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Alumni

Special Delivery  

September 5, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Dr. Thomas Shieh has delivered 11,000 babies on Guam and another 4,000 at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

Dr. Thomas Shieh with his daughter Beverly in his arms after the Chaminade graduation ceremony.
Dr. Thomas Shieh with his daughter Beverly in his arms after the Chaminade graduation ceremony.

There’s an old Chinese proverb that literally translates to, “Nothing in the world is difficult for one who is determined enough to achieve it.” In other words, where there’s a will, there’s a way. This hasn’t always been the attitude Dr. Thomas Shieh ’87 projected when he was growing up in Salt Lake. He barely graduated from Moanalua High School, eking out a GPA of 2.2, just 0.2 points above the required average threshold to earn a diploma. College wasn’t even a consideration, let alone medical school.  

“I still have nightmares that Moanalua will call me one day and say they made a mistake,” quips Shieh, an obstetrician/gynecologist with a thriving, eponymous private clinic in Tamuning, Guam. “I was an average student with a 1.8 GPA at best until my senior year when I realized I might not graduate.”  

After graduation, Shieh enrolled at a local travel school for three months and earned a travel agent certificate, taking aim at a career in the tourism industry. He personally hand delivered his resume to all the airlines and travel agencies on the island. None responded.  

“Maybe if one of them had answered, I would have been the Roberts Hawaii,” says Shieh with a laugh. “But no one wanted to hire me, so I had a six-month gap between graduating from high school and starting university. Then one day, I was watching a Chaminade basketball game and I said to myself, ‘These guys are good.’ And this is how I learned about Chaminade—through basketball.”  

After applying to Chaminade, Shieh met with the late Sr. Roberta Derby who accepted Shieh’s application but placed him on academic probation for a year, and limited the number of courses he could pursue to just four. “It was English, math, social studies and I can’t remember the fourth one,” Shieh says. “During the summer of ’83, I got all As and I was now more motivated to continue my matriculation.”  

In the meantime, his high school sweetheart, Raven Rawlins—whom he met when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman at Moanalua—decided to follow him to Chaminade. He was studying biology and she was majoring in computer science. In his senior year, however, they learned that Raven was pregnant. After making two appointments at an abortion clinic, the young couple decided to keep the baby.

“I tell Beverly (the eldest of two daughters) this story all the time,” Shieh says candidly. “I got a lot of counseling from Henry Gomes (Chaminade’s director of Native Hawaiian Partnerships) who encouraged me that we could do this; that having a baby didn’t need to stop my education in pursuing a medical degree.”  

Dr. Thomas Shieh and Raven Shieh with their grandson Maui.

Having a 1-year-old infant and attending medical school seemed antithetical, but Shieh and Raven had a will…and they found a way: Enlist in the Navy so he could have his medical school paid for, as long as he committed to military service for four years after graduation.

During his third year at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Shieh witnessed his wife give birth to their second daughter, Tiffany. Inspired by the experience, he decided to specialize in obstetrics and gynecology.  

“I am thankful to my wife, Raven, whom I like to say went to medical school with me, but I’m the one who ended up with a degree; she was with me every step of the way—through all the challenges and fatigue to the clinical rotations and exams,” Shieh says. “She and my two daughters have meant everything to me.”  

With two young daughters, Shieh had little time to go to Milwaukee Bucks games or cheer on the Brewers, although he is a dedicated sports fan. Instead, he was parenting and studying from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., joking that the late hours were part of the training of becoming an obstetrician/gynecologist. Nearing the end of his matriculation at medical school, he was now preparing to become an active duty member of the Navy.  

“I was told by my Navy detailer that I was going to be stationed in San Diego, so I was OK with that,” Shieh recalls. “A month before graduating, though, I get a call from him, and he tells me ‘You’re going to Guam. We need you there.’ I had no idea where Guam was, and when I did an internet search, all I could find were references to super typhoons and brown tree snakes.”  

Initially reluctant to upend his young family to this U.S. island territory in Micronesia, Shieh eventually relented after his detailer promised that he would only have to serve two years in Guam. Afterward, he would be free to choose whichever duty station he would like to be relocated to serve out his remaining two years.  

That was 1996. Two years turned into four years, which extended to another four years and an additional four years. Twenty-seven years later, the popular Guam physician is committed to the community, and owns and operates a state-of-the-art, 9,000-square-foot clinic for women.  

“When I left the Navy, my office was 700 square feet and it only consisted of two exam rooms,” Shieh says. “I built this clinic two-and-a-half years ago to improve the full spectrum of healthcare for women and to enhance clinical teaching.”  

Dr. Thomas Shieh and Raven Shieh helped establish the Merv Lope Scholarship.
Dr. Thomas Shieh and Raven Shieh helped contribute to the Merv Lopes Scholarship.

To date, Shieh has delivered 11,000 babies on Guam and another 4,000 at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. And when he’s not in the operating room, he’s in the classroom teaching the next generation of obstetricians and gynecologists at John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health.  

His support for the community, though, reaches far beyond the OR and maternity wards. His philanthropic endeavors span across the Pacific. For nearly the past 25 years, he has funded Guam’s best student-athletes with the Shieh Su Ying Scholar-Athlete award, named after his beloved grandmother.  

“I always credit my late grandmother for encouraging me to become a doctor,” Shieh says. “She always told me to help people and to do good for the community.”  

When he was a student at Chaminade, Shieh was voted in as the Senior Senator and helped place clocks in all the hall, half joking, he says, that the students were always late. He was involved with the yearbook, designing the silver medallion that graced the front cover. And he helped establish the Henry Gomes Endowment and the Merv Lopes Scholarship.  

“My journey at Chaminade was truly fun and memorable,” Shieh says. “Chaminade was my stepping stone; it gave me motivation and taught me the values of family spirit, faith, service, equality and justice. I truly cherish the years that I spent there.”                  

Filed Under: Alumni, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Alumni, Community and Public Health

Doctor’s Orders

August 28, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Laica Arcibal enters first year of residency at SIU

She will be the first to concede that becoming a physician is both a privilege and a responsibility. And for Laica Arcibal ’19, attending medical school meant being one step closer to achieving her lifelong dream of becoming a practicing physician. Now in her first-year residency at the Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Medicine in Quincy, Ill., the Waianae native earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) at A.T. Still University’s Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) in the spring.

“Chaminade provided the foundation to my medical career,” Arcibal said. “I am especially thankful to OHPAUR (Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research, now known as the Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs) for the opportunity to widen my exposure to different healthcare careers.”

Despite an interest in research when she was in high school and during her first two years at Chaminade, Arcibal decided to pursue a medical degree instead. After shadowing a doctor of osteopathic medicine at Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, she witnessed how osteopathic manipulation treatment could alleviate people’s pain almost immediately.

Laica Arcibal informed Dr. Amber Noguchi that she started her residency.

“I shadowed a DO who was able to provide some relief to a patient with a persistent cough, and saw how appreciative the patient was,” Arcibal recalled. “That was when I told myself, ‘I want to be a DO.’”

Thanks to an articulation agreement that Chaminade enjoys with A.T. Still University, Arcibal was allowed early admission to the Kirksville College of Osteopathic, her school of preference since, she said, it felt just like Chaminade.

“I knew medical school would be grueling, so I wanted a place to safely challenge myself, and ATSU-KCOM reminded me of my experience in Chaminade,” Arcibal said. “I also like the fact that ATSU focuses on whole person healthcare, scholarship, community health, interprofessional education, diversity and underserved populations, which Waianae is.”

 At its essence, an Articulation Agreement document is between two colleges or universities, and lays out a transfer plan between two program offerings. Depending on the program and degree, students can set an early course to advanced studies as an undergraduate—establishing a strong academic record and completing prerequisites while at Chaminade. The agreement helps the student by ensuring all completed classes (credits) transfer and shows a clear pathway for continued advancement.

“Laica was one of my students from when I worked at Waianae High School as a pre-college advisor,” said Amber Noguchi, Ph.D., Chaminade’s Program Director with the Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs. “I first met her when she was a high school sophomore so it has been really great seeing her progress throughout this past decade.”

Arcibal decided to become a DO because she believes that DOs bring a unique, patient-centered approach to every specialty across the full spectrum of medicine. She also appreciates the University’s curriculum, which aligns with the Marianist values she learned while at Chaminade.

Laica Arcibal, second from left, with former classmates on a field trip with Dr. Hank Trapido-Rosenthal.

The Complete Doctor, a hallmark of the KCOM curriculum, incorporates early clinical experiences with didactic study in physical exam skills, communication skills, social determinants of health, spirituality in medicine, medical jurisprudence and ethics. Reflecting the osteopathic philosophy, the curriculum also emphasizes preventive medicine and holistic patient care.

“DOs bring a whole-person approach to care by focusing on looking beyond patients’ symptoms to understand how lifestyle and environmental factors impact their wellbeing,” said Arcibal, citing the Kirksville College of Osteopathic’s program description. “The osteopathic philosophy of medicine sees an inter-related unity in all systems of the body, with each working with the other to heal in times of illness.

“As part of their education, DOs receive special training in the musculoskeletal system, your body’s interconnected system of nerves, muscles and bones,” Arcibal further cited. “By combining this knowledge with the latest advances in medical technology, they offer patients the most comprehensive care available today.”

As a SIU School of Medicine Post-Graduate Year 1 (PGY1) resident, Arcibal has many years before she completes her residency training, qualifies to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE board exam), and then becomes a fully credentialed doctor.

When she does graduate to Dr. Arcibal—and no longer a doctor-in-training after finishing medical school—she plans to return to Waianae to serve her community.

“I would not have gotten this far without my supportive family, friends and mentors, who for some, I met way back in high school,” Arcibal said. “It is only right that I come back and serve the very people who motivated me to get this far.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Nursing & Health Professions Tagged With: Alumni, Biochemistry, Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research

Celebrity Emcee

August 16, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

’96 alumna and former Miss Universe to host Silversword Reunion

How a young wahine who rode the #53 Bus from Pearl City every day to get to school landed on the international stage is a Cinderella story. At 26 years old and 128 days, Brook Meahealani Lee became the then-oldest woman to be crowned Miss Universe in 1997. It was as much a surprise to her, as it was to a worldwide audience of more than 600 million viewers.

“It was a lot to process at the time,” said Lee, a ’96 alumna who majored in English with a minor in Communication. “One moment I was in Shreveport, Louisiana, the next I’m in Miami, Florida. Next was Toronto, Canada and then back to Los Angeles. It was a whirlwind that year.”

Of mixed Hawaiian, Korean, Dutch, English, French, Portuguese and Chinese ancestry, Lee became the first indigenous person and Asian American to wear the crown. It was a sparkling moment, for sure, preceded only by equally memorable answers to two of the Miss Universe Final questions.

However, before getting to what made Lee’s remarks so memorable, there’s a bit of backstory. At that time, Lee’s predecessor, Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, came under public scrutiny for her weight gain, drawing considerable press attention. So when host George Hamilton asked, “Miss Universe has recently been the subject of a lot of press attention about her weight. If this happened to you, how would you handle it?”  

Lee perfectly offered up one of the best answers in pageant history. “I would take a good hard look at myself and I’d look from the inside out and I’d know that I was the same girl that was crowned that day,” Lee said. “So if I go up or go down—I get taller, I get shorter. My nose gets bigger… smaller. I’m still who I was when that crown was on my head and I’m a good representative no matter what.”

Yet, it was her response to the Miss Universe Final Question #3 that drew the loudest cheers and hysterical laughter from the audience and Hamilton. If social media existed then, her answer surely would have gone viral. And not for the unfortunate reasons most pageant answers make the social media rounds these days—Lee’s was amusing, frank and completely authentic in a very Hawaiian sense.

Asked: “If there were no rules in your life, for one day, and you could be outrageous, what would you do?” Lee unhesitatingly responded with: “I would eat everything in the world. You do not understand. I would eat everything twice.”

“It was a little bit of a jab at the President of Miss Universe Organization, who was the one who criticized the weight gain of my predessor,” said Lee, recalling that moment on stage. “But I don’t think he ever got it.”

Prior to winning Miss Hawaii USA and then being crowned Miss USA, Lee had minimal pageant experience. She said the first Miss Hawaii Competition she competed in, she lost big time. She would go on to win the title in 1997, which earned her a scholarship to Chaminade University. Walking through Henry Hall, Lee reminisced about her time on campus, pointing out Room 227 as the classroom where she sat for her English classes.

“I feel like I’m Jane Jetson; everything is so new,” quipped Lee, who will emcee the Silversword Reunion in October. Gesturing to the Sullivan Family Library, she pointed out that it didn’t exist when she was around, nor did the Athletics Coaches’ Office Complex below the parking structure.

While a lot has changed and improved since Lee’s time at Chaminade, some things remain the same. The Kalaepohaku campus is still as inviting, and students still need to climb all the steps to reach “Mount Kiefer.”

Brook Lee with her son Fynnegan, daughter Bailey and husband Tory Mell.
Brook Lee with her son Fynnegan, daughter Bailey and husband Tory Mell.

After her reign as Miss Universe, Lee made several cameo appearances in movies and television shows, and has hosted many television shows in Asia and the United States. She has also been a judge at Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, and served as a color commentator for past Universe Pageants.

After permanently returning to Oahu from Los Angeles three years ago, Lee now juggles her time between being a mother of two, a supportive spouse and three gigs. She is the host of KHON2’s “Modern Wahine Hawaii;” she is the co-host for the Podcast “It’s a Hawaii Thing;” and she dances hula at Halekulani’s House Without a Key.” She also believes in service to the community, taking on the Artistic Director role with the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame, where she produces the annual Lei of Stars installation of Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame inductees, and serves as the secretary for the nonprofit BEHawaii.

“My work with BEHawaii has been deeply meaningful as we started around a simple dining room table in Kapālama committed to elevating musicians in Hawaii and branching out in ways I would have never imagined,” Lee said. “BEHawaii is committed to finding solutions for our Lāhui in diverse ways, and holding fast to our Kūpuna and their wisdom.”

The group also launched the Lei Poinaʻole Project, which aims to revitalize, strengthen and support the Hawaiʻi lei industry. Lei Poina‘ole means “the never forgotten lei,” and the project is committed to this vision, so that the Hawaiʻi lei industry and its people are never forgotten.

To increase awareness and generate demand for locally grown flowers, materials, and lei, program leaders said the message is simple: “When you buy locally produced lei, you are nourishing our ʻāina, supporting Hawaiʻi farmers, preserving local traditions, and sharing aloha throughout our community.”

And aloha is what Lee has shared and breathed ever since she was a keiki riding the #53 Bus to school.    

Filed Under: Alumni, Campus and Community, Homepage Large, Humanities, Arts & Design Tagged With: Alumni, Campus Event, Communication, English

Silversword Reunion Blooms

July 31, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Criminal Justice alumni reunite at Vi and Paul Loo Student Center

Dr. Greg Mark makes it clear that Criminal Justice reunions involve more than just those who may have been one-time dorm mates or who may have taken classes together. Because attendees come from varied disciplines with different majors, the event holds a lot more meaning and makes for a qualitatively powerful experience, according to Mark.

“There’s lots of spirit and camaraderie,” says Mark, a former Criminal Justice professor with Chaminade from 1977-1989. “I’ve been involved with a couple of reunions, one eight years ago at The Willows and a second on campus, which took place right before COVID.”

When Mark taught at Chaminade, the program was called Justice Management until he took over the chairmanship of the department. Because he obtained his doctorate in Criminology—a degree not many people in the country held at the time—and simultaneously taught Ethnic Studies, the then young 20-something-year-old professor decided to change the name to Criminal Justice, which was more accurately reflective of what they were teaching at Chaminade.

Dr. Babington welcomed Criminal Justice alumni and faculty back to campus.
Chaminade President Lynn Babington, Ph.D., welcomed Criminal Justice alumni and faculty, including, from left Pulasi “Sam” Puletasi, Frank Okamura, Kevin Shimoda and Dr. Greg Mark.

“I took fragments of Management Justice and developed a criminology curriculum,” says Mark, who recently attended a Criminal Justice mini reunion held at the Vi and Paul Loo Student Center on campus. “It was a very exciting time to be part of the Chaminade faculty.”

A Criminal Justice major who graduated in 1986, Frank Okamura remembers taking Mark’s Criminal Justice Agencies class and describing him as fair and just like “one of us.” This may be true since some of the students—like Okamura, already a father of two and working as a U.S. Customs Service Inspector and bartender—were closer in age to Mark.  

“I think he (Mark) felt sorry for me because he named me ‘Outstanding Student’ or something like that,” laughs Okamura, who also attended the recent reunion on campus and had a chance to spend some time with his former professor. “I really enjoyed his class, which provided me a better understanding of the different law enforcement agencies.”

A tight-knit group, Criminal Justice alumni members will often socially meet either for lunch or dinner, reminiscing about their days as Silverswords, updating each other on their kids and grandkids, and their achievements since graduation.   

“During my time at Chaminade, we did so many things together, which brought us closer together,” says Mark, referring to students and faculty. “There was a lot of aloha among people in the department and it was a dynamic time.”

At the mini reunion, Okamura was impressed that Chaminade President, Dr. Lynn Babington,  had showed up to welcome them back to campus, making them all feel like they were home.

“Chaminade provided me with a path that I would have never known,” says the 62-year-old retiree and grandfather of five grandkids. “Whenever I needed help, my professors were always there; they were always so supportive and attentive. I am just so appreciative and grateful for my time there.”

Asked if they plan to attend the October Silversword Reunion, Okamura and Mark unhesitatingly said “Yes.” “It will be another chance to talk about each other and some of the work we did together,” Mark says. “Teaching at Chaminade was a great experience. It’s where I grew up professionally, and it’s where I developed my academic and administrative skills.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Behavioral Sciences, Education, Featured Story Tagged With: Alumni, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration

Campus Romance Endures

July 21, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez enjoy life together after Chaminade

Her mom, Erinn Palmer ’81, graduated from Chaminade University. So, too, did her dad, Ron Palmer ’81. So a visit to the Kalaepohaku campus in 2010 easily convinced Emily Palmer ’17 that Chaminade University was the right fit. Meanwhile, Jason Perez’s ’18 reason to become a Silversword was so he could join his sister, Christela Perez ’19, on her journey to Hawaii.

“We met through my sister,” says Perez of his initial encounter with Palmer. “They were already close friends and because I’m close with my sister, I was always hanging around them.”

The young couple would eventually begin dating, and seeing each other every day. They would frequent the Sullivan Family Library’s lanai to study, preferring it over other outdoor areas because of its serenity and proximity to research literature.

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez constantly walked along Waialae Avenue.

Yet, what makes Palmer’s and Perez’s students-to-husband-and-spouse fairytale story is its rarity. Pew Research Center data reveals that when it comes to marriage after graduation, 28 percent of married graduates attended the same university as their spouse. But that percentage precipitously plummets to two percent when it comes to marriages between college sweethearts, according to researchers with CreditDonkey, a personal finance website.

This statistic highlights the fact that, while many college students may find themselves in romances, the chances of those relationships lasting into marriage are slim. It also serves as a reminder that college affairs can often be fleeting, and that it is important to be mindful of the potential for heartbreak.

However, because Chaminade has a nurturing environment and is rooted in community—which is the resounding sentiment echoed across the campus—students can be reassured that they will receive the necessary support. It’s not uncommon for this phrase—the prided, capital-c Community—to be interchanged with an even stronger word: ’Ohana.

Aside from the broader, communal ‘ohana that Chaminade fosters, it also often provides the backdrop to the infinite beginnings of new families, flesh and blood. Families like that of Palmer and Perez, and their 3-year-old son, Raiden.

“Maybe he’ll be the next generation to attend Chaminade,” jokes Palmer, who received her BS in Biochemistry, and is presently pursuing a pharmacology degree from Touro University California. “It was such a good choice for me to move away from California to attend university in Hawaii.”

Emily Palmer and Jason Perez are parents to 3-year-old Raiden.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Communications Mass Media, Perez’s greatest takeaway while at Chaminade was the university’s diverse student population and its ability to bring people together.

“I still communicate with a lot of my classmates,” said Perez, who, along with Palmer, attended a Chaminade alumna event at Pitch Sports Bar at SALT at Our Kakaako earlier this year. “I really liked the different clubs, which were welcoming and inclusive.”

When Palmer’s education began at Chaminade, she was a shy, reserved teenager, and barely spoke out. But the four years she spent on campus transformed her from a meek 18-year-old teen to a confident young woman.

“I can speak out for myself now,” Palmer asserts. “I have my own voice and independence; I am a woman hear me roar!”

During her sophomore year, Palmer became an Admissions Department Telecounselor, entering prospective students’ data into the university computer system, maintaining contact with them to update their student status, and conducting campus tours of the university for incoming students and their families.

“Choosing Chaminade allowed me to be out on my own,” Palmer says. “It was a safe place where faculty, staff and peers would come to my aid if I ever needed it. It felt truly like ‘ohana.”

Perez says he became more worldly, especially as a staff writer with the Chaminade Silversword student newspaper, where he covered hot-button, controversial issues like the U.S. presidency, immigration and reform. “I liked the fact that the students all came from different walks of life and many from interracial families,” adds Perez, who is now the lead brewer for Heretic Brewing Company in Fairfield, Calif. “It felt so comfortable; it felt like being at home.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Business & Communication, Campus and Community, Featured Story, Natural Sciences & Mathematics Tagged With: Alumni

NCIS Special Agents in Hawaii

July 19, 2023 by University Communications & Marketing

Chaminade Alumni Represent True NCIS Agents

They don’t go around pointing their guns at people. They don’t detonate bombs. And they certainly don’t solve major crimes in an hour. But, what five Chaminade alumni do help to accomplish is to keep Hawaii safe.

​​As special agents for the Hawaii Field Office of NCIS headquartered at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Chris Meana ’12, Pia Teves ’85, Tamara Kenessey ’16, Olivia DeQuiroz ’12 and Kay Een ’02  are tasked with monitoring crime, conducting polygraph tests, supporting criminal investigations, and providing analytical support and technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM).

They’re important jobs for sure. And for Meana, it has been a “life calling.”

Chris Meana, right, and Kay Een promote NCIS at a recruitment affair.
Chris Meana, right, and Kay Een promote NCIS at a recruitment affair.

“When I attended Chaminade, I was really into my religious classes, and I thought that was my calling,” says Meana, an Intelligence  Specialist with NCIS since 2015 who also acts as NCIS Honors Student Internship Coordinator, and is a member of Member of the Special Agent in Charge Advisory Group. “But then I served with the Hawaii National Guard and I refined my calling, wanting to make an impact in my hometown.”

For DeQuiroz, it was not so much a calling but a necessity that led her to the NCIS Hawaii Field Office. “I needed to pay for college so I applied for an administrative position,” says the Polygraph Examiner. “Then a job came up and I was encouraged to apply, and I passed a series of tests during the hiring process.”

Today, DeQuiroz provides counterintelligence, monitoring spies, terrorists and any matter that pertains to our national security across all branches of the military. She’s also involved with “Operation Keiki Shield,” which is part of the Hawaii Department of the Attorney General’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that is comprised of a national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing more than 5,400 federal, state and local law enforcement.

“Internet crimes are always challenging,” DeQuiroz says. “But we’ve managed to arrest more than 100 child predators in our Task Force in Hawaii.”

Olivia DeQuiroz administers a mock polygraph test.
Olivia DeQuiroz administers a mock polygraph test.

With the nation’s strategic focus shifting towards the Indo-Pacific region, the NCIS Hawaii Field Office’s multi-faceted capabilities are even more in demand. Stretching from the Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, the area  is home to more than half of the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy and seven of the world’s largest militaries. And in the years ahead, as the region drives as much as two-thirds of global economic growth, its influence will only grow—as will its importance to the United States.

A former electrician with his family’s business, Teves started as a Technical Investigative Specialist (TIS) Agent in 1987 and became a Technical Enforcement Officer in 2014. He is now the sole provider of technical support for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, as well as providing technical security for the entire Pacific Command.

“Before there was internet, I was looking at an actual bulletin board while I was on campus, and I came across this poster that read: Naval Investigative Service  (NIS), Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), Special Agent position. Overseas travel, Worldwide locations,” recalls Teves, whose official NCIS title is currently Technical Surveillance Specialist. “I had no idea what it was, but it sounded sexy so I applied. About nine months later, I was hired as an Agent.”

Pia Teves, wearing tank top, were on temporary duty travel to provide protective service for Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command during his official visit to Manila, Philippines in 2004.
Pia Teves, wearing tank top, were on temporary duty travel to provide protective service for Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, during his official visit to Manila, Philippines in 2004.

Often misperceived as a branch of the military, NCIS is not. It is, however, the federal law enforcement arm of the Department of the Navy. Comprised primarily of civilian 1811 special agents and a small cadre of active duty Marine Corps active duty investigators, NCIS has more than 14 field offices and over 190 locations. Its special agents are stationed worldwide in support of military operations.

With historical roots tied to the Office of Naval Intelligence, the modern NCIS was formally established in 1966 as the Naval Investigative Service.  It was re-organized and assigned a civilian director in 1992, along with a name change to the now Naval Criminal Investigative Service. With this re-branding, NCIS also became a primarily civilian agency as an insulation against military command influence.

“We’re an agency of around only 2,500 members, which is relatively small compared to the major players, like the DEA, ATF and FBI,” Meana points out. “But our capabilities are well respected, and we are well known for our role in counterintelligence, protective service and force protection operations.”

Solving crimes and catching the bad guys, though, aren’t the only issues that the NCIS Hawai‘i Field Office faces. Integrating itself into the local community is vital, as well, which is why the team can be seen throughout the year at a variety of functions. Some outreach efforts focus on awareness and education, spanning across such topics as internet safety and sexual assault prevention to identity theft and cybercrime.

Kay Een flashes a shaka while in Baghdad, Iraq circa 2005.

A Special Agent since 2020, Kenessey deals with death investigations, child enticement, fraud, arson and all federal-level investigations that involve criminal and security matters with the Navy.

Upon learning that her mentor, Associate Professor Dr. Joe Allen, passed away in December 2021, Kenessey was saddened by the news. “Technically I wouldn’t be here if Dr. Allen hadn’t written a letter, and told me to check out NCIS,” Kenessey says. “I think Chaminade lost a valuable professor and mentor. As I said, he was an integral part of where I am today both academically and professionally.”

Kay Een, meanwhile, praises Chaminade for its welcoming atmosphere and for the experiential learning that helped her land a job with NCIS. As NCIS’ Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer,  Een supports NCIS’ progression in the DEI arena by supporting enterprise initiatives to implement the best business practices, encouraging collaboration, and delivering proven solutions to nurture a ready and resilient, globally-engaged workforce. She was introduced to the NCIS Honors Internship Program while a Silversword.

“Much like my time at Chaminade, I believe there is great value being surrounded by people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives,” says Een, who is now in her 20th year with NCIS. “Being in a place that fosters diversity through inclusion is key to growing an innovative and agile workforce.”

As far as the authenticity of CBS’ popular NCIS franchise, Meana, Teves, DeQuiroz, Kenessey and Een agree that the drama doesn’t always get it right. “We have a close relationship with the show, and we’ve worked with them closely,” Meana says. “They try to stay close to reality, but they do add their own fictional twist.”

Filed Under: Alumni, Behavioral Sciences, Featured Story, Homepage Large, Institutional Tagged With: Alumni, Forensic Sciences, Psychology

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