Chaminade University of Honolulu

Students

Data Science National Competition

Chaminade’s data science program made another strong showing recently at a national competition aimed at challenging young people to use computing for positive social change.

And students and faculty members say they’re already gearing up for the next challenge.

Students at Computing4Change in Denver, Colorado
First cohort (L-R): Sophia Riffo-Jenson, Clara-Nathele Trainer, Nainoa Norman Ing, Kahoalii Keahi-Wood, Rylan Chong, Hoano Rosario & Skye Haraga

Three Chaminade students were among 25 undergraduates from around the country to participate in the most recent Computing4Change challenge in Denver. Over three days in November, participants worked in small teams to use data analysis, computational thinking, and the latest data science tools to see how computing can be a driver for social good.

In this case, they sought to better understand the causes of infant mortality.

Dr. Rylan Chong, a data scientist and postdoctoral researcher at Chaminade, accompanied students to the challenge and a connected data science conference. He said Chaminade has actually sent three separate cohorts of students to the competition since the University launched its data science program in fall 2018 as a first-of-its-kind offering in Hawaii.

And Chong said the program is preparing to send its next cohort in July.

He said the gatherings not only help students apply their learning, but offer them vital opportunities beyond the classroom, from internships to networking that could lead to jobs.

Students at Computing4Change in Denver, Colorado
Third cohort (L-R): Kahoalii Keahi-Wood, Lillianna Flynn, Casandra Tanare, Rylan Chong

“From a curriculum standpoint, participating in these events, students experience an exciting hands-on opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team with mentors to make an impact on a real-world problem, interact with a supercomputer and big datasets, and get exposed to and apply the latest data science technologies and approaches,” Chong said, in an email.

The challenges, which are sponsored by the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on High Performance Computing, also give students the chance to stretch their leadership muscles. Chong said Chaminade students frequently serve as leaders in their teams.

Chenoa Faletoi was one of the students who participated in this year’s cohort. She said the challenge was high pressure – and a great test of her skills. “I would say the biggest takeaway was knowing the difference between data and information,” she said, adding that the competition also solidified her choice to switch to the data science major.

“Data science is everywhere and can be applied in all fields,” Faletoi said. “In my perspective, I have opened up more opportunities. I am not limited to a specific area of work because data science involves technology and technology is evolving and being incorporated in all fields.”

Student Maria Fratinardo also competed in the challenge.

She said at the end of the three days, she was “super proud” about what she’d accomplished. “It’s made realize that I want to be able to use my skills to help people,” Fratinardo said, adding that she’s interested in focusing on applying data science in healthcare. “I’m learning how to find raw data in order to answer questions to problems that we are currently facing.”

Secondary Education Student Wins MLA Student Essay Contest

Jennifer Nguyen '22 with author Viet Thanh Nguyen
Jennifer Nguyen ’22 with author Viet Thanh Nguyen. Jennifer cited his work multiple times in her essay.

Jennifer Nguyen ’22 calls herself a “history fanatic.”

She’s an online undergraduate student studying Secondary Education at Chaminade and hopes to one day teach history. So when her English professor, Dr. Brooke Carlson, assigned her class an argumentative essay designed to be something of a self-exploration she knew instantly what she would write about.

She took on nothing less than the Vietnam War, a topic that has haunted her since childhood.

“I find many reasons to be proud of my American heritage,” Nguyen said, in a recent interview. “On the other side, I find myself drawn to the stories, the struggle, and the memory of a war that has affected not only my family but all those who were lost, displaced, resettled, disturbed.”

Her essay explores the problematic way in which Americans collectively remember the war, offering a powerful alternative for recalling a bloody and protracted conflict that Nguyen said is meant to reflect her “love for the American value of expression and a love for cultural identity.”

Her powerful perspective didn’t just impress her professor.

It also garnered a national award: Out of hundreds of submissions from around the country, “The Vietnam War, the American War: Literature, Film, and Popular Memory” was selected as a winner in the MLA (Modern Language Association) Student Paper Contest. A committee of judges said Nguyen’s essay not only had a clear thesis and excellent sources, but the topic and her argument were “compelling.”

In winning the award, Nguyen’s essay will also be published on the MLA Style Center, a hub geared toward students from high school to graduate school that’s meant to demonstrate how to correctly use MLA style – and, of course, write a good essay.

Nguyen said the essay was a “passion project” that was made possible thanks to her partnership with Carlson. Nguyen said her professor suggested she submit the essay to the MLA and then helped her cut the word count and offered other suggestions for tweaks.

“Without him, I would not have even known or considered submitting my work to the MLA contest,” Nguyen said, adding that “This essay really was a joy to research and write. I hope to continue on this path and produce more work that sheds light on important issues.”

Psychology Meets Design

Interior design is about space planning, lighting, architecture and the environment.

But ultimately, Dr. Junghwa Suh likes to tell her students, it’s about people. How people live, work – and play.

And this year, the associate professor of Environmental + Interior Design at Chaminade, took that lesson to new lengths with an innovative collaboration that weaved in key principles of psychology.

For the project, Suh partnered with Dr. Blendine Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Psychology.

Environmental + Interior Design and Psychology students presenting their interdisciplinary projects

Together, they tasked PSY 321: The Psychology of Personality students and EID 200: Introduction of Interior Design students with working side by side to analyze the character and personality traits of their clients to envision a truly person-centered home – complete with a unique design feature.

And the project had a fun twist: The so-called “clients” were actually characters from “The Office.”

So one group of psychology and EID students designed a home for Angela Martin, head of accounting on the show and known for more than a few eccentricities, including treating her four cats like her children.

Another designed a living space for Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell), the boss of the paper distribution branch featured in the show who – rather oddly – fancies himself a skilled performer.

The two professors came up with the idea for the project while Suh was visiting Hawkins’ class for a peer teaching observation. Afterwards, the two were chatting and Suh mentioned just how relevant psychology is to the field of interior design, especially when thinking about living spaces.

Environmental + Interior Design and Psychology students discussing their interdisciplinary projects

“Together we came up with the idea that it would be interesting to have psychology and design students collaborate,” Hawkins said, “by bringing the learning from their respective field into a culminating project” and having students from each field serve as experts to their peer counterparts.

The professors launched the project in the fall, both classes coming together frequently to build a foundation of knowledge in psychology and interior design, then to apply what they’d learned and finally to present their final projects – those client-centered living spaces – at the end of the term.

The psychology students were tasked with “developing a deep understanding” of their “Office” character and communicating that analysis to their design colleagues. The design students then used the analysis from their peers to develop a living space that truly incorporates their character’s traits.

The professors said the project was a hit with students, who appreciated the chance to learn about another field of study, apply it to their own – and, of course, watch some episodes from “The Office.”

Environmental + Interior Design and Psychology students discussing their interdisciplinary projects

Environmental Science student Noah Lorenzo ’21 was among the psychology students and said he enjoyed working closely with students from different majors and applying the theories he learned in a concrete way – to a home designed for a client. “My biggest takeaway from this project is seeing that it is possible for two different majors to collaborate on a single project,” Lorenzo said.

He added he’d love to see more interdisciplinary collaboration in other classes.

“It was interesting because I took the class to learn why people act a certain way,” Lorenzo said. “This project was fun because we did just that and applied it to a realistic setting.”

Suh said the interdisciplinary project had its challenges, especially as students sought to better understand their counterparts’ fields of study and incorporate them into their own. “We were able to witness the benefits of this collaboration,” she said, adding that she and Hawkins also learned a lot along the way – and are already thinking about how to bring their students together again.

Environmental + Interior Design and Psychology students presenting their interdisciplinary projects

Putting Down “Roots”: PsyD Program is Here to Stay

The next time you walk by Brogan Hall, look for the young kukui nut tree on the building’s mauka end. 

The tree — traditionally a symbol of enlightenment and spiritual guidance — was planted to celebrate the new permanent home of the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology degree program at the Hawaii School of Professional Psychology at Chaminade University.

The program’s faculty, staff and students attended the tree planting on November 6.

Dr. Sean Scanlan, director of Chaminade’s Psy.D. program, said the kukui nut is the perfect representation of the Clinical Psychology program at Chaminade. He added that the tree was planted following a suggestion from a student in a place where it will have lots of room to grow.

“The kukui tree was used by Native Hawaiians for candlelight and has become an emblem of the importance of seeking out opportunities for personal and academic growth,” Scanlan said. “As a symbol of enlightenment, the kukui tree we’ve planted at Brogan Hall will continue to grow and thrive in the years and decades ahead just as the Clinical Psychology program will flourish at Chaminade into the future.”

During the small ceremony, the students added soil to cover the kukui tree’s roots as a symbol of being the basis for the program to grow. The Psy.D. faculty and staff then poured water from an ipu as a symbol of their role in instructing, mentoring and supporting the students.

In March, Chaminade University announced it would host the Hawaii School of Professional Clinical Psychology Psy.D. program following the abrupt closure of Argosy University. Chaminade immediately welcomed approximately 100 students and faculty members into the program as it worked to ensure a seamless transition for those working toward their doctoral degree – and those helping them get there.

Today, the Psy.D. at Chaminade is a five-year, intensive program designed to build students’ skills and knowledge as they train to become clinical psychologists. Early courses in the program provide the foundation for the field, while later classes focus on therapy, research training and an internship.

Dr. Lynn Babington, Chaminade president, said serving as a hub for high-quality mental health instruction – and a source for excellent mental health providers who will serve their communities – is in line with the University’s mission to work every day to change the world for the better.

“The planting of the kukui nut tree at Brogan Hall is a powerful symbol that underscores our commitment to ensuring the Psy.D. program at Chaminade continues to grow and meet the mental health needs of our state,” she said. “We are excited about the next steps in building out this program and can’t wait to see how psychologists trained at Chaminade impact people’s lives in positive ways.”

For more information on the Psy.D. program at Chaminade or to apply, click on the Psy.D. program page.

Graduate and Undergraduate Student Recognized at “Top Cop” Event

Two Chaminade students were recognized recently at the “Top Cop” Law Enforcement and Security Awards, an annual event aimed at celebrating those who work to make their communities safer.

Top Cop 2019
L-R: Dr. Joe Allen, Dr. Kelly Treece, Jesus Moreno (MSCJA student), Dr. Ronald Becker and Andres Victoria (Criminology and Criminal Justice student)

Jesus Moreno, a Chaminade graduate student, was awarded the Anton Financial Scholarship after outlining his studies in criminal justice and detailing what he plans to do after graduation.

Undergraduate student Andres Victoria, meanwhile, took home the ASIS Hawaii Chapter award. Victoria is seeking his bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Chaminade online.

Both students received $1,000 cash scholarships.

The “Top Cop” awards banquet was held October 24 at the Ala Moana Hotel. The event is held annually to “promote, encourage and recognize excellence in the field of law enforcement and security in Hawaii.”

To be selected for the scholarships, Moreno and Victoria also had to submit letters of recommendation and be actively enrolled in a criminal justice program.

Worth noting: Chaminade’s Criminology and Criminal Justice program is the largest and oldest in Hawaii, and the University offers several degree options for those interested in pursuing careers in the field.

In addition to on-campus programs, students can seek Criminology and Criminal Justice undergraduate and graduate degrees entirely online.

Whether on campus or online, the degrees prepare students to pursue careers in law enforcement, public safety, criminal justice or graduate studies in law or criminology research.

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.”