitude to be given a task and complete it on their own without much direction but to ask for help when they need it,” she said.

State government representatives also turned up to remind continuing and graduating Chaminade students that the State of Hawaii is in an ongoing drive to streamline its hiring process while working to quickly fill long-open civil service and non-civil service positions alike.

They advised Chaminade students to check out the website jobs.hawaii.gov for information on the state’s latest openings.

The Fair featured employers large and small, from the U.S. Navy to Waikiki Community Preschool. Kamehameha Schools was on hand to recruit students, as was the Make-A-Wish Foundation and other notable nonprofit organizations.

Jill, Talent Acquisition Specialist at Enterprise, said she turned up in the hopes of recruiting candidates interested in management positions, potentially ideal for business students, though she stressed that she was interested in hearing from students of all backgrounds.

“We have our summer internships and our management training programs, and so they are open to any student,” she said. “We are looking for juniors who may be interested in learning about how to run a business.”

Chaminade ‘Ohana Paddles Out in Renewed ‘Surf Hui’ Tradition at Waikīkī

Surfing is Hawai’i, and Hawai’i is surfing.

The sport of surfing traces its roots to ancient Polynesia, was perfected here, and was later popularized from these shores, spreading to the world. Surfing is by far Hawai’i’s most successful cultural export. Now, Chaminade University’s leadership is determined to revive a campus surf club tradition that fell by the wayside during the pandemic.

Lance Askildson, Ph.D., Chaminade’s Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, is an avid surfer. For 20 years, Askildson has been riding waves and improving his craft. He even brings his surfboard with him to work most days, so he’s ready to hit the water again after classes before the sun goes down.

Eager to share his passion, this past weekend Askildson hosted the first of what will become many ‘Surf Hui’ gatherings at Waikīkī.

For this first introductory Surf Hui, Askildson invited beginner faculty, staff, and student surfers to take lessons and learn the ropes. The next Surf Hui will be meant for those comfortable enough with the sport to paddle out and control their boards.

Askildson said surfing is a physical, emotional, and spiritual escape for him, and he’s excited to be sharing it with his Chaminade ‘ohana.

“For me, this love of surfing is deeply tied to the connection to nature and being out in the ocean,” Askildson shared. “Being out in nature means it’s an opportunity to remind yourself that you are a part of creation, and it’s very humbling.”

“It actually makes me feel closer to God.”

Though already huge, surfing is gaining popularity globally.

The sport was featured as an official Olympic sport for the first time ever in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics, then again in the 2024 Paris Olympics, with competition occurring in Tahiti. Surfers will compete for Olympic gold once again at the 2028 Los Angeles games.

There are a growing number of high school surfing clubs worldwide. Those students will soon have the opportunity to continue surfing and enjoying the sport at Chaminade as the campus community’s Surf Hui tradition is restored.

As global as it has become, surfing cannot be separated from its Hawaiian roots.

For centuries, riding coastal waves on crafted wooden boards was a way for Native Hawaiians to showcase their connections to the ocean. For many Hawaiians, surfing still holds deep spiritual meaning and significance.

It’s for those reasons and more that it’s important for surfing to once again find a home at Chaminade.

Several faculty members are excellent surfers, and Askildson goes out regularly with a few of them. There are frequent surfers among the staff and student body, as well. They will all now have more opportunities to surf together on weekends, weather permitting.

The new Surf Hui is not just a casual weekend excursion Askildson is hosting that others are invited to join. This revived tradition has earned official Chaminade University sanction. Askildson said he went through all the proper channels to secure the governing cabinet’s approval.

Participants have a few waivers to sign and rules to follow. Other than that, the most important rule for Surf Hui is to have fun and stay safe–the group goes out together and returns to the beach together.

This past weekend was for beginners and those still learning. The next Surf Hui, scheduled for September 27, won’t necessarily be for experts, but Askildson said it’s important that participants know the basics.

“You need to be able to surf independently and control your board for safety reasons,” he explained. “Anybody who even does the lessons needs to be able to swim; that’s kind of the de minimis thing.”

“Then once they feel like they have those essential surf skills, they can join the Surf Hui.”

Askildson said he’s planning to host four more Surf Hui’s this semester following this past weekend’s introductory lessons. After the September 27 event, there will be another Surf Hui organized sometime in late October.

Though he’s happy to help get the ball rolling, Askildson said his real hope is that the students take over the organizational work and keep this tradition alive. Either way, Surf Hui is back, bringing together Chaminade University leadership, administrators, staff, faculty, and students all together for a day of casual camaraderie, to share their love of surfing and the connections to nature and Hawai’i that come with this ancient tradition.

“This is about building community,” Askildson said. “This is about meeting other people who are enthusiastic about surfing, but also to just feel a connection to Hawai’i surf culture, which has really deep roots here, cultural roots.”

Three Chaminade Students Return for Fall Fresh off Three Unique Experiences

By Justin Siliva

Junior communication major James Carter brought a new perspective back to Chaminade University after spending a month in Colombia and 10 days in Thailand over the summer. 

“You see people who may have less but are still very happy with what they have,” Carter said.

Summer took Chaminade students beyond their usual routines. Some traveled thousands of miles from Hawai’i, while others worked, trained for their upcoming sports season, or returned home to spend time with family. By the start of fall, those experiences had shifted their priorities. 

Carter wasn’t the only one returning with a different outlook. 

Senior communications major Milan Cordone spent her summer back home in Las Vegas, while junior psychology major Malcolm Seales prepared for a fresh start right here in O‘ahu as he entered his first semester at Chaminade. 

For all three, the summer gave them something to carry into the new school year.

In Bangkok, Carter tried Thai food, learned about Buddhist traditions, and took in the city’s fast pace. One of the trip’s most memorable moments came when he fed milk to a baby tiger and fed giraffes and kangaroos.

“It was an eye-opener seeing different cultures and how people live,” Carter said. “Traveling gives me a chance to decompress, recenter, and come back more focused.” 

During his month in Colombia, Carter tried different dishes and saw firsthand how daily life and conditions differed from what he was used to in Hawai’i. He spent time observing the culture and the way people went about their everyday lives, giving him a closer look at a place far different from home. 

Cordone’s summer looked different from the past few years, when she played for Minnesota Aurora FC, a semi-professional soccer team. This year, she returned to Las Vegas, where she was born and raised.

There, she continued training for Chaminade’s fall soccer season while working for her uncles on flooring and sewage jobs. Cordone also helped with her family’s business, American Funnel Cakes, working at its food stand during a Filipino festival alongside her cousins.

“Being with my family was a big priority of mine,” Cordone said. “Just seeing my cousins and my parents hit a little bit differently this summer.”

Seales spent most of his summer on the island working to support himself and prepare for the semester. He arrived at Chaminade after serving nine years in the U.S. Army.

While on active duty, Seales attended Hawaiʻi Pacific University. His military schedule often meant taking night classes and fitting school around his service responsibilities, with classes sometimes held at different locations around the island.

Seales stayed in Hawaiʻi after leaving the military. When choosing his next school, he wanted smaller class sizes and a Psychology program. 

He found both at Chaminade.

For Carter, returning to Chaminade meant finding a better balance between his classes and his participation on the cross-country team. After spending last semester worrying about assignments and stressing about their deadlines, he entered the fall focused on managing his workload without putting as much pressure on himself.

“It feels good to be back at school, being back in a learning environment, knocking out my courses,” Carter said. “I’m just looking forward to conquering things, you know, just finishing the semester strong.”

Cordone transferred to Chaminade last spring after playing Division I soccer at the University of North Dakota. This fall marks her senior season and her first full year at Chaminade.

Because she arrived in the spring, Cordone had several months to settle into Chaminade before returning to compete this fall. That time gave her a chance to get familiar with the campus and build relationships with her teammates before the season began. 

“Coming from a Division I school, it was a lot more of a ‘this is my entire identity, and I need to make sure that I can prove that I’m worth being there,’” Cordone said. “Whereas here it’s more about enjoying the experience, still working hard, but just not as stressful.”

For Seales, his first semester at Chaminade also means getting further into his major. He spent the majority of his previous semester taking general education courses. Now, more of his classes are focused on Psychology.

The classroom experience has been different, too. Seales said smaller classes and resources such as tutoring have helped him academically. He’s also spending more time around students studying the same course and working toward similar goals about what they want to do after college.

“Now I’m starting to really get challenged by the people around me,” Seales said. “As they say, steel sharpens steel.”

Cordone’s senior year will be her final season with Chaminade women’s soccer and her last few months of college with her friends and teammates. The Silverswords are 0-2 through their first two matches of the season. 

“I just want to be able to say that I enjoyed college,” said Cordone, a senior midfielder. “I feel like how you end things is usually how you remember them. So ending it on a very fun note with a bunch of my friends and my teammates would really be a great thing to walk away with.”

As Cordone looks to make the most of her final year, Seales is approaching his first semester at Chaminade with lessons from his previous experiences in school and the military.

“I always look back to situations where I thought they were the hardest,” Seales said. “If I was able to make it through that, then I definitely can handle the ones that are coming around the corner.”

Scholars Need ‘Eight Eyes’: Kristiana Kahakauwila Shares Her Story at Inaugural Lecture

“I hate everything I write, but I write anyway.”

Those were just some of the unexpected words of encouragement author and English professor Kristiana Kahakauwila offered to Chaminade University freshmen earlier this week.

She meant that aspiring writers should write as much as possible, even if they worry that their prose or storytelling isn’t particularly good. It’s not meant to be perfect the first time, she said. The point is to pour your thoughts out–perferably on paper the first time, she recommended–and later craft the language more carefully. Over time, this exercise will hone one’s writing skills.

Prof. Kahakauwila was the featured speaker for the inaugural CUH 100 guest lecture series. She spoke in front of a packed, standing-room only audience of mostly freshmen students enrolled in the CUH 100 course.

CUH 100 is a single-credit course open only to first-year students. The class is designed to be a general introduction to college life oriented toward helping students develop better academic skills.

Currently the director of UH Mānoa’s Creative Writing Program, Kahakauwila is the author of two books: This is Paradise: Stories (Hogarth 2013) and Clairboyance (HarperCollins 2024). The latter title is about a young girl who gains the power to hear what boys are thinking.

Kahakauwila covered a lot of ground. In her lecture, titled ‘Ways of Seeing: Becoming a Scholar,” Kahakauwila retold stories of her time in Maui, Long Beach, California, and at Chaminade.

She noted how her career trajectory involved a series of twists and turns, at times working as a bar tender, other times teaching as an adjunct. She went on to study literature at Princeton University and creative writing at the University of Michigan.

Kahakauwila seemed to particularly enjoy recounting tales of her time taking The Bus back and forth across the island between jobs. She told the student audience that they should all try to take the bus to the North Shore and all around Oahu at least once. “It will take you all day,” she admitted, but she argued that it would be worth it for the chance to meet some interesting characters who would tell them fascinating stories during the ride.

On the larger theme of her talk and the CUH 100 course, what it means to be a scholar, Kahakauwila said students should strive toward achieving Makawalu, ‘eight eyes’.

She explained that Makawalu is a traditional Hawaiian expression that means people should aspire to broaden their horizons, learn to see things differently, and gain new perspectives on their journeys through life.

“The liberal arts education is one aimed at giving you more ways of seeing,” Kahakauwila explained.

In other words, you chose to become a scholar “so you can grow more eyes.”

“I added a lot of new eyes during my time at Chaminade,” she recalled.

However, aspiring for Makawalu should not end at graduation from Chaminade, Kahakauwila cautioned.

“If all you do is leave with Makawalu you haven’t done enough”

Chaminade’s Hawaiʻi Guarantee is More than a Promise; It’s a Pact

When Nanea Chu was gearing up to graduate from Parker High School on Hawaiʻi Island, she knew she wanted to continue her education at college but didn’t necessarily have a school in her home state in mind. Nanea was actually considering going someplace much farther away, unsure if she could bear the cost of studying in her home state.

“I was going to go to Rhode Island for school,” she said.

Nanea said she was considering attending the Rhode Island School of Design, an institution with high tuition rates but in a state with a lower cost of living. Depending on the aid package, traveling all the way to Providence for college could have ended up being cheaper than staying in Hawaiʻi. 

“I didn’t think that I would be able to afford it if I chose to stay here,” she said.

Layla Becker also knew she wanted to go to college following her graduation from James Campbell High School. She initially zeroed in on two private universities on Oʻahu. It was a toss-up, but a trusted advisor recommended she give Chaminade a closer look.

“I only applied to two schools originally,” Layla said. “I had an environmental science teacher in high school who was talking to me a bunch about college and he recommended Chaminade to me because he had family that went.”

There were, of course, a lot of other factors to consider, yet both Layla and Nanea ultimately chose to study at Chaminade University of Honolulu, in part due to the university’s new Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship, a commitment the university launched the year they both applied.

Now in its fourth year, the Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship is helping new generations of Hawaiʻi students afford a Chaminade University education.

The Guarantee is a promise the university makes to resident first-time college students graduating from local high schools. The admissions and financial aid offices work with enrolling students to ensure that the tuition rate these incoming students pay matches the institutional in-state tuition rate residents would pay to go to public universities.

It’s one way Chaminade University is striving to be as accessible as possible, understanding why it’s important that Hawaiʻi high school graduates have the option to pursue a Chaminade education regardless of means.

The Guarantee works in tandem with the university’s efforts to ensure students graduate in four years, keeping costs down while helping everyone in the Chaminade family pursue their dreams and goals without unnecessary delay or expense. Today, Chaminade University boasts the state’s highest four-year graduation rate.

Both Nanea and Layla said Chaminade’s Hawaiʻi Guarantee program played a significant role in swaying their decisions to stay in the state and attend the university. They agree that the next wave of graduating high school seniors in Hawaiʻi should give the Guarantee a closer look.

“I would definitely recommend Chaminade,” Layla said.

A private university education at an in-state public price

Chaminade University is Hawaiʻi’s only private Catholic university. We fulfill the Marianist mission of promoting personal and community well-being through education, and we are particularly committed to serving Native Hawaiians and residents of the state even as we welcome students, staff, and faculty from everywhere.

The school’s devotion to serving Hawaiʻi is what ultimately inspired the Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship program. Both Nanea and Layla are on course to graduate at the end of the current academic year. Now seniors, they are among the first cohort of students to receive Chaminade’s Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship.

As noted earlier, the Guarantee is a sort of pact Chaminade makes with qualifying students. Through the Guarantee, Chaminade University will work to match Hawaiʻi’s in-state tuition rate for any qualifying local first-year student.

Incoming students apply for the Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship by first submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Via the Guarantee, Chaminade will adjust students’ tuition rates after institutional aid is factored in to ensure that what the students pay matches in-state public university tuition costs. The adjusted tuition rate only rises when the in-state tuition rate goes up.

It’s a big deal–the Guarantee can bring annual tuition costs down by as much as two-thirds.

All Hawaiʻi graduating high school seniors, incoming university freshmen, and first-time Hawaiʻi college students are eligible for Chaminade’s Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship. Applicants must be seeking their first bachelor’s degree and enroll as full-time students.

In addition, all majors are eligible, with the exception of Chaminade’s nursing degree programs. The scholarship is also renewable for three years.

For Nanea, the Guarantee meant she could choose to stay close to home and avoid relocating thousands of miles away to study her chosen field, which was graphic design at the time she was shopping for colleges. She later switched her major to interior design, impressed by Chaminade’s tough but excellent interior design program.

“It takes a lot of discipline and you can’t procrastinate whatsoever really, or it’ll really catch up to you,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Layla said the Guarantee helped convince her to choose Chaminade over other universities to pursue a degree in criminal justice.

Nanea said Chaminade’s Hawaiʻi Guarantee “definitely was a big factor in staying here” versus flying off to the mainland.

Layla said it was the same with her, even after she learned that she could couple the scholarship with Veterans Affairs benefits she qualified for through her father’s service in the military.

“It piqued my interest and I definitely was more persuaded to choose Chaminade because at the time I didn’t know I qualified for VA benefits,” Layla shared.

Peace of mind in pursuit of knowledge

With an up to two-thirds decrease in tuition costs, the Guarantee is significant and designed to give every Hawaiʻi resident a chance at being a part of the Chaminade University community.

As the university says on its Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship website, “We’re giving you and your family financial peace of mind, so you can focus on achieving your goals and stepping into your future with confidence and purpose.”

Abigail Hurgo, Chaminade’s assistant vice president of enrollment management, told KHON TV in a recent interview that the Hawaiʻi Guarantee Scholarship is an important program the university is proud to offer because “it makes it affordable for students to have a great private education here at Chaminade.”

As some of the first students to receive the award, both Nanea and Layla wholeheartedly agree.

“It’s helped me a lot because, besides tuition, I did choose to dorm for two years on campus and that actually brought down the overall cost by a lot for me,” Layla said. “So, I got to experience more as a college student.”

Likewise, Nanea said the new opportunity to pursue her studies at Chaminade at the in-state tuition rate saved her from having to make a very tough decision–leaving the state. It’s a decision she said a lot of graduating high school seniors in Hawaiʻi are forced to consider if they choose to continue on to college.

“I didn’t want to have to go away, obviously,” Nanea explained. “I was really avoiding it, but when it really comes down to it, I feel like a lot of locals are pushed out towards the mainland because of money costs, especially when it comes to school.”

The Guarantee completely changed the equation for her, Nanea said. “Having an opportunity like that is super important.”