Chaminade University of Honolulu

Criminal Justice

Employers Offer Options to Chaminade Students at Campus Career Fair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Life of Public Service

As adjutant general of the Hawai‘i Department of Defense, Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan ’89 acknowledges a life of public service isn’t easy—or especially lucrative. But giving back to the community and looking for ways to make things better, he says, really is its own reward.

“My message to students is: Stick with it. You just don’t know where it’s going to take you,” he said.

Logan’s career certainly has been full of twists and turns.

He was a Honolulu Police Department (HPD) helicopter pilot and military aviator. He deployed as a deputy commander to Afghanistan. During the pandemic, he lived for months in the Hawai‘i National Guard’s headquarters in Diamond Head. And when flames tore through Lahaina, he led a joint task force to aid in the response efforts.

All that happened before Logan took on one of the toughest jobs in Hawai‘i state government—overseeing the training and readiness of the Hawai‘i Army and Air National Guards as state adjutant general, a role he assumed in October 2024. At a moment’s notice, the Guard must be ready to assist with everything from natural disasters at home to conflicts abroad.

Logan, 61, said his journey to being named state adjutant general was a circuitous one.

This story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Chaminade Magazine. To read more, click here.

It began right after he graduated from high school on O‘ahu and joined the military. When he returned, he enrolled in the police cadet program and started what would become a long career with HPD. About the same time, he applied to Chaminade University and started taking night courses as he was working during the day. Logan says he was grateful for the flexibility.

He studied Criminal Justice and says one of the things he enjoyed most about Chaminade was learning from experienced leaders in their fields and being encouraged to apply his skills in real-world situations. “It gives you the theory and then the practice,” Logan said.

For example, Logan added, his professors included a retired Circuit Court judge, high-ranking police officers and a civil litigation attorney. Those experts gave him a fuller picture of the criminal justice system that would help him as a police officer and military leader.

Logan comes from a family of public servants. His grandfather served as a police officer in New York City. His father was in the Navy and the Army. And his two brothers are also veterans. In fact, brother Arthur Logan was previously the state adjutant general and is now Honolulu’s police chief.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan ’89 recites the Oath of Office to Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mysti Bicoy)

“My parents were steeped in public service and giving back,” Stephen Logan said, adding he chose military service and law enforcement because he wanted the chance to help others. “There are certain things on a regular workday where you can really help someone out,” he said.

“I used to tell my subordinates: When you take off your uniform, you can think that ‘I served a greater good.’ There’s simply no monetary value you can put on that. You can be proud of yourself.”

In the National Guard, Logan trained as a helicopter pilot and later became a test pilot. Later, at the Honolulu Police Department, he would fly HPD’s helicopter to maintain his flight certifications.

Over his years at the agency, Logan also climbed the ranks—and thought he would retire there.

But then a “dream job” opened up at the Hawai‘i National Guard—as state Army aviation officer—and Logan jumped at the opportunity. He held the position for more than a decade, overseeing a massive aviation program amid a “revolving door” of Middle East deployments.

At the Hawai‘i Army National Guard, and later, at the State Department of Defense, Logan continued to embrace new challenges. In 2019, he was named deputy adjutant general, a role in which he helped the state respond to some of the biggest crises Hawai‘i has ever seen, from the COVID pandemic to the deadly wildfires that tore through historic Lahaina town.

After the fire, Logan traveled to Maui to help oversee the National Guard’s response. Guard members augmented FEMA recovery teams, assisted with relief efforts, and established a security zone. Logan said many of those who responded had just wrapped up an exhaustive training exercise. When he went to visit them, they’d say, “There’s no way I could stay home.”

“That’s what really swells my heart,” he said.

As state adjutant general, Logan also serves as director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency. He said while the Lahaina disaster was a tragic wake-up call about the growing dangers of wildfires in a warming world, the state is more prepared now to respond to fast-moving blazes.

“The more we do now, the more responsive and effective we’re going to be later on,” Logan said, adding that one of the best resources in the preparedness fight is human capital—a conscientious and talented workforce of people committed to serve. His advice to young people considering their future careers: “A life of public service is rewarding. You can give back—and that’s something.”