Campus Event

2017 Alumni Reunion Was Hot, Hot, Hot!

April 13, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

It was innovative. It was fun. And it was family. Chaminade University’s alumni ignited the campus with positivity for their annual reunion celebration from Thursday, March 31 to Sunday, April 2.

Thursday evening’s Mocktails and Masterpieces event kindled the fire with bursts of creativity. With artist Jenny B. facilitating, alumni painted canvas masterpieces that they could take home. The alumni mingled and caught up with old friends. The familiar warmth of campus ‘ohana surged feelings of nostalgia and fanned their anticipation for Saturday.

On Saturday, a gentle mist of rain blew through campus, and the angelic acapella voices of Kaipo Leopoldino, BS ’14, Teuila Tauaese, BA ’13 and Baron Kaholokua, BA ’13 sang the Hawaiian Doxology Ho‘onani I Ka Makua Mau ( Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow). People in the crowd pulled out their cell phones to record the “chicken skin” moment. With that blessing, the Alumni Reunion Street Festival – Food Truck Rally opened into a free-flow night under the stars.

Residence Hall Association (RHA) students lined the Sullivan Family Library stairs to welcome home alumni. The RHA students wore white “I LOVE CHAMINADE” T-shirts accessorized with round Chaminade spirit buttons that read, “Once a student, Always an Alum.” Blue ribbons with the message “Alumni in Training” hung from the buttons.

“It was so beautiful to see that we had alumni, commuter students, resident students, and faculty come together for this event. When I stepped onto Second Road and saw all the food trucks and so many people, it was overwhelming,” said RHA student president Savannah Lyn Delos Santos from Saipan.

Outside of the Sullivan Family Library, a photo booth captured the memories of friendships and newly made friends. There was a ceramic pot sale setup by Fine Arts professor Yukio Ozaki, and the Campus Store offered Chaminade logo items for sale. Alumni like Teresa Fujino, MBA ’16 guided activities such as “DIY – Salty Scrubs,” where participants made bath scrubs. Kacie Cohen, MSCP ’13 and Darren Iwamoto, MSCP ’98 with Dale Fryxell, grant director of the E Ho‘opili No Na Haumana Project and interim dean of Education, manned the 110-AOK (Acts of Kindness) beading table.

The crowd echoed excitement when Leopoldino kicked off his shoes to dance the hula. From that point on, the event accelerated into high energy as Stacie Ku’ulei, BS ’02, MED ’10 emceed and entertained throughout the evening.

The Reunion Street Festival – Food Truck Rally had many memorable highlights, thanks to the collaboration of the Office of Alumni Relations and Residence Hall Association. Tasty smells from the food trucks permeated the air as people lined up in front of Hawaii’s favorite food trucks on Second Road. Chardonnay Pao, BA ’13, MBA ’15 and Cherie Ann Park, MSCP ’13 served various ono plates from Kapakahi Grindz. The Nalo Made Lemonade booth was a hit. Shawn Niwa Kadooka, BBA ’91 mentioned how happy she was to be a part of the event, and said it required two resupply runs. Also, depending on your appetite, you could also choose dishes from Prime Sandwiches or Chamorro Grindz or something refreshing from Tats Shaved Ice.

“Featuring alum or alum related vendors is the best! It brings a sense of pride to the event knowing that Chaminade is investing and supporting alum businesses. I saw alum, current students, and employees coming to buy our product. The positive vibes were just on a whole other level of awesome,” Pao said. “Good music, ono food, and the use of Chaminade Dollars brought another sense of school spirit to the event.”

Jeannie Pinpin Lum, BA ’05, MBA ’07 crafted a social meet-up game, Mingle Bingo, which gave participants the opportunity to meet each other and for students to connect with alumni and build their Chaminade networks. Lolita Lum Hoy ‘61 gave it two thumbs up. “The Bingo game was fun. It gave me an opportunity to meet many new people. I was able to meet people from Pittsburgh, Texas, Guam, Georgia, Oakland, and Mililani,” she said.

During a more structured part of the evening, Aunty Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61 in her melodic voice started a Lei Aloha ‘oli that cued alums to form a line as Chaminade president Bro. Bernard Ploeger, SM was escorted to the lawn. The chant continued as alums showered Bro. Ploeger with lei, warm hugs, and bid him a fond farewell as he concludes his 23 years of service at Chaminade University.

Pinpin danced to “I’ll Remember You,” the classic song by Kui Lee. She offered the heartfelt emotional hula as a gift to Bro. Ploeger on behalf of the alumni.

The program also highlighted those classes ending in two and seven, pioneer classes from 1959 – 1966, and the class of 1967 celebrating its 50th Reunion. Those, who had traveled from out of state to attend, were also recognized. There were lots of prizes to give away, thanks to generous alumni, as well as lots of nostalgia and the tears that go with it.

Then Micah G hit the stage and got the students, alumni, faculty, staff, and Marianists to get out of their seats and dance. The lawn in front of the library turned into a huge dance floor.

Night settled, and lights dimmed. On Sunday morning, the warmth of the embers could still be felt at Mystical Rose Oratory for the Alumni Mass. The alumni received a special blessing. Later they hugged each other and said their ‘a hui hou’ (until we meet again).

“There’s a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into a reunion celebration, and it is gratifying to see so many come out and enjoy the festivities,” remarked Be-Jay Kodama, ’86, MBA ’16, Chaminade’s director of Alumni Relations. “This year’s reunion committee took a rather bold move to carefully craft a reunion that would create moments of renewed connection to our Chaminade community, and create opportunities to enrich the lives of students who are alumni tomorrow through collaborative efforts of the Office of Alumni Relations and the Residence Hall Association. What an evening to witness the spirit of the Chaminade community through this experience. I can’t wait to build upon this for next year.”

At the recent 12th Annual Co-Curricular Awards, the Office of Alumni Relations and Residence Hall Association were presented the Father Stephen Tutas Program Award for Excellence for “The Reunion Street Festival – Food Truck Rally,” in recognition of valuable contributions to Chaminade University as the best event of the year.

Mahalo to all, especially the Alumni Reunion Committee Volunteers: Alice Kaahanui BA ’86, Bernard Lum Hoy, BA ’59, Lolita Lum Hoy, BS ’61, Christy Aiwohi, BBA ’87, David Dinh, MBA ’15, Heather Nakao, BS ’12, BA ’15, Jeannie Pinpin, BA ’05, BA ’07, Lois Nakamura, BA ’85, Linda Tavares, BS ’63 Michael “Pika” Ahakuelo, BA ’02, MBA ’11, Scott Kishimori, BBA ’87, Shayne Iwamoto, AA ’12, BS ’13, Susan Frank Kama, BS ’61, Sweetie Pacarro, BA ’89, Terrence Kong, BS ’89, MSCP ’03.

Chaminade Boosts Grad School, Career Options for Underrepresented Students Through Leadership Alliance

April 11, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

To expand graduate school and career opportunities, as well as encourage diversity for students from underrepresented and underserved populations, Chaminade’s Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research hosted a March 28-29 campus visit by Dr. Medeva Ghee, executive director of the Leadership Alliance.

Established in 1992, this national consortium develops underrepresented students into outstanding leaders and role models in academia, business and the public sector. Chaminade is one of 36 institutions forming the alliance, along with other universities such as Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Yale.

During Dr. Ghee’s visit she met with students, faculty and staff at a poster reception and roundtable luncheon. Her keynote address, “Exploring the Unexplored,” encouraged students to pursue doctoral degrees.

Dr. Ghee is a faculty member with Brown University’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences. She also provided technical assistance and strategic advice for the Clinton Foundation initiative on preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Among the Leadership Alliance opportunities for undergraduates is the Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP). These fully paid internships provide training and mentoring in research principles so undergraduates can competitively apply for Ph.D. and MD-Ph.D. programs.

Internships are available in life and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and the humanities at over 20 institutions nationwide.

Among the Chaminade students who completed an SR-EIP internship is Dior-Ashton Teodosio. After graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, she plans to pursue a doctorate in Clinical Psychology so she can treat children with learning disabilities.

Teodosio’s internship, conducted through the American Psychological Association, took place at Washington University in St. Louis.

“I worked on two different studies this past summer,” Teodosio says. “One focused on false hearing and analyzing previous data from another false hearing study. And the second one focused on second language vocabulary and speech perception.”

Teodosio urges other Chaminade students to consider an SR-EIP internship.

“If I had to give any advice to future students applying for any type of summer program, I would say to do it and go in with an open mind,” she says. “This is an opportunity that most don’t have, so you should definitely try it out!”

The Office of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research provides services to students interested in pursuing medical careers. These services include: academic preparation and advising, professional seminars and guest speakers, and undergraduate research programs. Chaminade students also have the opportunity for early admission to graduate programs through articulation agreements arranged with numerous medical schools.

Chaminade Celebrates Service Learning

March 23, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

The Clarence T. C. Ching Conference Center in Eiben Hall was packed with students, faculty, staff and representatives from local community organizations at Chaminade University’s annual celebration of service learning.

Representatives greeted you from SHINE Hawaii as soon as you walked through the door. They shared how involved students had tutored immigrants in English and on passing citizenship tests. Environmental + Interior Design had a large number of projects on display including plans for the spaces at Holy Nativity School in East Oahu. There were nursing projects and business projects, environmental projects and teaching projects.

Alex Morris, a business major working on Professor Kido’s FAFSA project, said “I can afford school. Helping these students to find the means to afford a college education was like doing something that you would do for yourself but to someone who is not me.”

Joshua Fukumae, a senior majoring in Communication, served as an intern with Jarret Middle School helping to develop and maintain the school’s website. “I worked for a client to make sure that the website presented information in a concise way,” he said. Fukumae practiced skills that he would need in his career as well as served a client who needed help.

2017 Service Learning Day — Professor Wayne Tanna and Palolo Elementary students, who won the Stock Market Game

Guests from Palolo Elementary School also attended the celebration for special recognition. The SIFMA Foundation, an educational non-profit organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds, awarded two teams at Palolo Elementary School first and second place in the Hawaii Elementary School division of The Stock Market Game for fall 2016. Both teams were coached by business students from Chaminade University who were led by Accounting professor Wayne Tanna. The Stock Market Game™ is an online simulation of the global capital markets that engages students in grades 4-12 in the world of economics, investing and personal finance, and prepares them for financially independent lives. Medals and certificates were given out to the young winners, who received them with great pride.

The director of Service Learning, Candice Sakuda was pleased with Chaminade’s impact. According to Sakuda, learning through service has been ingrained in programs for decades with the impact of service learning coming through the convergence of civic engagement in the Catholic Marianist tradition.

Panelists Offer Solutions for ‘Housing the Houseless’

March 17, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

Faith-motivated responses to Hawaii’s homelessness epidemic was the topic of “Housing the Houseless,” a well-attended panel discussion at Chaminade University. Moderated by Hawaii News Now TV reporter and weather anchor Ben Gutierrez, the March 12 event was part of the Mackey Marianist Lecture Series: Catholicism in Prophetic Dialogue.

Panelist Peter Savio, a real estate broker/developer and social worker, characterized homelessness as a symptom of a greater problem – that being the high cost of housing in the Aloha State. As a result, many renters are just one paycheck away from losing their homes.

Savio called for the construction of affordable housing units financed by low-interest government loans. He also favors expansion of home ownership through equity-building rent-to-own projects that create “hope and opportunity” for lower-income families and individuals.

Panelist Terry Walsh (Behavioral Science ’93.), the new president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii, believes in a “housing first” approach to getting people off the streets. First, provide shelter and meals for these needy individuals, Walsh said. Then tackle more deep-seated challenges such as alcohol abuse, drug addiction and mental illness.

“It takes a community to address this problem,” Walsh emphasized. “All of us together.”

Rounding out the panel were Dave and Bernie Reeves, retired teachers from Chaminade College Preparatory School in West Hills, California, and chairs of the Homelessness and Affordable Housing Committee at St. Ann’s Parish in Kaneohe.

Bernie Reeves, who volunteers for the state’s annual point-in-time homeless count, said the crisis is worse than the numbers indicate. That’s because many street people decline to provide information about themselves to outreach workers.

According to the statewide count from a single night in 2016, there were 7,921 homeless in Hawaii, up 4 percent from the previous year. More than half those counted lacked shelter of any kind.

“You have to organize individuals to solve problems,” Dave Reeves urged. Homeless people can help themselves to an extent, he said, “but they cannot do it alone.”

The Mackey Marianist Lecture Series has been sponsored for 20 years by Chaminade, Saint Louis School and the Marianist Center of Hawaii. The twice-annual lectures are dedicated to the memory of Chaminade’s first president, Father Robert R. Mackey, SM.

Marshallese Poet and Activist Inspires Chaminade Students

February 20, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

More than 125 students, faculty and staff packed the Clarence T. C. Ching Center in Eiben Hall to hear the Marshallese poet and activist Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner read poetry from her book Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter. Published this month by The University of Arizona Press, Iep Jāltok made history as the first published book of poetry written by a Marshallese author.

Considered an important new voice for justice, Jetñil-Kijiner connected the Chaminade community to Marshallese daily life and tradition through the weaving of her impassioned words and rhythmic descriptions. She shared her background and the role of women in the matriarchal Marshallese culture and highlighted in her poems the traumas of colonialism, racism, forced migration, American nuclear testing and the threats of climate change. However, she ended with a vision of hope in her deeply moving rendition of “Dear Matafele Peinam,” performed originally at the 2014 Opening Ceremony of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Summit. It received international acclaim.

Students from environmental studies and student members from the Micronesian Club and other Pacific Island clubs were especially moved by the activist poet. One Chaminade student was invited to read with Jetñil-Kijiner. He read in Marshallese, and she read in English. Students were visibly moved.

Jetñil-Kijiner’s writing and performances have been featured on CNN, Democracy Now, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post, NBC News, National Geographic, Vogue, Nobel Women’s Initiative and more. She co-founded the nonprofit Jo-Jikum, dedicated to empowering Marshallese youth to seek solutions to climate change and other environmental impacts threatening their home island. Jetñil-Kijiner has been selected as one of 13 Climate Warriors by Vogue in 2015 and the Impact Hero of the Year by Earth Company in 2016. She received her Master’s in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The division of Humanities and Fine Arts hosted the February 17 event, which was coordinated by the English department and spearheaded by English professor Koreen Nakahodo.

Guest Speaker Touts Hawaii as Leader in Eldercare Solutions

February 16, 2017 by University Communications & Marketing

Hawaii “has a unique and critical role to play” in achieving a comprehensive solution to America’s “elder boom,” according to Ai-Jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations Campaign.

The social activist, named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2012, spoke on campus Feb. 15 at a public policy forum presented by Chaminade University’s Hogan Entrepreneurs Program.

Every eight seconds, someone living in the United States turns 65, Poo pointed out. And this phenomenon is particularly striking in the rapidly graying Aloha State, where residents enjoy the longest lifespans in America.

Poo emphasized that this demographic trend is a blessing because seniors have more time to spend with their friends and loved ones. But the massive number of retiring Baby Boomers also poses a significant challenge, she cautioned, because America’s eldercare infrastructure is woefully inadequate.

Eldercare professionals typically earn just $13,000 annually, Poo said, thus forcing many to seek other employment. And because about 75 percent of American workers make less than $50,000 per year, they often struggle with the steep cost of caring for aging relatives.

Representing a bold step forward, according to Poo, are the “Kupuna Care” bills (SB534 and HB607) under consideration by the Hawaii State Legislature. These measures would provide up to $70 a day for the respite that family caregivers need to stay fully active in the workforce while caring for their kupuna at home.

If passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor, the Kupuna Care Program could help pay for homemaking services, adult day care, transportation to doctor appointments, etc. This would allow seniors to continue “aging in place” at home, while postponing or avoiding the transition to far more expensive institutional settings.

Caring for one’s elders is “part of the DNA of this state and this culture,” Poo concluded. And that means Hawaii could serve as an outstanding model for the rest of the nation.

Additional information on the Kupuna Care Program is available at care4kupuna.com.