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C H A M IN A DE MAGAZI NE
Pushing Boundaries: SUSHI WITH ATTITUDE
AT CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT ADAPTATION AND CHANGE— EDUCATING FOR ADAPTATION AND CHANGE IS ONE OF THE FIVE CORE TENETS OF A MARIANIST EDUCATION. THE CONCEPT IS WOVEN THROUGHOUT OUR CURRICULA, AND OUR STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF EMBRACING CHANGE AND ADAPTING TO MEET IT AS THEY MOVE THROUGH OUR PROGRAMS.
Adapting to change is something that is very familiar to Remi Kohno ‘15. She came to Chaminade University from Pasadena, California to play basketball and major in elementary education. But after her first year, she realized neither of those were the right fit. She didn’t like the competition she found on the basketball court, and teaching wasn’t her passion. So she quit the basketball team and switched her major to communications with a focus in marketing. Her junior year brought even more change when she joined the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program. It quickly started pushing her out of her comfort bubble, and it altered the way she reacted to pressure. “I saw all these great people join the Hogan program and I wanted to be just like them,” recalls Kohno. “Hogan definitely pushed my boundaries, which was nice. It really helped me grow as a person, both professionally and personally.” Students who are accepted into the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program spend one or two years learning what it takes to become a
successful entrepreneur. They mingle and network with some of Hawai'i’s biggest business leaders, they travel, they participate in internships and they work with industry leaders to design their own business plans and fine-tune their public speaking abilities. The program helped Kohno break out of her shell and become more confident in her abilities to lead and engage. One moment in particular stands out in her memory. Every Wednesday evening, Hogan participants gather to welcome and learn from a guest speaker from the Hawai'i business community. Guests range from Mattson Davis, the former president and CEO of Kona Brewing Co., to Chuck Cardinal, a former colonel in the United States Army and the former chief of staff to a WWII commander. On this particular night, the speaker was Eddie Flores, Jr., the founder of L&L Hawaiian BBQ. Flores has an inspiring story—he’s the son of immigrant parents and the eldest of seven children. His family moved to Hawai'i from China when he was a young child. His father worked as a janitor, and his
