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Chaminade Magazine Transformative Experience
Aloha, Shortly after I arrived in Hawai'i to serve as president of Chaminade, the concept of kuleana was explained to me. The word is oftentimes translated simply as “responsibility,” but kuleana means so much more. It is a profound duty to care that connotes a reciprocal relationship—an understanding that to give in a community is also to receive; to live in a community is also to be accountable to it. As I mark my third year at Chaminade, the notion of kuleana continues to resonate with me. It is a beacon and a guidepost, especially in these trying times. It is a source of inspiration and of optimism. And it is core to our work at the university. Because we know that now more than ever, it is vital to prepare today’s students to serve as ethical, transformational and innovative leaders who can take on the world’s challenges and seek out solutions. It is our mission, driven by Marianist values, to inspire students to build a more just, peaceful society. It is our kuleana to ensure they act with integrity and respect for others as they pursue their dreams. Similarly, we recognize our efforts to protect the community from the coronavirus rely on everyone working together, unified as one. As part of reopening campus safely, we have asked faculty, staff and students to wear masks, to socially distance, and to undergo health and temperature checks—with an understanding that these individual inconveniences are necessary for the greater good. Not surprisingly, our Silversword community has risen to the challenge. They know that keeping our campus safe requires universal participation. They understand it is everyone’s kuleana to act with aloha. The concept of kuleana also comes to mind as we grapple collectively with a national reckoning over racial injustice in America and acknowledge our role in responding to it—with constructive dialogue and with action. It is our duty to root out discrimination and promote social justice in our communities. As Silverswords, we take our kuleana to heart. And you need only flip through the pages of this Chaminade Magazine issue to get confirmation of that. Inside, you will find stories of transformation, of inspiration and of hope. You will also find examples of members of our community putting service into action, tackling the problems they see around them and effecting positive change. One piece you will not want to miss is a moving profile (page 16) of nurse Shannon Wright ‘15, who volunteered to serve on the front lines in New York at the height of the pandemic there. She left her home in Texas to care for patients at a hospital in Brooklyn, working 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. It was exhausting and emotionally draining, but also incredibly fulfilling work. She said even on the darkest days, there were glimmers of hope—like when a patient who had been intubated for weeks got better. “A lot of it was a blur and I have trouble expressing exactly how it was,” she said. “But I am beyond glad that I went. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I met some amazing nurses and people that I will remember for the rest of my life.” What an incredible exemplar of service over self. Also in this edition, look for a great story on attorney Sam Jones (page 6), who graduated from Chaminade in the 1990s and went on to become a well-known legal scholar. Jones told Chaminade Magazine
that when he came to Chaminade after serving in the Marines, he was searching for a direction in life. Thanks to his professors, who encouraged him to study law, he found one. His initial response to the suggestion was doubting that he could do it. But after talking with his mentors, he realized that law was within reach—and would allow him an opportunity to serve others. “The talk fueled my desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others through the law,” Jones said. “But perhaps more importantly, I began to understand that what one person can do, I can do.” The incredible accomplishments of other Silverswords are also highlighted in this issue. Read about entrepreneur Dan Mangum ‘18 on page 11, young adult novelist and current Chaminade online student Sami Eastwood on page 34, and faculty member Allison Paynter’s work with the NAACP in Hawai'i on page 22. Plus, meet some fresh faces in the Chaminade 'ohana, including newly appointed Vice President of Advancement Gary Cordova and School of Business and Communication Dean Dr. William Rhey. If this year has taught us anything it is that our community is strongest when unified, standing together to achieve big goals and fulfill our greatest potential as an institution dedicated to public service. After all, that is our kuleana. Mahalo,
Lynn Babington, Ph.D. President, Chaminade University of Honolulu
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C H A M I N A DE M AGAZI NE
LEADERSHIP
PRESIDENT
BOARD of REGENTS
C H A N C E L LO R
BOARD of GOVERNORS
CHAIR
Michael F. Kerr, J.D.
Lynn M. Babington, Ph.D.
Rev. Oscar Vasquez, S.M.
P R OVO S T & V.P. O F AC A D E M I C A F FA I R S
John D. Field, Jr., M.B.A. ‘84
V.P. FO R M I S S I O N & R E C TO R
Rodney Harano, M.B.A. ‘83
V.P. O F A DVA N C E M E N T
Terry Walsh ‘93
Blaine Rand Y. Lesnik, Psy.D.
S E C R E TA RY
V.P. O F H U M A N R E S O U R C E S & L E G A L A F FA I R S
Ruth Ann Becker
Arnold M. Baptiste, Jr. Richard J. Blangiardi John C. Brogan Margery S. Bronster, Esq. Sai Cheong Chui ‘76, M.B.A. ‘78 Walter A. Dods, Jr. Adelia C. Dung Eddie Flores, Jr. William H. Garrett Col. Christine M. Gayagas, USA (Ret.) Robert S. Harrison Warren H. Haruki Ed Hogan Gary G. Hogan Marilyn Hogan Matthew D. Howard ‘89 Bro. Robert Juenemann, S.M. Lung Nien Lee ‘88 Dawn O. MacNaughton, M.B.A. ‘93 Joseph Melehan RADM Kenneth P. Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., USPHS (Ret.) Donald D. Rodrigues Walter Randall Schoch Marti S.N. Steele ‘92 Richard E. Tanaka Vaughn Vasconcellos Julie T. Watumull Gen. Francis J. Wiercinski, USA (Ret.) Jim R. Yates Adm. R.J. Zlatoper, M.S.A., USN (Ret.)
Lance Askildson, Ph.D.
CHAIR
FIRST VICE CHAIR
Bro. Edward Brink, S.M.
S E CO N D V I C E C H A I R
Gary Cordova
Christine Denton
V.P. O F U N I V E R S I T Y CO M M U N I C AT I O N S & M A R K E T I N G
Lisa Furuta
V.P. O F S T U D E N T A F FA I R S & DEAN OF STUDENTS
Allison Jerome
V.P. O F F I N A N C E & FAC I L I T I E S
Aulani Ka'anoi
V.P. FO R S T R AT E GY & I N N OVAT I O N
Helen Turner, Ph.D.
Carolyn Berry Wilson Lesley J. Brey, M.B.A. ‘88 Bro. William J. Campbell, S.M., Ed.D. Melissa Ching Benjamin Jerry J. Correa, Jr. Keiki-Pua S. Dancil, Ph.D. Ismael Eustaquio ‘88 Lori Forman, Ph.D. Daniel D. Goo ‘81 Karen Knudsen Bro. Joseph Markel, S.M. Ralph Mesick Bennette E. Misalucha Lance A. Mizumoto, M.B.A. ‘92 Jean Rolles, M.S.J.B.S. ‘93 Martha B. Smith, M.B.A. ‘91 Dr. Lawrence K.W. Tseu, D.D.S., F.A.G.D. Bro. Edward A. Violett, S.M., Ph.D. Richard F. Wacker Jeannine M. Wiercinski Hon. Patrick K.S.L. Yim, L.L.B. EX OFFICIO
Lynn M. Babington, Ph.D. Michael F. Kerr, J.D. Bro. Jesse O’Neill, S.M. Claire Wright, Ph.D. Rev. Oscar Vasquez, S.M. EMERITUS REGENTS
Gary E. Liebl, Chair Emeritus
VICE CHAIR
Anton Krucky S E CO N D V I C E C H A I R
Sharon McPhee S E C R E TA RY
EX OFFICIO
Lynn M. Babington, Ph.D. John D. Field, Jr., M.B.A ‘84
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Welcoming Students to the “New Normal”
FEATURES » 06 Transformative
Experience
Alumnus Sam Jones wasn’t expecting to become a lawyer. But there was a time when even college seemed out of reach.
16 Called into Darkness
When the coronavirus pandemic hit the mainland U.S., the hospital where Shannon Wright ‘15 worked as a nurse was already experiencing troubles. But her decision to move and serve in a New York hospital was more than eye-opening.
09 Freeman Foundation Supports Experiential Learning Opportunities in China 10 Learning to Pivot During COVID-19
30 Meet One of Our Student Scholars: Edward Adachi ‘21
11 Passions Turned Business Ventures
31 Creating PPE for Trauma Unit
12 First Hawaiian Bank’s Grant Helps Move Education Forward
32 Caring for Caregivers
Alumni Story: How Chaminade helped open pathways for alumnus Dan Mangum ‘18
13 Mentorship Goes Beyond Graduation Alumni Story: Relationship building and opportunities for alumna Emma Chisholm
Alumni Story: Unique cultural advantages experienced through Chaminade and Hawai'i
20 Leading With Faith
Alumni Story: Guiding education in 2020
Cover photo features alumna Shannon Wright ‘15 Featured photo above: Chaminade’s Spiritual Convocation, held both in-person and virtually for Fall 2020 students
27 New to the Chaminade 'Ohana : Dr. Gary Cordova
Alumni Story: Alyssa Nagai experiences the pandemic’s front lines in Hawai'i
14 Chaminade : Where East Meets West
19, 21 Alumni Notes
26 New Data Science Scholarships
22 The Fight for Justice Through History, Creativity and Collaboration 24 Keeping Communities Afloat Chaminade’s 17th annual Nonprofit Organizations Seminar
25 New to the Chaminade 'Ohana : Dr. William Rhey
Veronica Haskell helps Chaminade design and donate face shields Students show their appreciation to our healthcare professionals
34 Writing and Learning
Student Highlight: Sami Eastwood on becoming a published author
35 Cherokee Heritage Motivates Academic Journey
Student Highlight: Alexis Lambert is given the opportunity to share her perspective & culture
36 Putting ‘Student’ in Student-Athlete 38 Notables
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T R A N S F O R M A T I V E
EXPERIENCE WHEN SAM JONES STARTED TAKING EVENING CLASSES AT CHAMINADE, HE WASN’T EXPECTING TO BECOME A LAWYER— LET ALONE A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL BLACK LAWYERS TOP 100, AN ELITE ORGANIZATION OF PREDOMINANTLY AFRICAN AMERICAN ATTORNEYS. LAW SCHOOL SEEMED OUT OF REACH. BUT THEN AGAIN, THERE WAS A TIME IN JONES’ LIFE WHEN COLLEGE ALSO SEEMED OUT OF REACH.
SURVIVING CHILDHOOD
Jones’ upbringing was one of survival. He grew up in an impoverished neighborhood in Philadelphia and didn’t have much of a relationship with his birth parents. He had a few experiences with foster families, but didn’t feel comfortable in those environments. By the time he was an adolescent, he was hiding out and living in a local boxing gym. “The fighters would come in and I would watch them and also box a little bit,” recalls Jones. “Before closing, I’d run upstairs and hide in the locker room and they would lock up and I would stay there.” Occasionally one of the fighters would give him pocket change to run an errand or take care of their gear, and he would use the money to buy cookies. He lived off of those cookies. Sometimes he went to school. His school didn’t pay much attention to the whereabouts of their students at the time. When he did attend, it was uncomfortable—he had such a strong sense of not belonging. “I never felt like I belonged, because I was the person that was not normal,” says Jones. But even with his absences, school came easy to him. As long as he did some of the readings, he passed his tests. Though he knew his experiences were different, he didn’t think about them the way that the world does now. “When you’re a child, you don’t really know that you’re malnourished or poor,” he explains. “You know you don’t have a normal life because you don’t have a mom or dad to go home to, but you don’t know the extent of your poverty and neglect.” While a part of him longed for a traditional family setting, he got used to the independence his lifestyle provided. It was peaceful.
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He enjoyed being around the boxing champions, and looked up to them. It’s because of them and his desire to emulate their dedication and talent that he was able to avoid so many of the common pitfalls that plague underserved communities, like violence and drugs. He got used to making up stories to appear to be an average child in the inner city—like telling people he was living with his grandmother. Eventually, the owner of the boxing gym caught on to his routine and told his boxing coach. At his wife’s insistence, the coach began inviting Jones over for meals on weekends. After some time, Jones moved in with them full-time and became their unofficial adopted son. A WAY O U T
After graduating high school, Jones decided to join the military. Although he had been accepted to a university, the idea of sitting with people who came from traditional backgrounds intimidated him. Still, he wanted to accomplish something special. His adopted father had instilled in him a hardy respect for hard work and zero tolerance for failure. The Marines offered him a clean slate—a place where he could prove himself through hard work. And he did. He entered as an infantryman and spent most of his time in the field. But he moved up the ranks quickly. The Marines instilled in him a sense of commitment to family values, integrity, judgment and character. He developed a heightened respect for authority, patriotism and leadership. “I had a great career as a Marine and later as an Army Reserve officer. My service remains one of the most remarkable experiences of my life,” says Jones. “At the same time, as far as the civilian community was concerned, I was woefully intimidated by it and didn’t understand it.” His first duty station was at Marine Barracks Hawai'i, where he found out that Chaminade University offered in-person classes on base. He started taking classes in the evenings about a year into his service. It made for long days— he’d often spend an entire day out in the field and then go straight into the classroom. But he found he had a knack for academic work. He was successful as a student. As his time on active duty was quickly approaching an end, he thought more deeply about his future. He wasn’t comfortable going back to the mainland without some direction and a path forward, and the last few years as a student had piqued his interest. There was something inside of him that really wanted to experience life as a full-time college student. So when his service on active duty came to an end, he entered reserve status and moved into a shared apartment on campus with two Chaminade basketball players.
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T H E WAY F O R WA R D
While the military had offered Jones a way out, Chaminade offered him a way forward. When he started full-time at Chaminade, he had already overcome a lifetime of challenges. He had lived through childhood homelessness, had lost close friends due to crime and military service, and had lost close relatives due to illness. He didn’t know what career path he wanted in life and lacked scholarly direction. But he knew a lot was riding on getting an education. At Chaminade, he began to see that there was something special outside of military life — that a sense of service and brotherhood also existed in the civilian world. And he began to recognize that his reservations about what he could accomplish weren’t unique to him. “We are all walking around with certain imperfections, fears and doubts about ourselves,” says Jones. “Some of my classmates who had traditional childhoods and came from wealthy families had just as many doubts and anxieties as I did, just of a different nature. Through sharing our imperfections and triumphs, we all became more aware of our individual talents.” One experience in particular stands out in Jones’ memories of Chaminade.
“... as far as the civilian community was concerned, I was woefully intimidated by it and didn’t understand it.” He was sitting by the fountain near the Mystical Rose Oratory when one of the professors approached him. The professor, a Marianist Brother, was always so full of joy and had a great energy to him. Jones had never taken one of his classes, but the way he sought Jones out made Jones realize just how special it was to be at Chaminade. “It was almost as though he specifically wanted to talk to me,” recalls Jones. “He told me how much God loved me and how exceptionally talented I was, and how great it was that I was a student at Chaminade. At that moment, my thoughts in response to his remarks were, ‘Me? I make Chaminade a special place?’”
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[ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 ] The two talked for a long time. The professor discussed what it really meant to be educated and to serve others, and how an education would open the door to anything Jones wanted to achieve in life. Jones remembers thinking back to his childhood, and to the lack of role models he had growing up. People in his neighborhood were lucky if they graduated high school—for most, a college degree wasn’t even on the radar. “More tellingly, none of us actually believed we could acquire the type of prestige characteristically associated with professional careers,” describes Jones. “None of us knew a person from our community that did, in fact, make it.”
“In the Marines, you’re told you’re special because you’re a Marine. At Chaminade, you’re special because you’re a human being, and you’re one of God’s children.”
There was something about the professor’s confidence in Jones’ abilities that helped propel him forward. The professor didn’t allow him to engage in self-doubt or disconnect himself from those around him. Rather, the professor encouraged Jones to share his personality and embrace his nature and experiences. Jones wanted to emulate Chaminade’s faculty’s selflessness and faith in humanity. The constant narrative at Chaminade of being loved and serving others, combined
with his understanding of the frustration and indignation that so many in his childhood community felt, motivated Jones. DEFINING SERVICE
Over time, Jones began to see a common thread between his experiences in the military and his experiences at Chaminade. Both focused on service, and both fostered a strong sense of community and camaraderie. But the military was an extremely regimented community, and was centered around national defense and serving the country, particularly during times of war. Chaminade was centered around serving humanity. He began to see that the values that made him so proud to be a Marine existed in the civilian world as well—only instead of being groomed for combat and to serve his country, he was being groomed to serve the collective good. He was learning to serve others. “In the Marines, you’re told you’re special because you’re a Marine,” says Jones. “At Chaminade, you’re special because you’re a human being, and you’re one of God’s children.” When one of his professors encouraged him to study law, Jones’ initial response was one of self-doubt. Through their discussion, he began to realize that entering the field of law would provide him with the greatest opportunity to serve others. “The talk fueled my desire to make a positive difference in the lives of others through the law,” recalls Jones. “But perhaps more importantly, I began to understand that what one person can do, I can do.” But his newfound passion didn’t stop there. The way the professors at Chaminade banded around to support him had a lasting impact. “I wanted other students to have the benefit of such encouragement and knowledge,” says Jones. “I recall thinking that the study and practice of law wouldn’t be enough. Legal education was for me.” A LEGAL SCHOLAR
Jones graduated with a degree in philosophy from Chaminade in the 1990s. He went on to get his Juris Doctor from Texas Southern University, a historically black university, where he graduated cum laude. He got his advanced law degree, with recognition, from Columbia University. Along with a distinguished military career,
Jones has practiced commercial litigation and has served as the in-house legal counsel for some of the nation’s largest corporations, including AT&T and Blockbuster. His heart was always in legal education, so he joined the faculty at the John Marshall Law School, now at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He would earn John Marshall Law School’s prestigious legal scholarship award and later become one of two law professors to be the first African American males to earn the rank of full professor in John Marshall Law School’s 117-year history. Today, he serves as an associate dean and professor of law at the law school and specializes in legal ethics, social justice and contracts. And in January of 2020, he was named by The National Black Lawyers to its list of Top 100 lawyers in Illinois, an exclusive invitation-only list limited to those who have achieved outstanding results in their careers. If anyone knows how much an education can change someone’s entire trajectory, it’s Jones. Education was his ticket, and he attributes much of his success to his experience at Chaminade. “When I think of an institution that has had a profound impact on my life, of course I think of the military,” says Jones. “I ultimately served for 20 years. But I also think of Chaminade, Texas Southern and Columbia. And without Chaminade, there is no Texas Southern and there is no Columbia.” The way the Chaminade faculty believed in his abilities changed the way he perceived civilian life. It’s what helped motivate him to keep going, to achieve more, to work harder. Looking back, he has a tremendous respect for educators and the powerful role they play in the lives of their students. It’s his own students that he’s focused on serving now, though. Through many lessons and experiences at Chaminade, he fully embraced the idea that every life has limitless value, that there is a sacred connection between all human beings, and we each have a responsibility to cultivate our talents and use them to improve the lives of one another. “I feel like this message was a gift to me that manifested itself through my Chaminade experience,” explains Jones. “I try to give my students the same gift.”
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FREEMAN FOUNDATION SUPPORTS
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA For the seventh year in a row, Chaminade University has received $40,000 from the Freeman Foundation in support of its Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s China Summer Study and Internship program. The innovative program provides Chaminade students with an immersive cultural learning experience to broaden their understanding of China and Chinese business practices. “Thanks to the Freeman Foundation, Chaminade has been able to offer this enriching and transformative experience to our students over the last six years,” said Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University. “The impact has been great for our students. After the experience, they come back to Hawai'i stronger, more confident and with a deeper appreciation of and respect for the diverse cultures and people of China.” The Hogan Entrepreneurial Program’s China Summer Study and Internship program combines guided tours and cultural visits with tangible work experiences with entrepreneurs in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau. The students are chaperoned by Dr. Caryn Callahan, professor of Business, who is an expert in East Asian Studies. Through the experience, students become informed global citizens and better prepared for a world requiring a global perspective. Chaminade University’s Hogan Entrepreneurial Program is a one- or two-year certificate program. Students learn firsthand from experienced Hawai'i business leaders and entrepreneurs about the process of getting a new idea up and running. This involves academic coursework, mentorships and internships with business leaders, weekly lectures, study trips, and programs like the nonprofit business plan competition. For more information, visit chaminade.edu/hogan. The Freeman Foundation was established in 1994 through the bequest and in memory of the businessman and benefactor Mansfield Freeman, a co-founder of the American International Group, Inc.. This private and philanthropic foundation, based in Stowe, Vermont, is dedicated to augmenting international understanding between the United States and the nations of East Asia. It created the Undergraduate Asian Studies Funding Initiative to provide grants to numerous American colleges in order to strengthen and expand their Asian Studies programs by increasing both access to Asian Studies and the number of students in the United States studying Asia.
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LEARNING TO PIVOT DURING COVID-19 IN EARLY MARCH, ALYSSA NAGAI WAS LIVING A GOOD LIFE. THE 2015 CHAMINADE ALUMNA WORKED HER NURSING SHIFTS AT MAUI MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER, AND ALWAYS ENJOYED COMING HOME TO HER LITTLE DOG WHO WOULD JUMP ON HER AS SOON AS SHE WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR. SHE LOVED LIVING ON MAUI, AND IT WAS AN EASY AND SHORT FLIGHT TO SEE HER FAMILY BACK HOME ON O'AHU.
She felt comfortable at her job. Her time at Chaminade had prepared her well, and had given her the skills and knowledge she needed to be successful. But nothing could have prepared her for what came next. “The nursing and the schooling part of Chaminade definitely prepared me to be a nurse,” says Nagai. “But I don’t know if anyone was really ready for a pandemic to hit.” When COVID-19 made its way to the Islands, overnight her days became longer and her job became a lot scarier. Her hospital floor was quickly turned into a COVID unit, and chaos ensued. Policies and procedures kept changing—no one really knew what to expect or what to do. The disease was still so new and unpredictable. “It was really scary,” says Nagai. “I think every day, or sometimes every hour, things were changing when it came to PPE, or just everything. Policies kept changing and it was really frustrating.” Her unit converted into a closed unit, meaning team members weren’t allowed to come and go from the floor. It also meant nurses were doing total care for their patients, without help from nurse aides and patient care specialists. It made for really long, emotionally draining days. “You see what people are going through, and it’s scary on their end too,” says Nagai. “It was hard emotionally, for everyone.” It was particularly hard when she saw her coworkers fall ill. “We all kind of saw this coming; we knew that we had the risk of getting sick,” says Nagai. “But it’s scary because you see these people every day and you can’t really help it.”
It was also lonely. For Nagai, the hardest part was staying away from the people she loved and cared about. “I’d be afraid to hang out with people, and I knew they were afraid to see me too, because no one knew if they had it.” When she would return home from her shift, she’d immediately shower off and try to stay away from people as much as possible. “I’d try to shower before my little dog would jump on me,” recalls Nagai. “You just feel dirty coming out of there.” Nagai felt good about what she was doing. She knew she was helping. But she wasn’t sure other people saw it that way. Fears and anxieties were high all around the Island. It didn’t help hearing stories of how people were treating other healthcare professionals, like the story she heard about a nurse who went to the grocery store and had things thrown at her. Now that COVID numbers have begun to slow down in Hawai'i, Nagai’s unit is mostly back to normal. “There are still some changes in place, like the break rooms are different. We can’t be around a bunch of people anymore.” Nagai has a positive outlook on what the future brings. She’s hopeful there won’t be too much of a second wave, and she’s enjoying the new teamwork and collaboration that has come out of the hospital. Everyone seems to have a new perspective and appreciation for everyone else now. “When we were doing total care for our patients, I gained a whole new perspective on what nurse aides do,” admits Nagai. “It feels really good to be back to normal (or the ‘new normal’).”
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PA S S I O N S
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Business Ventures IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT OUR CHILDHOOD FANTASIES COME TRUE. FOR MANY OF US, OUR DREAMS OF GOING TO THE MOON ONE DAY OR RIDING ON THE BACK OF A GARBAGE TRUCK ARE NEVER REALIZED. BUT FOR THE LUCKY ONES, LIKE DAN MANGUM ‘18, THE LIFE THEY ENVISION AS A CHILD TURNS OUT TO BE EXACTLY WHAT ADULTHOOD IS ALL ABOUT.
“... it really gave me confidence that a professor who I had a lot of respect for was willing to put her reputation on the line for me.”
Growing up, Mangum had two passions in life: music and basketball. And a family trip to Hawai'i in the fourth grade left him determined to make the Islands his home as an adult. Now, as a young professional, Mangum has made a career for himself in both music and basketball, all from his island home in Honolulu. As a high school senior in New York, eight years after that life-changing trip to Hawai'i, Mangum had his eyes set on studying in the Islands. He explored a few schools, but Chaminade University stood out. He liked that the classes were small and that he would be able to form relationships with his professors and classmates. “I didn’t want to be just another statistic in the classroom,” describes Mangum. “I was hoping to develop long-term relationships with my professors and classmates, which, looking back, was absolutely the case.” His parents were also impressed with the Chaminade responsiveness and attentiveness. It’s not easy for a parent to agree to let their child travel 5,000 miles away and across the Pacific for school. But the Chaminade admissions team took the time to answer all of their questions, no matter how small they were. That put his mom at ease. At first, Mangum was struck with culture shock. Hawai'i was the polar opposite of New York—he had grown up with long, cold winters and a fast-paced energy, and suddenly he was surrounded by a warm tropical climate where everything operated on island time. Chaminade was also the most diverse school he had ever attended. “At Chaminade, my immediate group of friends included people from American Samoa, Guam, Hawai'i and Australia,” says Mangum. “I don’t think you’re going to get diversity like that in many other places.”
It didn’t take long for Mangum to adjust to the island lifestyle. He’s always been an outdoorsy person, and O'ahu had so much to offer. He knew a lot of people that went off to college and started spending a lot of time at parties and at bars, but he didn’t want that for himself. “I didn’t want to fall into the trap of just going to bars for four years,” he recalls. “Being on an island gave me healthier choices and provided alternative sources of fun, like hiking, surfing and diving.” He remembers one of his philosophy professors, Dr. Peter Steiger, taking him and a few of his friends out surfing one morning during his freshman year. “He woke us up at 5 a.m. and took us to this awesome local surf spot,” says Mangum. “He spent the day surfing with us and teaching us about local culture. I don’t think there’s a better place to learn philosophy than during sunrise on the ocean.” But Mangum’s favorite class was news writing with Professor Kim Baxter. He liked the class so much that he took it twice. Mangum was a writer for the student newspaper, the Chaminade Silversword, and Baxter used to work for ESPN. She knew Mangum was a huge sports fan, so when the Clippers came to Honolulu for their pre-season games, she got Mangum a press pass to attend the team’s games and practices. “I remember sitting courtside at this game, and I was right next to the reporters from the L.A. Times and ESPN. And here I was, this 21-year-old kid from Chaminade,” says Mangum. “Not only was it an experience that I don’t think you can get at any other school, but it really gave me confidence that a professor who I had a lot of respect for was willing to put her reputation on the line for me.”
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[ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 ] At Chaminade, Mangum was also part of the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program. Students who participate in the program meet several times a week to learn the ins and outs of starting and running a business, and they network with business leaders around the Island. He found a second family through the Hogan program and a true mentor in now-retired Hogan director Dr. John Webster. The Program gave him the connections he needed to launch one of his companies postgraduation—an adult basketball league. The league meets weekly at the Honolulu Club and encompasses four teams and over 30 players. The sales manager at the club was familiar with the Hogan program, and had faith enough in Mangum to offer up the space for the league’s games. One of Mangum’s Hogan mentors now also plays in the league. As a communications major, Mangum took away two key lessons: how to write and how to market. He believes he’ll use those skills for the rest of his career. After graduating he became the fulltime marketing director for Nextdoor, a cinema lounge and concert hall in Honolulu’s Chinatown. He promotes their concerts, secures sponsorships and works with musicians to encourage them to visit Honolulu while on tour. He also started his own company to book shows for musicians on the neighbor islands, and to market and promote events and small businesses. He loves his job—it puts him in contact with some of the musicians he used to idolize as a teenager. “These are all musicians that I was a huge fan of in high school,” says Mangum. “And now, just a few years later, I am able to be in business and work with them, which was a pretty cool realization.” Coronavirus lockdowns have put much of his career on hold—concert venues are closed, musicians have paused their tours and the basketball league is postponed. But as a Chaminade graduate, the importance of adaptation and change is deeply ingrained in him. The core Marianist value has proved crucial as he finds ways to navigate the future. “We’ve been adapting with various strategies to make sure we stay relevant, to find new ways to operate,” says Mangum. “I definitely credit Chaminade’s core values for helping me think through that.” Mangum doesn’t know what the future holds, but if he can continue on his current path, he’ll be a happy man. “I really love what I do now,” says Mangum. “I just hope to keep expanding and do it on a larger scale. Someday, I’d love to sell out something like the Blaisdell Arena. For now, I’ll just keep working harder and doing more.”
FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK’S GRANT HELPS MOVE EDUCATION FORWARD CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY RECEIVED A $25,000 GRANT FROM FIRST HAWAIIAN BANK THAT WILL ALLOW THE UNIVERSITY TO REMAIN CURRENT AND BETTER POSITIONED TO TRAIN TOMORROW’S TEACHERS. THE GRANT WILL BE USED TO ENSURE OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM GRADUATES TEACHERS WHO USE BEST PRACTICES IN PLACE-BASED, DEEP LEARNING.
Place-based education encourages student agency and is situated within the context of the learners’ environment, allowing them opportunities to explore questions that are immediately relevant. In Hawai'i, such an instructional approach provides a space to honor and highlight native/ indigenous knowledge and skills in addition to addressing required state and national standards. It has been shown that learners who engage in placebased education are not only more engaged, but also demonstrate a deeper understanding of content. Teachers who embrace this style of teaching are also more likely to stay in the classroom. Chaminade will collaborate with the Kupu Hou Academy, a teacher professional development program housed at Mid-Pacific Institute, to help translate and implement the place-based, deeper learning model in the university setting. According to Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University, “This collaboration with Mid-Pacific Institute will transform Chaminade’s education program and ensure that it is graduating teachers who are using best practices in place-based, deep learning, and who are empowered to be innovative and creative in the classroom. The real beneficiaries will be Hawai'i’s children, who will have access to an engaging, quality education.” Supplying the second-largest pool of teachers in the state, our School of Education and Behavioral Sciences offers six undergraduate degree programs in education and two master’s degree programs—Master of Arts in Teaching and Master of Education.
Photo pictured left to right: Dr. Elizabeth Park (Assistant Professor of Education, Chaminade University); Dr. Lynn Babington (President, Chaminade University); Donna Mendes (AVP and Branch Manager), First Hawaiian Bank; and Dr. Katrina Roseler (Assistant Professor of Education, Chaminade University)
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Mentorship Goes Beyond Graduation EMMA CHISHOLM ‘19 NEVER THOUGHT SHE’D BE ONE TO GO TO COLLEGE. IT WAS SUCH A LARGE INITIAL INVESTMENT, AND HIGHER EDUCATION COMES WITH A LOT OF EXTRA EXPENSES AND COSTS. FOR THE PUBLIC SCHOOL GRADUATE, IT WAS HARD TO JUSTIFY THE PRICE. SO WHEN SHE GRADUATED FROM CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY, THANKS TO THE HELP OF SCHOLARSHIPS, IT WAS A BIG MOMENT. BUT IT WAS ALSO A SCARY MOMENT.
“I had no idea who I was and what I actually wanted,” says Chisholm. “I knew what I enjoyed, but I didn’t know who I wanted to be.” Like so many new graduates, Emma suddenly felt the whole world open up. “The truth is, the road is all over the place and you can go in any direction.” Chisholm has always had a passion for writing. Upon graduating, the English major did a short stint teaching English online before taking on a few freelance writing jobs. And when she did, it was as though something clicked inside. “When they decided to hire me, I was extremely happy,” describes Chisholm. “I was thrilled at the prospect of writing professionally. It would be a job where I could call myself a writer.” Although she didn’t have a clear-cut path after graduating, Chisholm took solace in the fact that she found strong mentors in her Chaminade professors. She initially established a connection with Dr. Allison Paynter after taking one of her classes. She recognized a shared analytical mindset and a sense of enjoyment for reading. She shared the same mindset with other professors as well, but there was something about Dr. Paynter that kept her coming back. “She thought more about me,” says Chisholm. “It seemed as though there was a developing relationship between us where we could talk easily about our interests and build on that, but she also pays attention to me. She heard me, and she saw me.” And the feeling was mutual. Dr. Paynter saw a talent in Chisholm that she was excited to help her explore. “I had told her during the Honors Ceremony at commencement to stay in touch,” says Paynter. “And she was one of those students who actually took me at my word.
For probably close to a year I would meet with her every few months.” The two spoke frequently about Chisholm’s future goals and next steps, and Dr. Paynter’s guidance helped lead Chisholm to explore graduate schools. “I had a friend at the time who had just gotten her Master of Fine Arts degree in poetry,” says Dr. Paynter. “I wanted to share that with Emma to see if that was something that would interest her. We started looking at New York University publishing programs, and in the process Mills College in California started to appeal to her.”
It was partly the location that attracted her. “I don’t feel like I see myself in a state like New York,” says Chisholm. “I’m more in tune with the atmosphere in California. Ultimately, I’m looking for a place where I can establish myself with a career.” Chisholm has since been accepted to both the MFA in creative writing program at Mills College and the MFA program at the University of San Francisco for this fall and is deciding between the two. She plans to continue freelance writing on the side while pursuing her degree.
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Chaminade : Where East Meets West CHAMINADE IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO STUDY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EAST AND WEST. AND FOR HENRY "JAMIE" HOLCOMBE, IT WAS ALSO THE PERFECT TIME—THE RISE OF JAPANESE BUSINESS FOLLOWED BY THE BLACK MONDAY STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1987 PROVIDED UNFORGETTABLE LESSONS HE WOULD CARRY WITH HIM ALL THE WAY TO THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE.
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“When you have an East meets West philosophy, the West is always ‘go, go, go.’ But if you do that all the time, you run out of gas. On the Eastern side, there’s a good balance, a good equilibrium.”
As an Army platoon leader stationed on O'ahu, Henry “Jamie” Holcombe ‘88 knew where every single telecommunications cable was buried on the Island. He commanded the data center, and oversaw all base communications including the telephones. So it was only fitting that he got an MBA in information systems from Chaminade University. When he first arrived on-island in 1986, he knew he wanted an MBA. He explored a few different universities, and ultimately settled on Chaminade. He was Catholic, and he liked that Chaminade educated in the Marianist tradition. But he was also attracted to the diversity that the campus offered. “It was really because there were so many different backgrounds,” says Holcombe about his decision to enroll in Chaminade’s MBA program. “That’s what I wanted. I really wanted the island atmosphere that Chaminade offered.” And thus began his two-year foray acting as soldier by day, and student by night. He was stationed at Schofield Barracks, and there were no H2 or H3 highways at the time. So he’d zip around on his motorcycle, sometimes making it to class just in the knick of time. It was an interesting time to be a student in Hawai'i.
In the late ‘80s, Japan was at the tail end of a period of record economic growth, and Japanese business was in hot pursuit of American business. Hawai'i offered the perfect location to explore the Eastern philosophies that were guiding that growth. In 1987, one of Holcombe’s professors gave everyone in the class a pretend $1 million to invest. Their grade was to be based on how well they did and how much money they had left over at the end of the assignment. But then came Black Monday— overnight, on October 19, 1987, the stock market crashed and sent world markets into disarray as they spiraled down. It is still one of the largest single-day declines in the history of the stock market. But Holcombe made good investments. “I got an A on that assignment,” he recalls. “Everyone in my class lost money, but I didn’t lose as much as everyone else.” Holcombe thinks back on his time at Chaminade fondly. Not only does he value the connections he made, but he values the excellent education. In fact, he loved his experience at Chaminade so much that after graduating he became an adjunct professor and taught computer science for a few years before leaving the island. It was his way of giving back to the institution. After leaving O'ahu, he went on to get his M.S. in computer science from George Washington University and after the Army, he founded two successful startup companies. “The biggest thing [Chaminade] prepared me for is the confidence in being able to know what I know and know what I don’t,” explains Holcombe. “The MBA program gives you the basis and confidence to go up against others.” Today, as the Chief Information Officer at The United States Patent and Trademark Office, Holcombe finds he uses the knowledge he gained at Chaminade on a daily basis— particularly his understanding of Eastern business philosophies. “When you have an East meets West philosophy, the West is always ‘go, go, go,’” says Holcombe. “But if you do that all the time, you run out of gas. On the Eastern side, there’s a good balance, a good equilibrium.” To Holcombe, having that different perspective is vital as every issue has more than just two ways of looking at it. To describe it, he uses the idiom, “There are always two sides to a coin.” If you just look at the two sides, you miss the entire outer edge of the coin.
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It also helps that he gained a better understanding of Japanese culture, as he works regularly with his counterpart in Japan to stay up to date on knowledge, patents and trademarks coming out of the country. Holcombe’s job is a big one—his department oversees nearly 10,600,000 patents. “The Patent and Trademark office has been around since the beginning of our country,” explains Holcombe. “George Washington signed the first patent for an agricultural fertilizer, and Donald Trump signed patent number 10 million.” When someone comes up with an idea that they want to implement, they have to make sure that it’s a unique and novel idea and that if they were to patent it, their patent would stand up in a court of law. “You have to make sure that your idea doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” explains Holcombe. “How do you do that? You have to search the world.” His office is responsible for designing and maintaining an easy-to-use platform so people all over the world can search for unique and novel ideas. They rely heavily on computers and search algorithms, and build classifications for all types of information, from genetics and microbiology to artificial intelligence. His department also protects trademarks. Trademark fraud is a hot issue right now. According to Holcombe, 15 percent of apparel in the U.S. is fraudulent. Despite the gravity of Holcombe’s job, he stays grounded and motivated by the Marianist philosophy that he learned at Chaminade. Holcombe has taken the Marianist philosophy to create five priorities of his own that he makes sure his employees follow: 1) health, 2) spirit, 3) family, 4) friends and 5) work. When using his five fingers to list the priorities, he makes sure to use his thumb to represent work. “Like your thumb, work makes everything possible,” says Holcombe. “I always ask my employees, ‘What work will you contribute to the other four priorities?’” But the biggest thing that Chaminade instilled in Holcombe is the importance of having a heart and extending kindness toward others. “I try to use kindness as a theme throughout my management style,” he says. “We’re all about results and getting things done better and faster, but life is too short. You have to have kindness.”
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DARKNESS WHEN THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HIT THE MAINLAND U.S. IN MARCH, THE HOSPITAL IN EL PASO, TEXAS WHERE SHANNON WRIGHT ‘15 WORKED AS A NURSE WAS ALREADY EXPERIENCING TROUBLES. BUT WHEN ELECTIVE PROCEDURES WERE CANCELED, THE HOSPITAL BEGAN LAYING PEOPLE OFF.
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It was a weird feeling—Wright kept hearing about the nationwide shortage of healthcare professionals elsewhere, but she couldn’t get hours at her hospital. “At the time, I was working in a facility that just kept calling me off and I wasn’t getting hours,” says Wright. “I kept seeing on the news that everyone needed help, and I kept getting called off. I really wanted to help the people who needed me most.” So on Saturday, April 4, she hopped on the phone with a FEMA recruiter. They were recruiting healthcare professionals from around the U.S. to help the nation’s hardest-hit city, New York. “The recruiter said, ‘We need you, and we need you to get here on Monday if you’re doing it,’” remembers Wright. “It only left me two days to make a decision.” By April 6, she was on an empty plane to New York City. Her parents and her boyfriend didn’t want her to go. The disease was so unknown, and stories of medical professionals getting sick and dying were flooding the airwaves. “Everyone was like, ‘You should just write your will now,’” says Wright. “I was super freaked out signing up, and I cried the whole way to New York. I kept wondering if I was making the wrong decision,” says Wright. She was one of only three people on the flight from Texas to New York. It was an eerie feeling. But she was driven by her desire to serve those who needed her the most.
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When she landed at the empty airport, she immediately grabbed a taxi to her hotel in Times Square. “The cab ride through the city was beautiful—I had never been to New York before,” says the California native. “I started to feel much better. But then we got to Times Square, which was completely empty, and I got really scared again.” The hotel was reserved for other FEMA healthcare professionals and there were strict safety restrictions in place. Residents weren’t allowed to socialize or have people in their rooms, and other than a cleaning crew once a week and one person at the front desk, there was no hotel staff. The kitchen was also closed, so Wright used delivery services for most of her meals. Right away she went to an orientation where she met a few other new arrivals. They formed a text message chain, and throughout their time regularly texted each other to check in on one another. Wright was assigned to a hospital in the Bronx. Every day, a bus would come to pick her and the other nurses up and drop them off at the hospital. Her first day was eye-opening, and set the tone for what was to come. She was immediately placed on a team that was tasked with creating a brand new ICU unit. “They had an overflow unit connected to their emergency room, so my team and I had to create a coronavirus ICU unit,” describes Wright. “We made a whole ICU unit from scratch within a day.”
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They worked quickly to get the extra basement space ready and gather all necessary supplies, but they couldn’t work fast enough. Halfway through the day, before the unit was ready, hospital staff started wheeling in patients. They had run out of room in other parts of the hospital and were desperately trying to find places to put people. “They were wheeling in patients while we were trying to get set up, and we were realizing things that we didn’t have, all at the same time. Patients were coding on us, and we didn’t have the right supplies.” Wright’s voice goes soft as she describes what it was like to have patients who suddenly couldn’t breathe while she and her colleagues frantically tried to find the right equipment to respond.
every day,” says Wright. “But halfway through the contract, things changed and they were making us reuse N95s and weren’t letting us use hair covers. They wanted us to use the same gown for 5 days. They made a full switch, and all of a sudden we didn’t have what we needed anymore.” It was up to each individual to figure out how to make it work. Wright had signed a contract to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week for 21 days. The long days without a break were exhausting. “The whole time you can’t really breathe, and you can’t really talk,” says Wright. “You have a surgical mask over your N95, and you’re using tape around the edges to seal it off, and you’re breathing in your own CO2 and getting really, really bad headaches for 12 hours straight.”
“... my team and I had to create a coronavirus ICU unit. We made a whole ICU unit from scratch within a day.”
Supplies were scarce throughout the city— not just at her hospital. One of her friends worked at a hospital that completely ran out of oxygen, which was in high demand. Sometimes they just couldn’t get what they needed and had to figure out how to make do with what they had. In Wright’s unit, they were putting patients on really old ventilators that should have been retired, because the new ones were already being used. Personal protective equipment (PPE) also quickly became a scarce commodity. “At the start, we had amazing PPE and they were letting us change out our N95 respirators
During the days, adrenaline would kick in and Wright was focused on her patients. But at the end of the day, when she’d go back to her quiet hotel room, the fatigue would come crashing down and the anxiety hit hard. “When I got home every single night I would scrub my body nonstop,” says Wright. “I felt like I was dying, I thought I was dying. I would call my family all the time. I think I was just exhausted and run down.” The physical exhaustion was real, but it was the emotional drain that was really taking a toll on Wright’s wellbeing. In the month of April, the death toll in New
York was six times higher than its average for that time of year. Wright’s first week at the hospital was the deadliest week on record. News stories of patients being turned away from hospitals, doctors making unthinkable life-anddeath decisions and refrigerated trucks being called in to store bodies shocked households across the nation. Wright had worked in a Level 1 Trauma Center before but had never seen anything like what she saw in New York. “I would go to lunch and leave the hospital, and outside I’d see the refrigerated trucks because the morgues were so overwhelmed,” she recalls. She did her best to be a calming presence for her patients, all the while feeling anything but calm. “They would wheel a patient in and sometimes they would be really scared,” said Wright. “You’d be talking to them and they’d be fine, and within that same minute all of a sudden you had to intubate them because they couldn’t breathe. And you’re wondering if you’re going to be the last face they see.” For Wright, the hardest part was watching patients suffer alone, without having their families by their sides. She would try to set up FaceTime calls for her patients so families could see their loved ones. “Just sitting there knowing these are people, you feel hopeless,” describes Wright, her voice shaking audibly over the phone. “You’re doing everything you can, but you don’t know enough about this disease yet to know if they’re going to come out of it.” When asked about her mental health, Wright admits it’s taken a toll. “Chaminade prepared me to be a nurse, but I don’t think anything could have prepared me for seeing that many people die at once,” she says. “You just see people nonstop who were there one second, and alive, and then gone the next. You’re body-bagging so many people who you were just caring for. It’s definitely traumatic.” But Wright persisted. And when her 21-day contract was over, she agreed to stay another week. Because in between all the darkness, Wright was able to find moments of beauty. Like when a patient recovered and had their ventilator removed. “When we extubated a patient, they’d play a fight song over the hospital PA system so everyone knew there was good news, and we would all start crying.” Her hospital was also one of the first to participate in antibody plasma trials, where patients who were on ventilators received donated plasma from individuals who had already recovered from COVID-19 and had antibodies. She noticed a drastic improvement in
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1980s the patients who received the trial treatment. “There were patients who had been on the ventilators for a month and weren’t showing any signs of improvements,” she says. “But then we gave them the blood and within a week everything started to look like it was improving.” When her time in New York had come to a close, Wright initially struggled to find a flight home—everything was canceled. But she ultimately found an airline that let her fly for free as a first responder. When she got back to El Paso, she booked a vacation rental to quarantine herself for two weeks and recuperate before returning home and seeing her boyfriend. She had given up her job at the hospital, so after spending some time at home she ventured out to visit her family in California. At the time of her interview in June, she had been with them for three weeks, relaxing and recovering, and making sure they wore their masks. “I’m more scared of getting coronavirus in public now because I’ve seen how bad it can get—and it wasn’t just elderly people or immunocompromised people. It was healthy, young people.” While she is no longer afraid of caring for a coronavirus patient, she is much more cautious about being in public. Wright acknowledges that things have gotten better and healthcare professionals have a better idea of what they’re doing now, but the illness is still very unpredictable. As for her career, she doesn’t know what will come next. She’s slowly starting the job hunt, but she’s also just trying to take time to process everything she felt and witnessed in New York. Part of her wants a slowerpaced job now, but long term she knows that she would miss the thrill of the emergency room. In the meantime, life definitely feels more precious now and she’s just trying to spend time with her family. “A lot of it was a blur and I have trouble expressing exactly how it was,” shares Wright. “But I am beyond glad that I went. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had in my life. I met some amazing nurses and people that I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Brian Chee B.S. COMPUTER SCIENCE ‘86
Brian Chee decided to be the “April Fool” and had his second retirement from a research position at the University of Hawai'i’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) on April first of this year. His first retirement was from a federal government position. Chee says that once the quarantine is lifted, he and his wife will be moving to Orlando, Florida where he hopes to travel the world, write books, tinker and build an electric 1938 Bugatti Atlantic from scratch.
Pam (Werner) Crenwelge B.A. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES ‘80
Pam Crenwelge is a special education teacher who teaches LIFE skills. She says that teaching during this pandemic has been quite challenging as she is used to being in close contact with students. Crenwelge says that she wanted to do more than just provide lessons through her district and create math and science video lessons. She wrote and mailed her students notes, recreated materials used at school for IEP goals for parents to use at home, delivered surprise “fun buckets” to students’ homes, made fabric masks using favorite characters to encourage students to wear masks, and embellished flower pinwheels with a summer message for each student. She also continues to text parents and students funny pictures of her cats to stay connected. Crenwelge feels that the real goal of teaching is connecting on a personal level with your students.
David Mucklow B.A. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ‘82
David Mucklow was one of two Marines who attended night school at Chaminade—and graduated cum laude in 1982. He went on to law school and practiced in Chicago, Illinois and then Akron, Ohio. He was stamped by the brothers to do social justice wherever he ended up. Mucklow has devoted his life to helping the underprivileged and fighting corporate overreach, and corruption in the federal government. He urges students to balance the need to succeed and tackle the many issues facing society. Mucklow’s message is to “pick your battles and see them through to the end. Don’t start something you cannot finish and be not intimidated by bullies and small-minded people. Remember that we are on the side of God and do right by people. May the Force be with you.”
Julia (Wright) Simens B.A. PSYCHOLOGY ‘81
The enchantment of Chaminade lives on through multiple generations of alumni. Julia L. (Wright) Simens ‘80 recently celebrated the marriage of her son, Grant Simens ‘18, to Kylie Krieger ‘20. Michael Junker ‘19 and Rachel Junker ‘18 served as a groomsman and bridesmaid. Grant Simens ‘18 and Kylie (Krieger) Simens ‘20 shown in photo above
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Leading With Faith WHEN SHANA TONG, MED ‘08 WAS OFFERED THE POSITION OF INTERIM PRESIDENT AT MARYKNOLL SCHOOL, A PRIVATE CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN HONOLULU, THE SITUATION COULDN’T HAVE BEEN MORE URGENT. IT WAS JULY OF 2020, AND THE EDUCATION SYSTEM AROUND THE WORLD HAD JUST BEEN ROCKED BY ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES OF THE CENTURY: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
“As times change, faith gives you something to rely on, it gives you a sense of responsibility”
Schools across the globe had spent the last part of the 2019–20 school year scrambling to finish out the year remotely. No one really knew what fall of 2020 would bring—would schools be able to reopen? Would everything be online again? Would there be a hybrid option with both online and in-person teaching? Teachers and administrators were working double-time to prepare for all scenarios. In Hawai'i, things were looking stable in early July. Coronavirus numbers were relatively low, hospitals had dismantled their COVID units, businesses were reopening, and there was talk of the travel quarantine being lifted. But one month later and the situation had changed. Numbers were rising, and quickly. By
mid-August, public schools had been mandated to begin their school year online. If there is anyone that could have led Maryknoll through these difficult times, it was Tong. Tong knew Maryknoll like the back of her hand. She had had every possible relationship with the school—she had been a Maryknoll student, parent, teacher and administrator. And her endless optimism and easy manner would serve the school well during the unpredictable times. Tong graduated from Maryknoll in 1983, and then spent a few years getting her B.A. in Speech and Communications before finding a job working for a major airline. That career path didn’t last long.
“I said, ‘oh my goodness, this isn’t me,’” recalls Tong. “So I started taking classes in elementary education at Chaminade—it was Chaminade that made education a nice experience for me and made me want to continue that route.” Not long after, she rejoined the Maryknoll family as a second-grade teacher and speech coach. Other than a two-year stint working for Sacred Hearts, first in Honolulu and then in Lahaina, she has spent her entire career at Maryknoll. She found her calling in teaching. There was something magical about watching a child learn, and knowing that she was responsible. “It’s when a student gets that ‘aha!’ moment when you know that you made a difference,” describes Tong when asked what she loves most about being an educator. “As a new teacher, you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope my kids learn from me.’ But as you get to become more familiar in your career, you really come to recognize the impact that a teacher can have in the life of a student.” When she became vice principal at Maryknoll in 2004, she already had her masters in curriculum and instruction. But being on the other side gave her a whole new glimpse into the education system, and she wanted to learn more about running a school. So she enrolled in Chaminade’s Master of Education in Educational Leadership program and took classes in the evenings. “It was easy for me to relate to Chaminade,” says Tong. “It was a small class size, and it had a sense of family. And of course, it had the Catholic spirit.” The program helped her fill in the gaps. She already knew how to teach—but actually running a school was different, and posed new challenges. “I learned more about the business aspect of running a school—law, finance, HR...” says Tong. “The Chaminade program offered an all-encompassing look at what a principal needed to know to run a school. I may not have been fully equipped when I became vice principal, but having those classes gave me the support that I needed.” What struck her most was how caring her professors were. While she was a student, a close
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1990s family member passed away. “I just remember my teachers being so compassionate. When you have a small school setting that has a heart, that’s what Chaminade really modeled for me.” The program also helped her explore her own role as a Catholic educator. “The teachers we had were good role models for me,” explains Tong. “Not only were they well-versed in their subject area, but they were also a model of what it means to be a Catholic educator.” Regardless of a child’s faith, Tong believes the Catholic education that Maryknoll provides helps shape children to become more responsible and caring citizens. “No matter what their denomination or faith, you’re giving them a good moral compass and a moral skill set that will really make them be a better person in our world,” explains Tong. “When we educate our children to be good human beings or good citizens, when children see themselves and their role in the world as bigger than themselves, it’s always enlightening and sets the path for how they take care of other people, making difficult decisions when times are tough.” That’s especially true in today’s world, as people struggle to navigate through so much uncertainty. “Right now we’re in a pandemic,” says Tong. “I think more than ever, people need something to look forward to. As times change, faith gives you something to rely on; it gives you a sense of responsibility.” It wasn’t easy assuming a new leadership role in the middle of a pandemic with so many unknowns ahead. Tong’s biggest concern was making sure the parents, students and teachers were all comfortable and confident in the new learning plan. “Communication is extra key this year because we’re doing everything virtually,” says Tong. “Every day it could change. Being flexible, adaptable, resilient—those are the skills we need in order to really thrive and make sure our children are feeling confident and cared for, and to give them a sense of normalcy, even when the world is crazy out there.” Ever the optimist, Tong sees Maryknoll’s ability to adapt so quickly to online learning as a testament to the strength and dedication of the team. “It’s rather exciting to know that your school can shift quite quickly and become adaptable to online learning and online teaching,” she says. “We’re learning to form relationships with students and families in a new way.” Tong doesn’t know what the future will hold for Maryknoll, or even for education. But she knows that whatever happens, the children will always come first. “Any time you make a decision and put a child at the center of it, it’s going to be the right decision. Especially in the field of education.” With her growth mindset, her faith and her support team to guide her, Tong is confident in what is to come with this new normal.
Kyle J. Atabay B.S. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES ‘92 M.S. COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY ‘97
Kyle Atabay was named Damien Memorial School’s Head of School for the 2020–2021 academic year. For the last two years, Atabay served as the school’s principal.
Mark Dooner B.S. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES ‘99
Mark Dooner has been living full time on the mainland since 2004. He still visits O'ahu regularly—in October and the last few Christmases. He has a condo in Honolulu that will be for sale soon. Dooner says that he would love to catch up with his classmates and “talk story.”
Brandy Sato B.A. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND B.A. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL STUDIES ‘97 MASTER OF EDUCATION ‘03
Dr. Brandy Sato was named Island Pacific Academy’s secondary principal. Sato has both national and local educational experience, which includes the roles of teacher, curriculum coordinator, and superintendent. Previously, Sato was the vice principal at Sacred Hearts Academy.
Joe Zagorski A.A. LIBERAL ARTS ‘97
Joe Zagorski is currently working on his fourth book, a biography of former Philadelphia Eagles free safety Bill Bradley, the first man to ever lead the NFL in interceptions two years in a row. His most recent book is a narrative of the 1972 Green Bay Packers, a team that won a division title in spite of having one of the worst head coaches in the modern era of the NFL. Zagorski currently resides in Eastern Tennessee.
2000s Heathre (Fragapane) Palige B.S. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION ‘02
Heathre Palige has been working from home (still an educator) and spending a lot of time with her one-year-old puppy. Palige says she loves being home with her family and choosing her times to work (no early mornings). Although she feels for those who are struggling, she wishes the best for everyone else who is also stuck indoors. Her message: “take care and hugs to you all!”
Michelle Simmons B.S. NURSING ‘18
As a registered nurse, Michelle Simmons says she is grateful to Chaminade for a great education equipping her to serve the community during these (COVID-19) times.
ALUMNI C L A S S
N O T E S
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The Fight for Justice Through History, Creativity and Collaboration OVER 10,000 PEOPLE TOOK PART IN A RALLY AT THE HAWAI'I STATE CAPITOL ON SATURDAY, JUNE 6, TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE BLACK COMMUNITY AGAINST SYSTEMIC RACISM AND POLICE BRUTALITY. IT WAS THE LARGEST OF SEVERAL PEACEFUL PROTESTS THAT TOOK PLACE ACROSS THE STATE IN RESPONSE TO THE RECENT KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD.
Following the rally, the Honolulu chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) held a virtual town hall meeting featuring a panel of community leaders, including Chaminade Professor Dr. Allison Paynter. Paynter was joined by the Reverend Dr. Anthony Cook from Trinity Missionary Baptist Church; John McCarthy, the deputy chief of the Honolulu Police Department; Rep. John Mizuno from the Hawai'i State Legislature; and Christel Thompson, a family counselor.
“When we look at protests against slavery and the civil rights movement, we tend to look at them as closed capsules...” Co-host and NAACP Honolulu Branch President Alphonso Briggs began the town hall by explaining that the meeting was designed to be the next step after the march. Now that the rally was over, what could be done to continue discussions and further efforts to address systemic racism?
Hawai'i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald helped put the issue of racism into a local context. “I want to make very clear—this is not just an issue for the mainland,” stated Recktenwald. “One study showed here in Hawai'i, a person who is black is more than twice as likely to be imprisoned than a person who is white. So we have a lot of work to do.” John McCarthy, deputy chief of the Honolulu Police Department, opened by immediately calling out the killing of George Floyd. “I’ve been in law enforcement for 44 years with the Honolulu Police Department,” said McCarthy. “I’ve seen a lot of things, but even that was disturbing and appalling and should never have happened, anywhere. It just shouldn’t have gone down that way.” Dr. Allison Paynter offered a historical perspective, comparing today’s perceptions of African Americans to a quote from the early 20th century by one of the co-founders of the NAACP, James Weldon Johnson. The quote reads: “The battle was first waged over the right of the Negro to be classed as a human being with a soul; later, as to whether he had sufficient intellect to master even the rudiments of learning; and today it is being fought out over his social recognition.” To Paynter, the quote reflects how unfortunate it is that nearly 100 years later, “we are still trying to establish the African American as a viable, just and equitable partner in the citizenship of America.” The outrage Paynter sees flooding the streets across the nation is not surprising to her. She supports the emotional responses and sees them as a vital component to our wellbeing, but she encouraged protesters to channel their aggression into creative venues. She called on youth to use
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their words, their social media platforms, their art and their politics to demand effective change. While Paynter described racism as “the most virulent virus around,” she understands how the current COVID-19 pandemic in conjunction with civil rights protests across the nation has many on edge. As the only higher education representative on the panel, she recognized that parents of college-aged students may be feeling incredibly anxious about a fall return to the classroom given recent events. She described Chaminade’s plan for hybrid learning— combining face time in the classroom with online lectures and seminars—as one way forward. “The most important thing a family can do
is speak to their institutions and make sure that any concerns they have are answered,” offered Paynter. “I think all of our faculties and administrators across the nation are willing to take part in that discussion.” Just as she began, Paynter closed her time by putting today’s protests into a historical context. “When we look at protests against slavery and the civil rights movement, we tend to look at them as closed capsules where we only have African Americans fighting for and dying for justice.” Paynter points to examples of that changing now—last week alone there were peaceful rallies in all 50 states standing in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
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With new technologies and new ways of documenting injustices and organizing communities emerging, Paynter sees a growth in global awareness that we are all humans. “There is a media presence today that we didn’t have access to in the ‘60s,” says Paynter. “We cannot be silenced, nor should we be silenced.” She concluded by calling for intergenerational collaboration. “When I look back at some of these protests and protesters, and I see these voices coming forward in our youth, I am heartened,” says Paynter. “I am of one generation, you are of another. We need to come together and make sure there is a pathway for kindness, love and justice in the future.”
TO VIEW THE TOWN HALL MEETING, VISIT KHON2.COM
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Keeping Communities Afloat CLOSE TO 200 COMMUNITY LEADERS GATHERED ONLINE FOR CHAMINADE’S 17TH ANNUAL NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS SEMINAR ON AUGUST 14.
While the event has become an annual staple of Chaminade’s School of Business and Communication, this year’s seminar felt even more timely and served as a testament to the incredible work that nonprofits across the state do to protect the most vulnerable communities during times of need. “It is a challenging time right now for nonprofits,” says Dr. Bill Rhey, the new dean of the School of Business and Communication at Chaminade University. Under the leadership of the seminar’s board, the school waived this year’s registration fee and offered the seminar free of charge. “With all of the uncertainty around COVID-19, many nonprofits are stretched thin—they’re working longer, harder hours with fewer resources and more risks to keep their communities afloat. This event was our way of telling the community that we see you, we hear you and we’re here to support you.” The all-day event called on well-known speakers from across the state to help nonprofit leaders stay abreast of new changes and develop new skills and techniques for running their organizations. The morning focused on relevant financial updates for organizations. Trever K. Asam, partner at Cades Schutte, followed the tradition of seminars past in presenting his annual IRS Federal Tax Update and helped listeners understand recent developments for tax-exempt and nonprofit organizations. He was followed by Tom Yamachika, president of the Tax Foundation of Hawaii, who explained how to apply and respond to new tax laws. The technical sessions of the morning were followed by more high-level conversations around governance and program evaluation in
the afternoon. Chaminade Professor Richard Kido discussed board governance and responsibility and Linda Axtell-Thompson, principal of Axtell Consulting LLC and adjunct faculty member at Chaminade, followed later in the afternoon with a presentation on governance ethics. The lunchtime session featured Thomas Kelly, Jr., an expert in nonprofit program evaluation who joined the Hawaii Community Foundation as vice president for knowledge, evaluation and learning in 2012, after spending 13 years managing evaluations at the Annie E. Casey Foundation in Baltimore. Kelly walked participants through how to evaluate program impacts, and then how to use those impacts to communicate successes to constituents and donors. “Donors are interested to know how well a nonprofit is performing, how much progress it’s making and whether it’s contributing positively to the community,” explained Kelly. “If a nonprofit actually spends the time to report out its impact and measures of progress and success, then it can actually influence donors to invest in them.” This message was particularly relevant today, as the fundraising landscape for nonprofits looks vastly different than it did a year ago. In 2019, the U.S. was the most charitable country in the world, with 175 million Americans donating to charities. Nonprofits accounted for $2.5 trillion in revenue and employed nearly 12 million people. But according to a recent poll by LendingTree, 15 percent of donors have paused donations due to income loss, and five percent have decreased the amount they contribute. And a March survey by QuickBooks found that 47 percent of donors were giving less than they were a month ago. Stories about nonprofit layoffs and furloughs due to revenue loss are plenty. Yet, at the same time, many nonprofits are seeing an increase in demand for resources and programs as communities struggle to navigate the economic downturn. “As a Marianist institution, it is our responsibility to serve our community,” says Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University. “Right now our community is facing a tremendous economic crisis with no foreseeable end. We are forever grateful to the nonprofit leaders and workers who are serving on the front lines during this crisis, and it is our duty to support them during this time of need.”
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NEW TO THE CHAMINADE 'OHANA:
WILLIAM RHEY, PH.D. DEAN, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION
Dr. William Rhey, Chaminade’s newly named dean of the School of Business and Communication, says his years of experience in higher education have taught him that great universities have several things in common: a strong faculty, eager and ambitious students and supportive, visionary leadership. And Chaminade, he said, "offers all three.” “The university has a clear purpose in serving Hawaiians and students from all backgrounds, fostering social justice and promoting service and peace,” Rhey told Chaminade Magazine in a recent interview. “I love knowing that the skills we teach in Business and Communication result in helping students and their communities to flourish— economically and spiritually.” Rhey is taking on the new role as the state faces an uncertain economic future amid the pandemic, with historically high unemployment levels and businesses struggling to stay afloat. He said to help address the crisis, he wants to position the School of Business and Communication as a hub of expertise and solutions as Hawai'i looks to diversify its economy, offer career retraining or continuing education programs and bolster emerging growth areas. Rhey said on his “to do” list are serious discussions about what additional opportunities the School can offer to meet community needs, including new graduate programs and tracks, micro-credential and certificate programs, and other continued learning offerings. He described his personal mission as dean of the School like this: “To sustain all that is wonderful about our School of Business and Communication while helping our faculty and students to respond to new opportunities in education and in the marketplace— opportunities that will make our students more successful and the world a better place.”
“I love my job,” he added, “which is to help match resources to opportunities. What better resources than the aloha-spirited students here at Chaminade and the knowledgeable, caring faculty? I get to help encourage ideas and move them to successful conclusions.” Rhey has served in university leadership roles at a number of institutions, including most recently as the dean of Hawai'i Pacific University’s College of Business. He received a doctoral degree in Economics and Management from the University of Mississippi and has master’s and bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration from Baylor and Bucknell universities. As a scholar, he’s focused on entrepreneurship, business ethics, and international marketing. Rhey said while interviewing for the position of dean at Chaminade he was moved by the charisma, energy and transformative vision of the university’s president and provost. “After meeting them I knew that Chaminade would be a great place to serve,” he said. “That feeling was only magnified by meeting the business and communication faculty who all live and breathe service to the students and university that they are obviously dedicated to and believe in.” He said he was particularly impressed with the individualized learning experiences faculty members provide, ensuring students achieve their educational goals while building mentorships—and friendships—along the way that last a lifetime. “Chaminade offers students close mentoring relationships, enlightened cultural growth, real-life business and communication projects, fun-filled competitions and an ongoing selection of service learning opportunities,” Rhey said. Oh, and the location isn’t too bad either. “This in the context,” he said, “of living in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.”
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New Data Science Scholarships CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY RECENTLY RECEIVED A MILLION-DOLLAR GRANT FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ( N S F ) TO PROVIDE 20 SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NEW FIRST-YEAR AND TRANSFER STUDENTS WHO ARE MAJORING IN DATA SCIENCE.
Data science is one of the most in-demand and fastest growing careers in the Pacific region. As industries collect more data, they need more people who can analyze and interpret those data. This new program is part of a larger initiative to build a cohort of data science professionals in the Pacific to help support decision-making across Hawai'i’s economic sectors. “This program is all about access to highpaying, in-demand jobs,” says Dr. Alexander Stokes, assistant professor at Chaminade University. “Every business sector in Hawai'i, from healthcare to finance to energy and nonprofits, needs professionals in data analytics to provide decision support.” Data science students at Chaminade participate in hands-on, project-based courses and internships that use real data provided by local businesses, agencies and community
organizations. In addition to learning the necessary technical skills like coding and data visualization, students also learn about decision-making, data ethics and how to communicate complex datasets in a clear and concise way, ensuring they are well-versed in all aspects of the career. “This project will empower students from across the region to find data-driven solutions to challenges in Hawai'i and the Pacific region,” says Dr. Helen Turner, vice president for Strategy and Innovation at Chaminade University. “The Pacific faces unique challenges, and we need local students who can use local data to help us understand and address those challenges.” The grant is part of NSF’s Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) program, which seeks to increase the number of academically talented students with demonstrated financial
need who earn degrees in STEM fields. The scholarships will be available for new students who are majoring in data science, and preference will be given to students from Hawai'i and the Pacific region who meet academic and financial requirements. The new project aims to accomplish three things: 1) mitigate the financial and academic barriers for low-income students from the Pacific; 2) acknowledge and address the cultural and non-academic barriers these students face when pursuing an education in STEM; and 3) develop new ways of teaching and supporting student needs, strengths and cultural expectations. “There is a national need for well-educated STEM professionals from diverse backgrounds and experiences,” says Dr. Lynn Babington, president of Chaminade University. “The support from NSF will help strengthen the career pathway for low-income students and will ensure these future STEM workers receive a high-quality, values-driven education.” Applications will be reviewed by a panel of Chaminade faculty members, and students who are selected to participate in the program will receive a $10,000-per-year scholarship. Program participants will also have access to academic navigators, cultural programming, life coaching, professional tutoring, paid internships, retreats and career preparation.
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NEW TO THE CHAMINADE 'OHANA:
GARY CORDOVA VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT
Gary Cordova’s parents taught him that education is a pathway. And not to wealth or to status or to material goods, but to service— and for re-shaping the future in positive ways. “I have always been particularly aware to remember those who came before me and who sacrificed their well-being and sometimes their own lives to enable my community—and me—to achieve a quality education in a just society,” Cordova said. He sees his parents’ lessons in the Marianist mission—and it’s what drew him back to Chaminade after a long absence. On July 1, Cordova assumed the role of Vice President of Advancement at the university, taking the reins amid a global public health crisis and at a time of incredible economic uncertainty for Hawai'i businesses, families and institutions. He says he’s certain there will be challenges ahead—and he’s up for them. When asked to describe his approach to the position, Cordova quoted Blessed Father Chaminade: “New times call for new methods.” For Cordova that means being innovative, resilient and nimble. It also means listening to your community and meeting their needs. “I believe in intentionality and authenticity,” Cordova said. “All the successful institutions that I have been part of were always strongly mission-driven, authentic to who they were, exceptional at planning, metrics-based, and not afraid to be iterative or entrepreneurial.” He said he’s very excited to tell the University’s story through the accomplishments of its graduates, students and faculty and show “what a special and relevant place Chaminade is.” “Many colleges and universities never get beyond telling. It is our time to show,” Cordova said. “I believe the new advancement team, in collaboration with our entire community, can help jumpstart a new and authentic culture of philanthropy that is distinctive to Chaminade,
and that it would be embraced in time by everyone, because advancement can’t do it alone.” Cordova is a longtime leader in education with more than two decades of experience at universities and independent private schools. He served as head of Chaminade’s advancement office from 2002 to 2007 and returns to the university from Mid-Pacific Institute. He said his second tenure at Chaminade feels like “coming home to do good works.” “There is a lot of work to be done, and all of us on campus have a role in being ambassadors and storytellers of the good work our faculty and staff do with our students,” Cordova said. “It is up to all of us to join together and show the world what makes us a special university.” Cordova, whose résumé also includes successful work in advancement and strategic development at the University of Oregon, Willamette University and the University of Chicago, said top of mind for him right now is the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis on families. “To address this, many advancement offices are rightly focusing their efforts on access, raising resources to support families who need it most,” Cordova said, adding this is also the time to reach out to Chaminade’s supporters and alumni with a phone call or a friendly note. Then, he added, those relationships can continue to be cultivated. “Chaminade has an incredible community of alumni and friends who are looking for ways to connect with today’s university—to connect with the heart of Chaminade,” he said. “That means we must have a strategic advancement team whose primary focus is authentic engagement through programs that are relevant and of real value to our alumni and friends.”
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WELCOMING STUDENTS TO THE “NEW NORMAL” SPANISH MISSION ARCHITECTURE. LARGE EXPANSES OF GREEN. BLOOMING BOUGAINVILLEA. AT FIRST GLANCE, CHAMINADE DOESN’T APPEAR TO HAVE CHANGED MUCH IN THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS. BUT A CLOSER LOOK REVEALS A MYRIAD OF UPGRADES— ALL AIMED AT KEEPING PEOPLE SAFE.
In classrooms and other shared spaces, seating is kept six feet apart and markings on the floor offer a guide for how to remain spread out. Signage posted all over campus reminds everyone to wear a mask and practice social distancing. At strategic locations, you’ll find sanitation stations and no-contact thermometers. And Chaminade’s maintenance team is busy throughout the day, keeping high-traffic areas and frequent touchpoints sanitized and well cleaned. It’s all part of the university’s commitment to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for everyone—and is thanks to a large team of Chaminade faculty and staff who worked tirelessly to develop and execute a campus reopening plan that put a priority on community wellbeing. The university has already taken some major steps in that plan. Staff returned first—in June. Then, on July 6, in-person graduate instruction resumed. Undergraduate and Doctor of Clinical Psychology students came back to campus for the fall term on October 5. Like most campuses around the country and in Hawai'i, Chaminade went fully to online instruction in March amid “stay-at-home" orders and a push to flatten the coronavirus infection curve. Shortly after closing campus, however, Chaminade got to work to craft a strategy—and a timeline—for safely welcoming people back. A COVID-19 task force was convened to gather data-informed safety protocols locally and nationally, determine what needed to be done—and then figure out how to do it. They tackled a host of projects in a short period, including a campus-wide effort to reconfigure classrooms, residence halls and common areas to accommodate social distancing requirements. The university also focused on other areas, including by posting bold signage with health reminders and communicating regularly with members of the Chaminade 'ohana to keep them up to date with what was going on. The appeal to everyone: when you’re on campus, you’ll need to do your part to keep it safe by wearing a mask and practicing social distancing. As more people have returned, it’s a message that has resonated across a university community that prides itself on a mission of service to others. Everyone understands they share the responsibility of creating a safe campus and that their actions protect not only themselves but other members of the Silversword 'ohana—and their family members and friends, too.
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"NE W T IMES C A LL FOR NE W MET HODS." — BLESSED WILLIAM JOSEPH CHAMINADE
S C H O L A R S H I P
S P O T L I G H T
EDWARD ADACHI ‘21 SCHOLARSHIPS: Thomas Stephen Dal Ponte Memorial Scholarship, Joanna Sullivan Scholarship, and Fr. Thomas Hogan, S.M. & Fr. Joseph Kerr, S.M. Scholarship MAJOR: Environmental Science MINOR: Business Administration
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“CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY CONTINUES TO CHANGE AND FOR THAT I AM GRATEFUL. TO BE AT A SCHOOL THAT IS SO DYNAMIC MOTIVATES ME TO BE JUST AS DYNAMIC. I ALWAYS FIND MYSELF IN AWE WHEN I SIMPLY LOOK AROUND ME. I NEVER WOULD HAVE THOUGHT I WOULD BE FRIENDS, LET ALONE STUDY, WITH A STUDENT WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY INCARCERATED. NEVER DID I THINK THAT I WOULD MEET STUDENTS WHO ARE 17 YEARS OLD WHO OUTPERFORM ME IN COLLEGE. I NEVER SAW MYSELF AS A RELIGIOUS PERSON, BUT NOW I AM A PROUD ROMAN CATHOLIC. TO LIVE IS TO CHANGE. THANK YOU FOR CHANGING MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF ALL OUR STUDENTS.”
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Creating PPE for Trauma Unit THE CASTLE TEACHER RESOURCE ACTIVITY CENTER (CTRAC) IN CHAMINADE’S SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES DONATED 62 FACE SHIELDS TO NURSES IN THE TRAUMA UNIT AT QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER TO USE AS PROTECTION WHILE TREATING PATIENTS WITH COVID-19.
When Chaminade staff approached graduate assistant Veronica Haskell about using the CTRAC equipment to create face masks, she immediately got to work creating a prototype. With a successful prototype in hand, she went into production and produced the face shields using the center’s 3D printer and laser cutter. CTRAC was established nearly 10 years ago through generous funding from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation, and provides a muchneeded space for students to study, relax, create and socialize. The center was turned into a makers’ space in 2018 and now houses the 3D printer and laser cutter, both of which are available for student use. Haskell worked with Dr. Elizabeth Park, associate professor of education at Chaminade, and Dr. Amber Noguchi, director of Undergraduate Research and Pre-Professional Programs at Chaminade. Together, they were able to coordinate the delivery of the masks to Queen’s in a contactless drop-off on June 1, 2020.
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Caring for Caregivers As a nursing major, Rosemarie Maltezo was excited for her junior year. It’s when she was going to get to work hands-on in a clinical setting and put into practice some of what she had learned about patient care in the last two years in the classroom and simulation lab. Maltezo was assigned to the 9th floor of the Diamond Head Tower at Queen’s Medical Center, and spent her time shadowing and assisting the unit’s nurses. But a week after her clinical coursework ended, COVID-19 hit and she received a message from her professor saying that the whole 9th floor had been turned into a COVID unit.
That hit home. The nurses Maltezo had been working alongside were now on the front lines of combating a still very mysterious and unpredictable global disease outbreak. Maltezo wanted to help. She was the president and founder of the Chaminade Health Occupational Schools for America (HOSA) Future Health Professionals Club, and they were slated to do a community service project with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America in April. When that event was canceled, Maltezo saw it as an opportunity to get down to the core of who they were and what they believed in.
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“Their number one priority is being an advocate for their patients, but sometimes they neglect their own health to keep us alive and running.” HOSA club members are all aspiring healthcare employees, and throughout their time in clinicals they have come to realize just how much of a sacrifice nurses make every day. The global pandemic brought that sacrifice to a whole new level. “Going through clinicals, we noticed that nurses do so much for us that sometimes they forget to take care of themselves,” says Maltezo. “Their number one priority is being an advocate for their patients, but sometimes they neglect their own health to keep us alive and running.” With funding and supplies donated by Chaminade’s School of Nursing and Health Professions and two of their club advisors and professors, Denise Cooper and Dr. Edna Magpantay-Monroe, the HOSA club members put together 128 care packages to donate to nurses on the front lines at Queen’s Medical Center Punchbowl and Queen’s Medical Center West O'ahu. Each care package included a stress ball shaped like a pill with the label “chill pill,” face masks, deodorant and some power snacks. The packages also included mouthwash and gum, because as Maltezo realized during her clinical rotations, “they’re in their masks all day and honestly it’s so hard to be in a mask and smell your own breath all day.” Maltezo founded the HOSA club in the spring of 2018. The Chaminade club is part of the international HOSA organization, which empowers future healthcare leaders. Member clubs participate in community service, leadership opportunities, networking events and competitions.
The students and their advisors chose to deliver the packages at the end of May, once COVID-19 was starting to slow down, so that they wouldn’t be a bother at the hospital and interrupt the busy workflow of the nurses. They dropped off packages at Queen’s Punchbowl on May 15 and Queen’s West on May 26, and were met by Chaminade alums Edlene Vanessa Coloma, Kate Chamberlain and Brandy dela Cruz, who came out to receive them. Maltezo had participated in a HOSA club at her high school, and knew she wanted to bring the club to Chaminade. So her freshman year, she recruited a few upperclassmen to help her create a Chaminade chapter, and by summer 2018 they had already won second place in their first international
competition in Dallas, Texas. They repeated that accomplishment again in summer 2019, winning second place in the international competition in Orlando, Florida. Maltezo is stepping down as president this coming year to focus on finishing her fourth year as a nursing student. The club has selected sophomore Kelvin Manganaan to take over as president, and Maltezo will serve as his vice president to help get him settled into the new role. “This coming year we want to participate in the Hawai'i State Leadership Conference again, and hopefully send at least 10 people to the international competition,” says Maltezo. “We also want to be more involved in the community.”
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Writing and Learning SAMI EASTWOOD PUBLISHED HER FIRST BOOK AT 17, WHEN SHE WAS A FRESHMAN AT CHAMINADE.
Three years later, she’s completing final edits on a sequel and has already started working on a third novel in her science fiction series. She’s also the co-founder of a boutique publishing house, helps her parents grow their business in her spare time and is a year away from finishing her bachelor’s degree. If that’s not impressive enough, Eastwood decided to double major in English and history. Eastwood is an online undergraduate student at Chaminade, taking classes, completing assignments and communicating with professors and her peers remotely. While she lives in Oregon, she said she counts her professors as close and valuable mentors who have helped her grow as a writer and a learner. “Every term I’m learning new things that contribute to sparking my creativity,” Eastwood said.
“My goal is to stay as closely connected to... [the] literary world of writing books along with the historical world, and I’m hoping my degrees can help me with that process.”
She said she decided to pursue her degree at Chaminade after taking a few classes at a large public university that she said wasn’t a good fit. Chaminade’s Marianist tradition of helping others and building a better world was an especially important element to her and her family, Eastwood said. “I decided on an English major because I want to write books for a living and it’s good to know the rules of any trade you go into and how to analyze other works of fiction and nonfiction,” Eastwood said. “I chose history as well because I’ve always been fascinated by it, especially American history.” In fact, Eastwood said she’s also interested in pursuing a future career in museums. Her first love, though, is writing. And she has no plans to give that up. “My goal is to stay as closely connected to both worlds as possible—the literary world of writing books, along with the historical world," Eastwood said. "And I’m hoping my degrees can help me with that process.” To publish her first book, Eastwood worked closely with another online undergraduate student at Chaminade–English major Jodi Clark. The two are good friends (and Oregon residents) and have found the university’s online program has allowed them to pursue their passions. Clark even served as Eastwood’s editor for her first book, Blackstone Asylum. The book is set 100 years in the future in a world in which superpowers are common and misunderstood. The novel’s heroine, Andrea Rosales, was born with the ability to heal. It’s that power that makes her a target for a villain who kidnaps paranormal children to turn them into weapons. Eastwood said all she’s learned at Chaminade has given her a multitude of new story ideas and techniques for tackling them. “I learn endless amounts of information from both my English and history classes,” she said. “Even the smallest fact can blossom into (yet another) story idea.”
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Cherokee
Heritage Motivates Academic Journey CHAMINADE JUNIOR ALEXIS LAMBERT LOVES TO SEE HISTORY COME ALIVE THROUGH CULTURE. AND SO WHEN HER PROFESSOR TASKED HER WITH WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER FOR HISTORY 201, A COURSE THAT EXPLORES AMERICA THROUGH THE CIVIL WAR, SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT SHE WANTED TO WRITE ABOUT: HER PEOPLE.
Lambert, 21, is a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She was born and raised in Cherokee, North Carolina, and still lives on reservation land there with her mother and two younger siblings. It seems a world away from Chaminade, but Lambert says the university’s online program has turned out to be a perfect fit for her— and her studies. Lambert first applied to Chaminade while still in high school, but then decided to attend her local community college for two years. After receiving her associate’s degree, she was looking for an online bachelor’s degree program that would allow her to stay in Cherokee while also getting access to quality educational programs. She remembered what she’d read about Chaminade and decided to apply again. “Everything fell into place,” she said. Lambert is now majoring in psychology and pursuing a minor in criminology and criminal justice at Chaminade. She dreams of bringing her unique perspective to her future profession just as she brings it to her courses today. “I love my culture and cannot imagine growing up any other way,” she said. “We have powwows and festivals that celebrate our food and culture all throughout the year.” For History 201, Lambert worked with Professor Willis Moore to tell the story of her people before 1865 into the present day. The paper explores what the Cherokee people have gone through— and how they have survived to keep their traditions, customs and language alive for future generations. It also unpacks her tribe’s laws and political structure, comparing them to the U.S. government. Lambert said she jumped at the opportunity to write the paper for a simple reason: “I want more people to know about my culture and to know about the other side of history—the one that is not in the books. Cherokee is a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. We have our own laws and land.” Lambert said she’s come a long way—and is looking forward to graduation and beyond. She’s interested in becoming a clinical psychologist or a forensic psychologist. Whatever she chooses, she’s confident that she’ll get there because of having her foundation rooted at Chaminade. “I love it here and cannot wait to learn more,” she said. “I am very happy right now and very proud of myself.”
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C H A M I N A DE MAGAZI NE
PUTTING ‘STUDENT’ IN
STUDENT-ATHLETE A record 100 Chaminade University studentcapped off her college career with a perfect 4.00 athletes were named to the Academic All-Pacific cumulative grade-point average while majoring West Conference Teams. in Business Administration. She was one of nine The number broke the previous record of 93 seniors in the PacWest to post perfect GPAs. set during the 2017–18 academic year. It marks Men’s soccer had the most Academic the fifth time in the past seven years that the All-PacWest eligible members with 18 followed Chaminade Athletics set a record for studentby women’s soccer with 16, women’s volleyball athletes recognized as Academic with 15 and softball with 14. Women’s All-PacWest. basketball had all 10 of its eligible studentSilverswords were actually awarded a total athletes honored. And setting the record for a of 102 Academic All-PacWest slots, but two second straight year, Tyler Cartaino was named student athletes earned academic all-conference the PacWest Conference Men's Basketball in two different sports. Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Women’s volleyball senior Nina Torio Among small-roster sports (10 student-
athletes or fewer), women’s tennis had all seven members recognized as Academic All-PacWest. Men’s cross country and women’s cross country had six each. A total of 1,742 student-athletes in the PacWest were named on the academic allconference teams. To be recognized as Academic All-PacWest, student-athletes must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00, have completed two semesters at their current institution and competed in at least one regular season game or competition. Chaminade competes in 10 of the conference’s 15 sponsored sports.
CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY 2019–2020 ACADEMIC ALL-PACWEST TEAMS MEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
MEN’S SOCCER
• Isaac Amaral-Artharee, Freshman, Business Administration
• Elijah Bernardo-Flores, Junior, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Quinton Brown, Freshman, Business Administration
• Andre Arissol, Senior, Communication
• Rocco Deangelo, Junior, Biology
• Kelton Cheney, Junior
• Tyler Cartaino, Senior, Accounting
• Beau Larsen, Freshman, Communication
• Curtis Coburn, Senior, Biology
• Telly Davenport, Junior, Business Administration
• Peyton Oshiro, Freshman
• Lyric De Leon, Junior, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Kevin Kremer, Freshman, Business Administration • Kobe Young, Freshman, Biochemistry
• Josiah Rodrigues, Senior, Criminology and Criminal Justice • Matthew Schmidt, Senior, Forensic Sciences
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
• Cheyenne Ardona, Sophomore, Business Administration
• Alena Albertson, Freshman, Environmental Sciences
• Jamia Bailey, Sophomore, Elementary Education
• Riley Hallman, Junior, Nursing
• Ellyonna Bankofier, Sophomore, Nursing • Kali Benavente, Senior, Business Administration • Arianna Blowe, Sophomore, Psychology • Destiny Castro, Senior, Accounting • Michaella Dean, Sophomore, Behavioral Sciences • Breann Nueku, Senior, Psychology • Grace Underhill, Sophomore, Biology • Kirstin Wong, Senior, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Hannah Hovestol, Sophomore, Nursing • Montserrat Lanfranco, Freshman, Environmental + Interior Design • Eri Leong, Freshman, Communication • Olivia Mariucci, Junior, Nursing • Colby Gunderson, Junior, Biology • Demond Mello, Senior, Communication • Jeren Nishimoto, Senior, Business Administration • Schuyler Peterson, Freshman, Communication
• Tyler Ebisuya, Junior, Business Administration • Jamin Fonseca, Junior, Criminology and Criminal Justice • David Gewargis, Freshman, Business Administration • Reece Hambly, Senior, Business Administration • Steven Harris, Junior, Psychology • Brison Kim, Freshman • Taka Kosins, Junior, Elementary Education • Isaiah Kuloloia, Senior, Business Administration • Colin Roemer, Junior • Matthew Schmidt, Senior, Forensic Sciences • Michael Stafford, Senior, Psychology • Tasman Turner, Sophomore, Accounting • Joshua Wong, Senior, Criminology and Criminal Justice • Brandon Yasue, Sophomore, Criminology and Criminal Justice
FA LL 2 0 2 0
WOMEN’S TENNIS • Cai Yan Fang, Senior, Data Science, Analytics and Visualization • Tomomi Kohno, Senior, Psychology • Kayleen Lau, Freshman, Biology • Catrina Liner, Junior, Biology • Mariel Navarro, Senior, Nursing • Emily Ramirez Miranda, Freshman, Environmental Sciences • Elyssa Shirai, Senior, Environmental + Interior Design WOMEN’S SOCCER
SOFTBALL
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
• Rachel Arakawa, Senior, Biology
• Karyna Baldomino, Sophomore, Elementary Education
• Alecza Abary, Freshman
• Breanna-Leigh Bactista, Junior, Business Administration
• Kobe Brown, Freshman, Psychology
• Camryn Cabudol, Freshman
• Kaitlyn Castillo, Senior, Forensic Sciences
• Sharon Cain, Sophomore, Forensic Sciences
• Ronni Gallegos, Junior, Communication
• Randi Fontes, Junior, Nursing • Alyssa Francia, Freshman, Religious Studies • Laina Jumawan, Freshman, Biology • Kira Nishiki, Freshman, Elementary Education
• Kailah Gates-Koyaso, Freshman, Business Administration • Taylor Genera, Freshman, Biology • Malia Ka'akimaka-Moisa, Junior, Forensic Sciences
• Alana Handy, Senior, Historical & Political Studies • Leka Kiner-Falefa, Junior, Business Administration • Tate Lutu, Sophomore, Criminology and Criminal Justice • Riley Lynch, Junior, Psychology • Rae Montrose, Freshman, Psychology • Rachel Reedy, Junior, Nursing
• Kieren Lopez, Freshman, Biology
• Annah Rivera, Freshman, Biology
• Dayna Nishimura, Sophomore, Biology
• Hailey Matsumura, Sophomore, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Emma Tecklenburg, Senior, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Jordan Taboniar, Senior, Elementary Education
• Cheyne Obara, Sophomore, Elementary Education
• Isabella Tessitore, Senior, Business Administration
• Naomi Takata, Freshman, Nursing
• Alexas Presto-Ahsing, Sophomore, Business Administration
• Tatiana Toleafoa, Sophomore, Psychology
• Yolanda Racaz, Freshman, Elementary Education
• Nina Torio, Senior, Business Administration
• Jehna Ramiscal, Freshman, Forensic Sciences
• Danielle Wiley, Junior, Elementary Education
• Madelyn Stockslager, Junior, Psychology
• Jacqueline Wolfe, Junior, Business Administration
• Kyla Takazono, Sophomore, Elementary Education • Cierra Toledo-Muragin, Senior, Nursing • Nicole Vontsolos, Freshman, Criminology and Criminal Justice • Lindsey Wilson, Freshman, Nursing • Kirstin Wong, Senior, Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Claire Zanon, Junior, Business Administration
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C H A M IN A DE MAGAZI NE
Notables Dr. Lynn Babington | PRESIDENT
Dr. Helen Turner | VICE PRESIDENT FOR
Dr. Babington was interviewed by Hawaii Business Magazine regarding the effects COVID-19 had on Chaminade University— remote learning, financial situation and leveraging partnerships. Babington also discussed plans for the 2020–2021 school year.
STRATEGY AND INNOVATION
Dr. Turner was interviewed by ThinkTech Hawaii regarding the effects COVID-19 had on Chaminade University—how the university quickly adjusted its operations through technology, supported its students (academically and emotionally) and how Chaminade’s community grew stronger.
Dr. Thomas Buning | ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
Dr. Eva Washburn-Repollo | ASSISTANT
Dr. Buning has been named Chaminade’s new athletic director and brings a personable leadership style and more than two decades of experience in NCAA Division I and II athletics to the position. He also has a passion for the Marianist values Chaminade instills in students and looks forward to fostering strategic initiatives in concert with the university’s key priorities.
Dr. Washburn-Repollo received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The short-term seminar grant from the FulbrightHays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program will support Washburn-Repollo’s research into the development of foreign language acquisition skills and aid in the advancement of a culturebased teaching curriculum.
Dr. Richard Hill | ASSISTANT
Aaron Williamson | ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATION
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH
OF ACCOUNTING
Dr. Hill was interviewed by Hawaii News Now where he discussed how COVID-19 created anxiety and added stress for cancer patients. Hill goes on to discuss his personal situation— having a genetic mutation that causes him to grow melanomas.
Aaron Williamson was interviewed by KHON2 News regarding federal funding that came to Hawai'i to help during the COVID-19 pandemic. Williamson commented on the importance of the funds going towards local small businesses.
Dr. Roy Panzarella | DIRECTOR, HOGAN ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAM
Dr. Roy Panzarella, a familiar name at Chaminade, is excited to bring his wealth of leadership experience to a new role at the University as head of the Hogan Entrepreneurial Program. His strong business acumen and commitment to serving others are a perfect fit with the Hogan program, a signature initiative at Chaminade that relies on strong partnerships with local executives and challenges students to turn their big ideas into business plans.
Dr. William Rhey | DEAN, SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND COMMUNICATION
Dr. Rhey was interviewed by Pacific Business News where he discussed industry trends of MBA programs and how COVID-19 has accelerated changes that make this graduate degree more valuable and accessible to students.
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