By Justin Siliva
Junior communication major James Carter brought a new perspective back to Chaminade University after spending a month in Colombia and 10 days in Thailand over the summer.
“You see people who may have less but are still very happy with what they have,” Carter said.
Summer took Chaminade students beyond their usual routines. Some traveled thousands of miles from Hawai’i, while others worked, trained for their upcoming sports season, or returned home to spend time with family. By the start of fall, those experiences had shifted their priorities.
Carter wasn’t the only one returning with a different outlook.
Senior communications major Milan Cordone spent her summer back home in Las Vegas, while junior psychology major Malcolm Seales prepared for a fresh start right here in O‘ahu as he entered his first semester at Chaminade.
For all three, the summer gave them something to carry into the new school year.
In Bangkok, Carter tried Thai food, learned about Buddhist traditions, and took in the city’s fast pace. One of the trip’s most memorable moments came when he fed milk to a baby tiger and fed giraffes and kangaroos.
“It was an eye-opener seeing different cultures and how people live,” Carter said. “Traveling gives me a chance to decompress, recenter, and come back more focused.”
During his month in Colombia, Carter tried different dishes and saw firsthand how daily life and conditions differed from what he was used to in Hawai’i. He spent time observing the culture and the way people went about their everyday lives, giving him a closer look at a place far different from home.
Cordone’s summer looked different from the past few years, when she played for Minnesota Aurora FC, a semi-professional soccer team. This year, she returned to Las Vegas, where she was born and raised.
There, she continued training for Chaminade’s fall soccer season while working for her uncles on flooring and sewage jobs. Cordone also helped with her family’s business, American Funnel Cakes, working at its food stand during a Filipino festival alongside her cousins.
“Being with my family was a big priority of mine,” Cordone said. “Just seeing my cousins and my parents hit a little bit differently this summer.”
Seales spent most of his summer on the island working to support himself and prepare for the semester. He arrived at Chaminade after serving nine years in the U.S. Army.
While on active duty, Seales attended Hawaiʻi Pacific University. His military schedule often meant taking night classes and fitting school around his service responsibilities, with classes sometimes held at different locations around the island.
Seales stayed in Hawaiʻi after leaving the military. When choosing his next school, he wanted smaller class sizes and a Psychology program.
He found both at Chaminade.
For Carter, returning to Chaminade meant finding a better balance between his classes and his participation on the cross-country team. After spending last semester worrying about assignments and stressing about their deadlines, he entered the fall focused on managing his workload without putting as much pressure on himself.
“It feels good to be back at school, being back in a learning environment, knocking out my courses,” Carter said. “I’m just looking forward to conquering things, you know, just finishing the semester strong.”
Cordone transferred to Chaminade last spring after playing Division I soccer at the University of North Dakota. This fall marks her senior season and her first full year at Chaminade.
Because she arrived in the spring, Cordone had several months to settle into Chaminade before returning to compete this fall. That time gave her a chance to get familiar with the campus and build relationships with her teammates before the season began.
“Coming from a Division I school, it was a lot more of a ‘this is my entire identity, and I need to make sure that I can prove that I’m worth being there,’” Cordone said. “Whereas here it’s more about enjoying the experience, still working hard, but just not as stressful.”
For Seales, his first semester at Chaminade also means getting further into his major. He spent the majority of his previous semester taking general education courses. Now, more of his classes are focused on Psychology.
The classroom experience has been different, too. Seales said smaller classes and resources such as tutoring have helped him academically. He’s also spending more time around students studying the same course and working toward similar goals about what they want to do after college.
“Now I’m starting to really get challenged by the people around me,” Seales said. “As they say, steel sharpens steel.”
Cordone’s senior year will be her final season with Chaminade women’s soccer and her last few months of college with her friends and teammates. The Silverswords are 0-2 through their first two matches of the season.
“I just want to be able to say that I enjoyed college,” said Cordone, a senior midfielder. “I feel like how you end things is usually how you remember them. So ending it on a very fun note with a bunch of my friends and my teammates would really be a great thing to walk away with.”
As Cordone looks to make the most of her final year, Seales is approaching his first semester at Chaminade with lessons from his previous experiences in school and the military.
“I always look back to situations where I thought they were the hardest,” Seales said. “If I was able to make it through that, then I definitely can handle the ones that are coming around the corner.”
