Chaminade University of Honolulu

Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Program

Welcome to the Class of 2027

by

Freshman and Hawaii Island native Shalei Parong was among a throng of incoming students who moved into the Hale Pohaku co-ed dormitory on August 17. Meanwhile, after attending the freshman Apo Haumana Retreat, Gavin Ritcheson, Chase Murray and Kanden Yamada bonded and became instant friends.

“It was a fun retreat,” said Yamada of Apo Haumana. “We learned more about Chaminade’s mission, Hawaii’s culture, and we met with our new faculty mentors. We also sang a lot of karaoke., too”  

This year, Chaminade University welcomed one of its largest incoming classes in recent history. The projected number of new students amounts to 1,572 undergraduate students and 642 graduate students for a total of 2,214 student enrollment. (The official final count is due Oct. 1.) The incoming class of freshmen and transfer students added up to 481, many of whom attended the New Student Orientation.

Madyson Jensen, left, and Epifania Petelo stand inside a Barbie box for incoming residents to have their photos taken.

This Fall, the University also noted a 34 percent increase in new students from Hawaii, thanks in large part to the Hawaiʻi Guarantee initiative, which makes tuition for local Hawaiʻi freshmen on par with tuition at UH Manoa.  

“It’s gratifying to see so many local high school graduates and others selecting Chaminade as the institute to pursue their higher education,” said Chaminade University President Dr. Lynn Babington. “We also have the highest graduation rate of Hawaii colleges, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and that’s something of which we’re really proud.”  

Also of note, 285 students live in university residence halls, with nine resident assistants guiding their dormitory experience that includes activities, and all safety and security procedures.  

“We enforce the dorm rules,” said Kieffer Hall resident assistants Mady Jensen ’26 and Epifana Petelo ’23, as they waited to check in incoming students. “We make sure that everyone abides by the curfews and other regulations.”  

New this year is Chaminade’s Major and Minor in the Sport and Event Management (SEM) program within the School of Business and Communication. It is the first college program of its kind in Hawaii, according to SEM professor Wendy Lam, Ph.D. Students will take an interdisciplinary approach to build their foundation of knowledge with courses in sports business administration, sports psychology, sustainability, law, ethics and communications.  

“Sports programs generate tremendous value to both our communities and Hawaii’s economy,” said Lam, Associate Professor of Business. “The future of the school is mission-focused, practical and exciting.”  

New graduate programs include the Education Specialist in School Psychology (EdS); Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership for Adaptation and Change (EdD–Sustainability Leadership concentration; Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)–BSN-DNP Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) certificate; and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)–Post-Doctor Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Certificate.  

In addition to more than 60 majors and minors, the University’s Office of Student Engagement offers more than 30 active student clubs for students to join.  

“Looking ahead, we have an exciting year planned, and I am grateful in advance for all of the hard work and commitment of our faculty and staff members,” Babington said. “We are always here for our students.”    

Summer Research Opportunities

by

La‘a Gamiao ’25 hopes to get a head start on his master’s degree at Purdue University, where he wants to eventually pursue a doctorate in ecology. His first step toward this goal was to accept an eight-week, Undergraduate Summer Research Program at Purdue’s flagship campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Laa Gamiao is participating in a research program at Purdue.
La’a Gamiao was accepted accepted to an eight-week, Undergraduate Summer Research Program at Purdue’s flagship campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.

“I leave on June 2 and I have orientation on June 4,” said Gamiao, who will be among the five student-research participants from across the country. “I’ll be conducting research on Aquatic Ecology, studying predator-and-prey interactions in response to chemicals.”

Gamiao is among a group of Chaminade students who have been able to kick-start their graduate studies, thanks to agreements between Chaminade University and fellow esteemed institutions of higher education.

“Chaminade is a member of The Leadership Alliance, a consortium of 32 academic institutions dedicated to addressing the shortage of diversity in graduate schools and academia,” said Amber Noguchi, Ph.D., Chaminade’s Program Director with the Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs. “Through the program, we’ve built partnerships with universities that want to admit our students into their summer research programs.”

In the past, Chaminade students have participated in programs at Harvard, Yale, Purdue and UCLA—to name just a few. This early exposure to research is invaluable and greatly enhances a student’s graduate school application, particularly for medical schools.

This summer, Alexandra Boyce and Kaila Frank will both participate in Michigan State University’s Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP). According to the MSU website, the SROP is a gateway to graduate education at Big Ten Academic Alliance universities. The goal of the program is to increase the number of underrepresented students who pursue graduate study and research careers. SROP also helps prepare undergraduates for graduate study through intensive research experiences with faculty mentors and enrichment activities. Boyce and Frank also plan to take short courses in various subjects prior to the start of the research portion of the program.

“We also have at least one student, Tia Skaggs, who will be participating in the Cancer Research Experience for Undergraduates (CREU) program at the University of Colorado Anschutz,” Noguchi said. “This program is focused on projects related to cancer, whereas Purdue and MSU offer a wide range of disciplines and faculty expertise.”

Amber Noguchi, Chaminade’s Program Director with the Undergraduate Research & Pre-Professional Programs, encourages students to participate in summer research programs at various universities.

CREU’s primary goal is to engage scientific curiosity in the next generation of scientists, challenging qualified college undergraduates to consider a cancer-related career in the future. Only 23 college undergraduate students have been selected to spend 10 weeks in the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus’ laboratories.

“Our office encourages students to apply for experiential opportunities like summer research both here at Chaminade and at other institutions,” Noguchi said. “We also encourage our pre-health students to apply for clinical experiences and also pre-health enrichment programs.”

This summer, two pre-health juniors were accepted to the Summer Health Professions Education Program: Joshua Dumas ’24, a pre-med student, who will be attending the UCLA program; and Alexis Martinez ’24, an aspiring dentist, who has a choice between UCLA and Western University of Health Sciences.

To expose students to clinical experience, Chaminade works with the COPE Health Scholars Program at Adventist Castle. Through COPE, students are able to gain 280 clinical hours by volunteering in various departments at the hospital. Students enrolled in healthcare programs require these hours to demonstrate that they understand the field they plan to pursue, and it also helps them be competitive applicants when they actually apply.

“Many Chaminade students—who have pursued health careers in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, nursing and others—have participated in COPE,” Noguchi said. “We currently have Kelsey Nakagawa ’23, a nursing major, who started the program last year, and has risen to a leadership position there. We also have Kobe Young ’23, a recent Biochemistry graduate, who will be starting this summer.”

Celebrating Student Research at Na Liko Na’auao 2022

by

Participants of the 2022 Na Liko Na'auao Symposium

Interpretation of Multidimensional Chromatographic Outputs by Non-Specialists.

Decolonizing Methodologies in Research.

Native Hawaiian Traditional Medicine and its Effects on Inflammation of WISH cells.

Those titles are a mouthful. They also represent just a handful of the hefty research topics undergraduate and graduate scholars at Chaminade discussed at this year’s Na Liko Na’auao Symposium, an annual event dedicated to showcasing student scholarship across disciplines.

Na Liko Na’auao is in its 20th year at Chaminade and gives its student participants an opportunity to showcase their academic and creative work. After going virtual for the last two years, the event on April 8 was held in person at the Clarence T.C. Ching Conference Center.

And in another twist, students got the chance to discuss their research posters and give oral presentations. Participants also came from across fields, including Psychology, Environmental + Interior Design, Data Science, Biology and Nursing—to name a few. Topics explored by students ranged from research into forensic science and body decomposition to the use of statistical models to detect malicious internet traffic.

Amber Noguchi, the director of Chaminade’s Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs, said expanding participation at the symposium to graduate students was a natural step given the numerous master’s degrees offered at the university on top of three doctoral programs.

Student presents her research poster at Na Liko Na'auao Symposium

In her opening remarks, Noguchi also gave special recognition to the founders of the event: the late Henry Gomes, who was director for Native Hawaiian Partnerships at Chaminade, and Patti Lee-Robinson, former director of Health Professions Advising and Undergraduate Research.

“They had a vision to create a venue to celebrate student scholarship,” Noguchi said.

Also at the event, President Lynn Babington announced the recipient of the 2022 President Sue Wesselkamper Award, which recognizes a student at Chaminade who has demonstrated both outstanding scholarship and extensive service to the community and to the university.

As Babington explained to attendees, Wesselkamper was named Chaminade University’s eighth president in 1995 and was the first woman to head a four-year university in the islands. The award in her name was endowed by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clark, and recipients are nominated by faculty members.

This year’s awardee: Nainoa Gaspar-Takahashi, a junior at Chaminade who is majoring in Nursing.

Nainoa Gaspar-Takahashi and Dr. Lynn Babington

Gaspar-Takahashi has a strong record of academic scholarship, including research into the integration of Native Hawaiian and Marianist values in student success. In 2020, he co-wrote an article that was published in the Asian Pacific Islander Nursing Journal. He is also a member of the Student Nurses Association and is a peer leader in the Kokua Kakou nursing enrichment program.

His central goal is to make a positive difference in the community, especially in the Native Hawaiian population, and so he is pursuing a career in nursing and hopes to serve in an intensive care unit or emergency room. He also wants to eventually seek a master’s degree in Nursing and continue research projects aimed at improving the healthcare system in Hawaii and the quality of care provided to all patients.

Dr. Edna Magpantay-Monroe, a professor of Nursing who nominated Gaspar-Takahashi for the prestigious honor, applauded his “impeccable work ethic” and said he is a joy to collaborate with.

Undergraduate Summer Research Institute Goes Digital

by

In-classroom learning may be temporarily suspended, but that doesn’t mean hands-on research opportunities have to be suspended as well. 

In true Marianist fashion, the Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Program (URPPP) has adapted to the current times and moved its Undergraduate Summer Research Institute online.

As part of the institute, Chaminade undergraduate students will be able to gain invaluable research experience from the comfort and safety of their own homes. The institute will run for 8 weeks and students who are accepted into the institute will receive a $2,000 stipend for their participation.

Each summer, the institute matches students with Chaminade professors to explore a research question of interest to them. The students spend 8-weeks participating in weekly group meetings to learn more about the research process while undertaking their project. At the end of the 8 weeks, students submit a final project thesis and present their outcomes and findings to the group. This year, the institute will take a similar form—the only difference is that it will be virtual instead of in-person.

“Opportunities like this are so important because they help our students strengthen their resume while also allowing them to gain research experience, which can be very insightful for students who are looking to continue their studies in graduate school,” says Dr. Amber Noguchi, director of Chaminade’s Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional program. “We wanted to make sure these hands-on learning experiences could continue while we’re apart.” 

To be eligible, students must be a rising sophomore, junior or senior at Chaminade University; have at least a 2.5 GPA; have completed at least two semesters at Chaminade before the program begins; and have at least one semester of education remaining before the program begins. 

Native Hawaiian students are highly encouraged to apply, and priority will be given to students in non-natural science disciplines, including biochemistry, chemistry and data science. To apply, students must complete the institute’s application by the April 27 deadline and include two short written statements, a personal statement and a statement of research interest.

For more information, students are encouraged to contact Dr. Noguchi at [email protected].