Chaminade University of Honolulu

Business Administration

Annual Conference and Assembly Meeting

Judges Praise Silverswords for Their Creative Results

A 15-year participant in the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education’s (IACBE) Annual Conference and Assembly Meeting (ACAM)—which took place in Memphis, Tennessee this year—Chaminade University has consistently fared well against other mainland and international institutions, often winning several competitions or placing in the top three.

“As the coach, I help set up the teams and select the students who will compete in the Case Competition,” explained MBA Director and Program Advisor, Eddie Merc, Ph.D. “I oversee all the logistics for the trip, as well as help prepare the students to excel in their final presentation delivery.”

This year’s Spring 2024 IACBE’s Live Case Competition featured Tennessee-based organization Viralish, which set forth the challenge to students with this theme: “The 90 Day Creator: A Fast-Track Program and Planning Tool to Help Content Creators Generate $5,000 per Month.” The project tasked student teams to develop an innovative way for Viralish to help business owners and content creators monetize their digital content effectively. Among the participants from schools all around the U.S., Chaminade’s team included seniors Liz Devine, Alexander Hernandez, Ross Reeves and Kelsey Sablan. They were mentored by professors Wera Panow-Loui and Richard Kido. “The  team of four undergraduate business seniors delivered creative results that were actionable, unique and thought provoking,” according to the competition’s judges.

Wera Panow-Loui and Dr. Eddie Merc flank students, from left, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine, Kelsey Sablan and Ross Reeves.
Wera Panow-Loui and Dr. Eddie Merc flank students, from left, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine, Kelsey Sablan and Ross Reeves.
Dr. Eddie Merc presents his research during the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition.
Dr. Eddie Merc presents his research during the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition.
Chaminade team members included, from left, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine, Kelsey Sablan and Ross Reeves.
Chaminade team members included, from left, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine, Kelsey Sablan and Ross Reeves.
Dr. Eddie Merc stands prepare to present his research findings in the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition.
Dr. Eddie Merc stands prepare to present his research findings in the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition.
Wera Panow-Loui and Dr. Eddie Merc were mentors to students, from left, Ross Reeves, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine and Kelsey Sablan.
Wera Panow-Loui and Dr. Eddie Merc were mentors to students, from left, Ross Reeves, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine and Kelsey Sablan.
Dr. Eddie Merc gives two thumbs up after winning the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition. Students, from left, Kelsey Sablan, Liz Devine, Alexander Hernandez and Ross Reeves congratulated their professor.
Dr. Eddie Merc gives two thumbs up after winning the Peregrine Best Practices Poster Competition. Students, from left, Kelsey Sablan, Liz Devine, Alexander Hernandez and Ross Reeves congratulated their professor.
Chaminade School of Business and Communication faculty members, from left, Asoke Datta, Richard Kido, Wera Panow-Loui and Interim Dean Annette Santos attended the IACBE Annual Conference and Meeting Assembly with students, from left, Ross Reeves, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine and Kelsey Sablan.
Chaminade School of Business and Communication faculty members, from left, Asoke Datta, Richard Kido, Wera Panow-Loui and Interim Dean Annette Santos attended the IACBE Annual Conference and Meeting Assembly with students, from left, Ross Reeves, Alexander Hernandez, Liz Devine and Kelsey Sablan.
Students, from left, Alex Hernandez, Liz Devine, Ross Reeves and Kelsey Sablan rehearse their presentation in their hotel room.
Students, from left, Alex Hernandez, Liz Devine, Ross Reeves and Kelsey Sablan rehearse their presentation in their hotel room.

“Chaminade finished in third place, but I think our students had the most comprehensive business analysis of the company,” Merc said. “The synergy of the team was excellent, and they were proud of their research and their presentation delivery.”

The IACBE accredits business programs—including Chaminade’s—that lead to degrees at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels in institutions of higher education nationwide and around the world. Specialized programmatic accreditation by the IACBE is a means by which students, parents, the business community and other stakeholders of the institution can be assured that the academic business unit complies with high principles of excellence and follows best practice in business education.

“The number one priority for attending the IACBE Competition and Conference is to stay in touch with students,” Merc said. “It allows me to gauge what our students excel in and the areas where we may have gaps in our curricula.

“It’s a great conference to determine if our program is up to date,” Merc added. “It’s also a good thermometer of current trends at business schools around the world and U.S.”

For the second consecutive year, Merc walked away with the top prize. And for the second year in a row, he hasn’t kept the winnings, instead donating the prize money to two local nonprofit organizations.

Merc’s first-place finishing poster competition at the IACBE’s ACAM looked at “The Role of Social Integration and Sense of Connectedness in Online Courses, and Their Influence on Learning and Academic Performance Among Military Students.”

“I wanted to focus on non-traditional students who were serving in the military and pursuing their degrees,” said Merc, who serves in the Hawai’i Air National Guard during weekends. “I myself was a non-traditional student when I was obtaining my doctorate in education, so I can definitely relate.”

Entrepreneurial Endeavor

Recent graduate looks to open future businesses

Peterson Boyer’s decision to flee his home country of Haiti wasn’t based on a singular event but a confluence of factors: Political instability and civil unrest. Cratering economy and infrastructure recovery from a devastating earthquake that struck in 2010. Arriving on the shores of southern Florida, the then-25-year-old new emigree enlisted in the Army, eventually rising to the ranks as a logistics specialist and team leader.

“My military experience instilled in me a deep sense of discipline, resilience and commitment to excellence,” says Boyer ’23, during an interview from his Colorado residence. “I used the very same traits to achieve my bachelor’s degree with honors finishing with a 3.71 GPA.”

Ambitious and a fearless leader, Boyer established Enterprise Collision & Auto-body Repair LLC during his senior year at Chaminade and it continues to thrive. Crediting his parents for his business instincts, the 32-year-old entrepreneur also holds a marketing interest in the Rocky Mountain Region, though he was coy to reveal any details.

“When I was a student, I did this incredible marketing internship with Makana (Craig, Director of Chaminade University Online),” Boyer says. “I learned so much. I helped boost brand awareness by developing creative marketing strategies and campaigns. And I helped military personnel understand Chaminade’s online Flex program.”

Boyer’s interest in business stems from his parents’ own experience as retail shop owners in Port-au-Prince, where his mom and dad still maintain their business interest amid the turmoil and gang violence. After seeing his parents struggle with accounting principles and marketing strategies, Boyer decided that in order for him to succeed in establishing his own business, he needed to get his business degree.

After hearing praises about Chaminade from his Sergeant, Boyer decided to look into the University, unsure about the flexibility of the hybrid online classes necessary to obtain a degree in business administration.

“My professors challenged me and I think they prepared me well for the business world,” Boyer says. “(Richard) Kido had a great way of teaching accounting that helped students understand the concepts.”

By developing and improving his skills and having a better grasp of the market, Boyer says he has become a better, more effective leader. “Chaminade is a very good school compared to some of the other programs I looked into,” he adds. “The courses were super intense, but we got some good supporting materials that really helped in my understanding of what it’s like to run your own business.”

Like most non-traditional undergraduate students, Boyer juggled between his responsibility to the Army and his full-time job with an electrical engineer company, Prime Power, in Schofield.  And, of course, he needed to dedicate time to attend his online classes, which required at times for him to come to campus for in-person learning. Despite these challenges, Boyer brought his valuable life experiences, maturity and motivation to his studies.

“Everyone here is so supportive,” Boyer says. “I owe Chaminade because the University empowered me with the spirt of leadership and service. And the way I want to pay Chaminade back is with my success.”

While the odds of succeeding as an entrepreneur can be daunting, many successful entrepreneurs have faced setbacks and failures before achieving success. Learning from mistakes, seeking mentorship and guidance, and being willing to adapt and innovate are essential for increasing the chances of success in the entrepreneurial journey.

“I absolutely think that Chaminade is one of the best schools I could have ever attended,” Boyer says. “I am a better person for it and I am super grateful to be part of the Chaminade family.”

Budget Analyst

Carol An Nacario ’23 to start new position with the Legislature

He had her at pizza. While walking past a classroom at Kieffer Hall, Carol An Nacario was swayed by School of Business and Communication assistant dean, Asoke Datta, Ed.D., to come in for some lunch. Not one to turn down free food — what college student does — Nacario willingly ambled through the door. Only then did she realize that she had just been recruited to enter the Silversword Business Competition.

“I only came in for the pizza,” laughs Nacario ’23, a business administration major. “I knew about the competition, but I had no intention of entering.”

Not only did she enter the competition, but on Nov. 16, she and her team members, Kelsey Sablan ’23, Epifania “Epi” Petelo ’23 and Elizabeth “Liz” Devine ’23, walked away with the grand prize of $1,500 for their “Re-Thread” entrepreneurial concept, which “sews new life into unused fabrics and transforms them into stylish and sustainable pouches.”

“Carol has been a highly driven student who values self-learning and entrepreneurial opportunities for growth in the world of business,” says Assistant Professor and MBA Director Eddie Merc. “This business plan competition event was an ideal opportunity to showcase her passion for teamwork and giving back to the community through service and sustainability efforts. I’m very proud of Carol and her team to represent School of Business and Communication so well at this important entrepreneurial venue.”

Re-Thread members (Elizabeth “Liz” Devine ’23 is missing) from left, Carol An Nacario, Kelsey Sablan and Epifania ‘Epi’ Petelo, won the $1,500 grand prize. The competition’s judges included, from left, David Oyadomari, Dr. Gail Grabowsky, Eric Fujimoto, Sharon Weiner and Hogan program director Dr. Roy Panzarella.

This was just the first victory for Nacario, who will end her collegiate experience on a winning streak. The second has even greater consequences. After seeing a flyer advertising that “The Hawaii State Senate is HIRING,” the Guam native decided to apply for one of the openings.

“I got a call asking me to choose an interview date,” Nacario says. “I chose Nov. 2 and a couple of weeks later, I found out I was hired, and I received an offer letter signed by Hawaii State Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.”

Starting in January, Nacario will be a budget analyst with the powerful Senate Committee on Ways and Means (WAM), which oversees programs relating to overall state financing policies, including revenue enhancement, taxation, other revenues, and cash and debt management; statewide implementation of planning, programming, budgeting and evaluation; and government structure and finance.

“The day before the interview, I approached Dr. Merc for some advice about what to expect,” Nacario recounts. “He told me to relax, and to be prepared to be asked about my strengths and weaknesses.”

Nacario also summoned the STAR method—a lesson that she had learned from visiting assistant professor, Pamela Estell, Ph.D.—which is an interview technique that gives interviewees a straightforward format they can use to tell a story by laying out the Situation, Task, Action and Result.

“I was very nervous at first,” Nacario says. “They asked me a lot of questions about budgets and if I had ever worked on government budgeting. I had mentioned VLOOKUP, which is an Excel function that I learned from Shari Young (Director of Finance & Operations for Make-A-Wish Hawaii) during my internship, and they were impressed.”

For the 21-year-old Chamorro, the opportunities afforded to her by Chaminade almost never happened. She was initially enrolled to attend the University of Guam until a close friend convinced her to apply to Chaminade. Two weeks before the start of classes in Guam, Nacario finally received an acceptance letter from Chaminade University.

“For some reason, the letter was delayed and it was never delivered when it should have been,” Nacario recalls. “It was the year of COVID and I had to quickly make a decision.”

She made the right one. As she finishes her final exams and celebrates her 22nd birthday on Dec. 16, Nacario reflects back on her four years at Chaminade with a wide smile on her face.

“When I came to Hawaii, I had never been to any other mainland state,” Nacario says. “I don’t think I would have grown in Guam, like I have here. I was an introvert and intimidated with titles, but now I am able to work in a professional environment, like the State Legislature.”

Yin and Yang

Thirty years later, two middle school besties will graduate in ’24

The last time they graduated was in 1994 from Mililani High School. And when May 2024 comes around, Rita Aponte ’24 and KerryLynn Vea ’24 will again don their caps and gowns, as they prepare to cross the stage of the Waikiki Shell to receive their bachelor’s degrees.  

BFFs since high school, Aponte and Vea were able to pursue their university degrees, thanks to Bank of Hawaii’s College Assistance Program (CAP), which allows its employees to get back on the path to obtaining their first four-year undergraduate degree with tuition reimbursement.  

Draped with lei, Rita Aponte, left, and KerryLynn Vea posed for their graduation photo from Mililani High School in 1994.

“The Bank started this program in 2016, and I started the following year,” says Aponte, Manager of Loan Operations with Bank of Hawaii. “And my bestie, KerryLynn, is also on this journey with me since we both always wanted to get our degrees.”  

Both Aponte and Vea chose to start their families at a young age, hindering them from attending college. The two friends since middle school always had plans to return to university, but family obligations and full-time jobs prevented them from entering the college system.

“I get emotional when I talk about CAP,” says Vea, who was in the credit union industry for 20 years before joining Bank of Hawaii in 2016 and is now its Assistant Vice President-Mortgage Compliance Analyst. “Before CAP, I was resigned not to get my college degree, rationalizing to myself, ‘Oh well, I don’t need a degree since I already have a career.’”  

The American Council of Education estimates that approximately 20 percent of graduate students and six percent of the much larger number of undergraduates receive some financial assistance from their employers to attend school. As many as a third of undergraduates in fields like business and engineering also receive tuition aid, which, on average, covers about one-third of the annual cost paid by post-secondary students.  

Initially, when Aponte and Vea enrolled in Bank of Hawaii’s CAP initiative, they were limited to four specific start times a year (January, April, July and October). Today, new applicants have the flexibility to enroll for courses on a monthly basis throughout the year, which is consistent with Chaminade’s online Flex program.  

“I’ve worked at credit unions where tuition assistance was always included in the employee manual book, but I never once saw it used,” Vea says. “Bank of Hawaii, on the other hand, vigorously promotes CAP and they champion it, putting funding behind it with no strings attached. The program is a 100 percent benefit to all employees.”  

Bank of Hawaii’s executives said they needed a partner that understood the Bank’s vision of what they wanted to achieve with its CAP program. However, they also wanted to make sure that the online learning experience was customized to the specific needs of the Bank’s employees since they wanted CAP to be “a real pillar and cornerstone of what Bank of Hawaii is all about.”

“We thought it was not only important to train our employees in specific banking-related issues, but also to help them expand their overall educational base,” says Peter Ho, Bank of Hawaii’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a video release. “From an education standpoint, the important thing is to really help shape the individual’s mind and spirit—and that’s what education is all about; that’s what college is all about.”  

Although, Aponte and Vea didn’t experience the traditional campus setting, they were able to take their classes online, via Chaminade’s Flex program model, allowing students to take one or two courses at a time—or more if they choose—as they work toward their degree. And the pace of coursework rests with them. They can complete online courses in as few as six weeks. Or, they can take their time, wrapping up a course in six months. Flex students are also able to complete courses wherever they are, even on the go.  

“It was a real struggle during the holiday season,” Aponte recalls. “Even when we went on vacation to Disney World, algebra came along with me.”  

KerryLynn Vea takes a break from her studies with her new son.
KerryLynn Vea takes a break from her studies with her six-week old granddaughter Ellie in 2018.

The Flex Online Undergraduate program is WSCUC-accredited (WASC Senior College and University Commission) and has a broad range of study disciplines, including business administration, criminology and criminal justice, historical and political studies, education and psychology. It is designed with working adults in mind, distancing itself from rigid term schedules and due dates to give students the flexibility they need to achieve a work-life-school balance and make progress toward reaching their goals.  

“I started at Leeward Community College for a semester and a half, but scheduling was really difficult,” Vea says. “I just couldn’t do it all with a full-time job, a family and attending classes; it was a lot.”  

Nor could Aponte.

“I didn’t think a college degree was in the books for me,” Aponte asserts. “It was always nagging at me to get my bachelor’s, but I used time and cost as excuses not to pursue it. And now I’m motivated to finish this and I can’t wait.”  

Thirty years will have elapsed by the time Aponte and Vea attain their bachelor’s degree, and through the three decades, they’ve raised families, enjoyed successful careers and supported each other through both good times and bad.  

“Getting the bachelor’s degree with Rita couldn’t get any better,” Vea says. “I always say I’m the Yin because I’m more subdued and quieter, and she’s the Yang because she’s more outgoing and vocal. We might be opposites, but through this college process, we’ve depended on each other and have been each other’s greatest cheerleader.”      

Enterprising Minds

Teams to compete in Silversword Business Competition

Game on! In a Shark Tank-like competition, teams of students will compete in an entrepreneurial 18-week contest, vying for the grand prize of $2,000. The catch: the product or the service must have some element of sustainability.  

“Your idea has to address any of the CIFAL Center’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” explained Asoke Datta, EdD, School of Business and Communication’s Assistant Dean, outlining the competition’s rules. “It has to be profitable, not just in terms of revenue, but for the greater good of society.”  

Without revealing too much about her strategy, Carol Nacario ’23, a senior in the School of Business and Communication, is concerned with all the “waste” that she sees around her. The environment, like many in her generation—led by Greta Thunberg and the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led political organization urging increased attention to climate change—is an issue that needs to be kept in the forefront of people’s minds.  

Students participating in the Silversword Business Competition include, from left, Peyton Haleamau, Michalla Burtado, Alyssa Torres (kneeling), Emma Rosales and Carol Nacario.

“Deciding on a final project will be the most difficult challenge,” shared Nacario with other students who attended Day 1 of the competition. “My target audience will be the campus.”  

Academic competitions play an essential part in learning for students. Participation offers a hands-on opportunity for students to apply the knowledge and principles they have gained in the classroom and apply it to real-work situations. These competitions foster such skills as leadership, teamwork and communication. They can also be a great way to make new connections and friends.  

School of Business and Communication interim dean, Dr. Annette Santos, issued her first challenge to the students: recruit others to join their teams. “It can be a team of two to five students,” said Santos via a live video feed from Guam. “However, at least one of the team members has to be from the School of Business and Communication.”  

A business major, Peyton Haleamau ’25, convinced second year forensics science majors, Emma Rosales ’25 and Michalla “Meeks” Butardo ’25, to be on her team. Having never taken a business course, Rosales and Butardo consider their lack of entrepreneurial savvy as their major challenge.  

“We’ll be here as advisors and mentors,” marketing lecturer Wera Panow-Loui, MBA, told the students. “Last year, I opened my house up to a team of students who were producing jewelry out of microplastics reclaimed from the beach and in the ocean. And I also fed them.”  

Datta suggested to find team members who are in different disciplines, from art and interior design to nursing and data analytics. “You want a wider perspective than just business,” he said. “That’s what entrepreneurs do—they get creative. And, if they fail, what they learn from that failure determines how they succeed the next time.”

Each team will be given $250 seed money to use at its discretion. The School of Business and Communication’s Advisory Board members, who are providing the funding for the seed money, will also be available as mentors.  

When the competition was launched in 2021, the plan was to have students open and manage a pop-up concession on campus. Because COVID-19 was still a factor, another approach was decided: the School invited students to participate in a business competition that would allow them to show off their creativity, their ability to work with others and their aptitude in everything from marketing to accounting and customer service.  

“Think of this competition as an incubator of ideas,” said Dr. Eduard Merc, who is Chaminade’s MBA director. “You’ll have the chance to work alongside your professors and the opportunity for experiential learning that goes beyond theory.”  

Students’ final presentation will take place on Nov. 16. Each team will be assessed by sales/revenue, social media likes and shares, and their profit-and-lost statement.  

“And your business must align with the sustainable approach,” Santos emphasized. “In developing your business plan, take into account these considerations: 1) Identify future needs; 2) Identify technology to serve that need; and 3) How will you deliver the need, through what channels of distribution?”  

Their time starts now!    

Adult Education

Carlos Escuza ’23 describes Flex as an ‘awakening experience’

Call it a 40-year college plan. And when Carlos Escuza graduates in December with a B.A. in Business Administration, he will finally finish what he started decades ago when he was an undergraduate student at University of Phoenix in Riverside, Calif.

Like then, Escuza doesn’t represent the typical college student. He was in his 30s when he started, and he is now in his 60s as he completes his degree. As the nation’s baby boomers age, their influence continues to reshape the economy, the labor force, infrastructure and institutions. Some have called the demographic shift a “silver tsunami.” And that shift is apparent in higher education as a new wave of older students—like Escuza—return to college in pursuit of new opportunities.

“I stopped going to the University of Phoenix in 1992 because I got promoted as National Account Manager with the United States Postal Service,” Escuza says. “And I also had U.S. Army obligations.”

Since walking in a U.S. Army recruiting office in Chicago in 1979, Escuza has been all that he can be, a riff on an old Army slogan that prompted the then-20-year-old military veteran to enlist in the first place.

“The military gave me structure in my life,” says the native Peruvian. “Just like Chaminade University has taught me discipline in my pursuit of my bachelor’s since I started in January 2021.”

Jacob Escuza attended his dad Carlos Escuza’s retirement ceremony aboard the Mighty Mo in October 2019.

A new report by Lightcast, a leading company that provides labor market data, found that going back to college is an especially sound investment for adult learners. An analysis of more than 125 million online career profiles found that this group was 22 percent more likely to achieve upward mobility and earned annual salaries 140 percent greater than peers who didn’t return to college.

“When I retired from the Army on the deck of the Mighty Mo back in October 2019, I wasn’t sure of what I was going to do,” Escuza admits. “That’s when I turned to Cassandra Kam, a former educational counselor with the Veterans Affair. She was the one who told me about Chaminade University.”

Born in Chicago but raised in Lima, Peru, after his parents decided to move back to their native homeland when he was a 1-year-old baby, Escuza immediately returned to Chicago after graduating from high school. His formative years spent in the South American nation meant growing up with an extended family of cousins, aunts and uncles, and embracing a Hispanic culture.

“When I first moved back to Chicago, I was living at the Y, which is all I could afford,” Escuza recalls. “I received a grant and wanted to go to school, but I later decided to enlist in the U.S. Army.”

Escuza has no regrets enlisting in the Army and making it a career. He has been deployed to Europe, Afghanistan and Iraq, joining the ranks of thousands who were part of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In Iraq, he was part of the Multi-National Security Transition Command’s convoy security team known as the Rough Riders. Contrary to the sound of its name, the Rough Riders participated in goodwill missions to provide school supplies, gifts, candy and toys to Iraqi children in Baghdad.

“I was already in my 40s, but I was told I was needed because of my maturity and experience,” Escuza says. “Being involved in a war changed me profoundly in so many ways.”

When he returned from Iraq in 2008, Escuza manifested his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  “When I went through Kuwait, on a post-deployment, I saw outside the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) compound, this long wall with the names of soldiers who had died in the line of duty,” Escuza recounts. “They were listed in alphabetical order, and when I saw my friend’s name on it, I broke down and cried uncontrollably.”

Today, Escuza enjoys the support of his wife, Pam, his son Jacob and daughter Jaclyn Mills. He also appreciates the encouragement and understanding of Chaminade staff and faculty, whom he describes as inspirational. After he graduates, he says he plans to enroll in the M.S. in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) at Chaminade.

“This has been an awakening experience,” Escuza says. “If I were to put down in words all the positive feelings that I have collected and digested during my time at Chaminade, I would be writing an essay. The Flex program has truly met my spiritual and intellectual goals, and I’m grateful for this experience.”