Honors and Awards

Students present their thought-provoking research findings

Psychology major juniors Leila-Jayne Casison and Clara Slate-Liu are on their way to the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in California. But before presenting their findings on a national stage, the two Silversword athletes presented their research at the annual Na Liko Na‘auao Symposium, allowing them to fine tune their presentation and to anticipate any questions they may have to field.

“I think today was a good trial run for us in terms of getting used to discussing our study with others, especially those who we’ve never met before,” Casison said. “I also think we’re getting better with having meaningful conversations with those who find interest in our study on our athletes.”

Titled “The Sleep of University Student-Athletes,” Casison’s and Liu’s study looked at sleep patterns of fellow Swords, and they concluded that soccer players have the worst sleeping habits of all the athletes.

“Their practices start at 6 in the morning and they go to bed late,” Casison and Slate-Liu said. “So, of course, they’re going to experience daytime fatigue. It should be an issue that our coaches and athletic director are made aware of.”

A Silversword tennis player, Sydney Danielson was tireless in her pursuit of learning about avian malaria and avian pox effects on Hawaiian birds, such as the ‘amakihi, apapane and ‘i‘wi. A passionate naturalist, the Minnesota native looked at the two diseases and their impact on native birds’ population.

“Symptoms include swollen, tumor-like lesions on unfeathered parts of a bird’s body, such as the feet, legs, eyes and base of the bill,” Danielson explained of avian pox. “Both diseases are very difficult to manage, and the continued viability of our native forest birds depends on the preservation of their habitat.”

For the past 22 years, student scholars have presented their yearlong work during this annual Symposium, allowing them to explain their research and answer questions from faculty, peers and at-large community members. In the past, students’ presentations have focused on mental health—especially the impact of COVID—physical health problems, substance abuse and even “climate monstrosities.”

According to Amber Noguchi, Ph.D., Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs director, undergraduate and graduate research experience can look like a number of things. It can range from formal and clinical studies to data analysis, and creative works and beyond.

“All of these presentations stem from research projects that have been collaborations between the student researchers and their faculty mentors,” Noguchi explains. “This undergraduate conference celebrates student scholars from across all academic disciplines.”

For the past several months, Lindsey Dimaya has locked herself in her room, unwilling to share with her parents the project that she was working on for the Na Liko Na‘auao Symposium. An avid reader, the 17-year-old teenager chose to do research on adult literacy and its impact on mental health.

Pointing to her presentation, dad Don Dimaya quipped that Lindsey finally explained why she isolated herself in her bedroom for all those hours. “Now it makes sense,” he said with a laugh. “Instead of getting her driver’s license last summer, she was busy with this.”

“I looked at the correlation between adult literacy and mental health,” said Dimaya, a junior at Sacred Hearts Academy and a participant in Chaminade’s early college program. “One of the reasons I was interested in this research was because of a story I had heard about a mother who wanted to bake her daughter a birthday cake, but she couldn’t because she didn’t know how to read.”

Dimaya’s research yielded some interesting findings, including a connection between improved reading skills and better mental health, and regaining childhood memories that emerged as a result of enhanced literacy.

“The breadth and depths of these projects have blown me away,” said President Lynn Babington, Ph.D., in her closing remarks at the Symposium. “I have been truly impressed walking around the room, and listening to your presentations and your interests.”

In his oral presentation, Anson Ekau ’25 demonstrated a beta dashboard that he developed for the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, helping the nonprofit to monitor the health of the pond and its inhabitants.

“This fishpond once stretched all the way to Mauanlua Bay,” Ekau said. “Now you can walk around it in two minutes. However, fishponds are crucial to the survival of native species, and they also allow us to promote and preserve Native Hawaiian culture.”

The Symposium concluded with a presentation of the President Sue Wesselkamper Award, which acknowledges a student who has demonstrated extensive community and university service. In order to qualify for the prize, a student must have a minimum 3.5 GPA, show scholarship beyond classroom requirements by undertaking their own independent research or study, and must have presented their work both on and off campus. This year’s award went to Victoria Francois ’25, who gave a presentation on chronic pain among young adults and the effects of mindfulness.

“I would do this again in a heartbeat,” said Francois of her research. “In doing research, I found that the world is your oyster, and that everything is open to you.”