Ma Ke Kula - Fall/Winter 2019

Ma Ke Kula HAWAI‘I PREPAR ATORY ACADEMY MAGAZINE : FALL | WINTER 2019

A SCHOOL ON THE MOVE: HPA WELCOMES ITS 12TH HEAD, PATRICK J. PHILLIPS

MAKING HPA POSSIBLE: MAJOR INITIATIVE FOR FINANCIAL AID BEGINS

GREEN PIONEER: BUILDING ON THE LEGACY OF VLADIMIR OSSIPOFF

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FEATURES

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Joining the HPA Tradition HPA welcomes the Phillips ‘ohana and Patrick J. Phillips as HPA’s 12th head of school.

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Mid-century Master HPA continues to build on the elemental legacy of Vladimir Ossipoff.

DEPARTMENTS 3

The Mix

Full steam ahead for HPA Sustainability Plan Filmmakers Andromeda Godfrey ’86 and Diana Juhr DeBenedetti ’86 HPA launches Wai‘aka Initiative for financial aid Object Lesson with Olivier Koning ’80 n

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Ka Makani Pride 28 HPA canoe paddling program Kainoa Tanoai ’12 and Red Bull Wa‘a Emma Taylor ’16 soars like an eagle. n

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HPA Connections Class notes Giving back HPA events and more.

• Daena Craven P’23 • Jake Mizuno ’86 and Asia Leong ’89 • Kaikea Nakachi ’11 n

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Final Frame 48 Ma Ke Kula is produced twice per year by the HPA advancement office.

Principal photographer, Patrick O’Leary. Other photo credits as noted.

Cover photo: Kauna‘oa Beach at sunset, Nani Welch Keli‘iho‘omalu ’14.

(Shakas courtesy of Morgan Monahan ’14 and Angie Shumov ’13.)

This page: Mana Road mountain biking trip, spring 2019.

PAT R I C K J. P HIL L IP S / HE A D O F S CH O O L

Confident Beginnings T

he first time I watched a spider spinning a web, I was At HPA, we have begun an ambitious and far-reaching seven years old, sitting on the wooden bleachers on journey through the HPA Sustainability Plan. This year, the soccer field behind our house. The early summer we are focused on laying down a thoughtful, strong sun stood at just the right angle to make the web seem foundation for our vision. We are installing energy to shimmer. I watched, fascinated, as the spider took its measurement systems so that we can set baselines time and meticulously prepared; it almost appeared to be and accurately gauge progress. We are working with dawdling at times. First came the anchor line, followed Flansburgh Architects on a campus master plan that by a long pause. Then some lines around the circle’s maximizes efficiency of future building projects. We are edge and another pause. After that also examining the K-12 curriculum to came the radii, along with a pause assess where sustainability education that seemed to last an eternity. Then “I want to thank the HPA already flourishes in our classrooms finally, after all that preparation, the and how we can expand upon that ‘ohana for welcoming my spider quickly spiraled out from the success. family and me so warmly center, filling in the empty web and On behalf of the school, thank you for creating all the sticky lines that would your ongoing interest and support as to HPA and to the wider catch its prey. we build a foundation that will sustain Waimea community.”

When I look back on that moment, our lofty goals. Thank you, also, I realize that roughly 90 percent of for welcoming my family and me so the spider’s time was spent getting warmly to HPA and the wider Waimea ready to make the spiral. Despite the fact that the spiral community, which together give the HPA Sustainability filled the greatest amount of space and required the Plan its passion and urgency. We are eager to personally most thread, it took the least amount of time to create. meet many more of you in the coming months, and we Instead, the framing of the web received the most are honored to be part of the HPA ‘ohana. attention and appeared to take a great deal of thought.

As Plato said, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” Laying a solid foundation is a prerequisite for crafting something of lasting value and integrity.

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Last May, students enrolled in Migrations of Moananuiākea worked together to rig Kānehūnāmoku for sailing. Pualani Lincoln-Maielua ’01 is teaching the class again this year, as part of the 2020 senior capstone requirement and expanded curriculum in Hawaiian Studies. More on pages 8 and 11.

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Board approves HPA Sustainability Plan HPA aspires to be among the greenest of schools Since the board’s approval of the HPA Sustainability Plan in April 2019, the school has moved swiftly to evaluate campus practices and enrich student leadership programs. HPA now holds ambitious benchmarks to be met by 2030, including 100% waste diversion and 100% renewable energy. Above all, HPA has its sights set on creating a K-12 sustainability program that will inspire and empower a generation of young leaders to become change agents wherever life takes them.

“We are building on deep love within the HPA ‘ohana for this place, our island, and the natural world,” explains Outdoor Program Director Renee Jenkinson ’98, who helped spearhead the planning effort last year. “Thanks to the ecosystems that surround us, and the wisdom and innovation that flourish here in Hawai‘i, HPA is uniquely positioned to become a green leader and a proving ground for student innovation.”

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News Notebook This year, HPA will implement key initiatives as far as possible within existing financial resources.

These include: Resource monitoring Former science instructor Greg McKenna has been appointed sustainability resource director. McKenna, Director of Facilities T.J. Kalaniopio ’94, and the facilities team are working to connect all energy producers, systems, and meters into HPA’s new monitoring database.

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HPA’s student work program As part of the Upper School’s work-service program, the sophomore class will now focus on school-wide sustainability initiatives. Half the class will work with Willie Quayle at the Ulu Mālama terrace farm to get fresh food into both cafeterias; the other half will partner with the ‘Ohana Association on recycling from both campuses. The groups will switch at semester break. n

“There is no away” On September 25, all sixth- through twelfth-graders took part in a day of learning about the reality of waste streams and HPA’s zero waste goal. It was the first of many learning days that will express HPA’s guiding principle of mālama kaiāulu, “care for our community of spirit, land, and people.” n

Campus master plan In partnership with Flansburgh Architects, HPA is reviewing the most recent campus master plan to determine how the Upper and Village Campuses can deliver on both learning and resource goals. n

Nā ko‘oko‘o (the supporters) This new Upper School student group will lead HPA in establishing green residential hall and office certifications. Nā ko‘oko‘o will also serve as green dorm prefects and participate in student council. • n

Stay tuned for more progress to come.

Join HPA on Instagram and Facebook, and make sure we have your current email address at www.hpa.edu/update. Read the full plan at www.sustainability.hpa.edu.

New board members HPA welcomes two new trustees to the board: Ana Hiyane ’00 and Warren Doi. Hiyane is currently the vice president of administration at Resort Management Group, and lives on O‘ahu with her husband, Mack ’98, and their daughter. Both Hiyane and her father, Max Yarawamai ’78, served as crew members on the Hōkūleʻa. Hiyane sailed from Hilo to Tahiti and from New Zealand to Australia on the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.

After several years as a management consultant with Ernst & Young in London, Warren Doi helped to build a business accelerator program that became the Elemental Excelerator—an entrepreneurship program dedicated to helping solve the world’s energy challenges. He now mentors entrepreneurs throughout the United States, Canada, England, and Australia. Doi and his wife, Kelley ’90, are parents to Sydney and Justin ’22.

In addition, Robert Budway ’76 assumes the role of vice chair.

He replaces Rich Matsuda P’12, ’15, whose term ended this past year. Mahalo, Rich; HPA is grateful for your service. Budway, who joined the HPA board of trustees in 2017, lives in Washington, D.C., where he currently serves as president of the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI). In addition to advocacy and marketing, he focuses on helping consumers and municipal waste facilities better understand the offset value of recycling aluminum and steel cans.

Budway also served as project chair for the sustainability planning effort, leading a core team of faculty, students, staff, trustees, parents, and alumni.

Castle Foundation supports early childhood arts A new grant from the Samuel N. and Mary Castle Foundation will allow HPA’s popular community arts program, made possible with generous support from the Atherton Family Foundation, to expand its offerings to early childhood education centers in our community! Students from Kamehameha Preschool, Pūnana Leo o Waimea, Mālamapōki’i Early Childhood Education Center at Kanu o ka ‘Āina Public Charter School, PACT Waimea Elementary Head Start, Small World Preschool, Montessori Education Center of Hawai‘i, and Ka Hale O Nā Keiki are all eligible to participate.

HPA is eager to make the resources of Isaacs Art Center more accessible to the community’s youngest learners. Art explorations like the kind offered at IAC are extremely beneficial to students of all ages, and particularly for preschool children. Students will gain confidence and capacity with their motor skills, language development, decision-making, visual learning, as well as increased empathy and cultural literacy. This collaboration with nearby preschools is the first partnership with these particular schools and with this age group for HPA. •

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A Learning Journey AMY COLE, NEW DIRECTOR OF STUDIES, TRADES VERMONT FOR HAWAI‘I ISLAND

As an educator, Dr. Amy Cole has played many roles: classroom teacher, college professor, curriculum director, even interim principal. Although her career has been based primarily in New England, Cole and her husband, Steven, were married on Hawai‘i Island and have been frequent visitors over the last several years. Drawn by the hiking and quiet beaches, they developed a deep sense of connection to the island. “Then one day it occurred to us, ‘Why wait?’” she says. “We could move there—now!”

Today, Steven holds a position with Hawai‘i Water Service Company while Cole is HPA’s new director of studies.

Working with the three school principals and Head of School Patrick Phillips, she will help HPA’s K-12 faculty to develop, as she puts it, “the contract, or the collective commitments we make with each other on behalf of our students and families. The goal is to provide a cohesive educational experience but also foster flexibility for teachers and personalized learning for our students.”

In this work, Cole values listening and communication as the keys to success. “Teachers work really hard to develop their approaches,” she explains. “and we often grant them very little time to collaborate with one another.

This work isn’t about imposing ideas from above; it’s about bringing people together around our mission, or what we value together as a community, and supporting teachers in actualizing that in the classroom.”

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Cole comes to HPA from New England where most recently she served as the executive director of curriculum, instructional, and assessment for the Essex Westford Unified School District in Vermont. Prior to that, among other things, Cole represented Vermont in the New England Secondary School Consortium (NESSC) Great Schools Partnership, a five-state non-profit funded in part by the Gates Foundation and devoted to supporting high school transformation throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine. Cole has also held academic appointments in the education programs at Saint Michael’s College, Southern New Hampshire University, and McGill University.

“I’ve worked and consulted with many schools and districts over the years,” she says, “and you can feel how people are with each other, when there is intentionality in relationships and in classrooms. I was drawn to HPA because I could feel how deeply everyone cares, and I was attracted by the degree to which the school felt rooted in place-based education.” As HPA further develops both experiential learning and the HPA Sustainability Plan, Cole’s expertise will be invaluable. Welcome home to your place in Hawai‘i, Dr. Cole! •

Class of 2019 is off to college Members of the class of 2019 were admitted to schools from Hilo to Florence, including those listed below. Andrew Kelsey, Cindy Montgomery, and Jane Quayle in HPA’s college counseling office work diligently to help students find the best fit for their strengths and future goals. HPA is proud to claim each of these graduates, and we welcome them into our alumni ‘ohana!

• Academy of Art University

• Linfield College

• University of California, Santa Cruz

• Barnard College

• Macquarie University

• University of Colorado at Boulder

• California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (3)

• Marist College

• University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (2)

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (2)

• California State University, Northridge

• Mount Holyoke College • Musicians Institute

• University of Massachusetts, Amherst

• Carnegie Mellon University

• New York University (2)

• University of Missouri Columbia

• Chapman University (2)

• Northwestern University

• University of Oregon (2)

• City College of New York CUNY

• Pennsylvania State University

• University of Portland (2)

• Colorado School of Mines (2)

• San Diego State University

• University of San Diego (2)

• Dartmouth College

• Seattle University (2)

• University of Southern California (3)

• Edmonds Community College

• The University of Tampa

• University of Victoria

• Franklin & Marshall College

• Trinity College Dublin

• University of Virginia

• Georgia Institute of Technology

• Tufts University (2)

• University of Washington

• Gonzaga University

• University at Buffalo The State University of New York

• Virginia Tech

• Graceland University • Harvard College

• University of California, Irvine

• Western Washington University

• Hawai‘i Pacific University

• Willamette University

• Istituto Marangoni, Florence

• University of California, Los Angeles

• Liberty University

• University of California, Davis

• California State University, Chico

• University of Illinois at Chicago

• Washington University in St. Louis

• William Penn University

For the complete list, visit www.hpa.edu/college.

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Hawaiian Studies program expands at Upper School Under the leadership of Kumu Kūwalu Anakalea, Hawaiian studies has grown and thrived at the Village Campus for many years. Now, with four new courses at the Upper School, HPA students can follow their interests further into Hawaiian history, mythology, land stewardship, and more.

“It is so rewarding to continue the great learning happening under Kūwalu and to provide a strong cultural presence for our students who are transitioning from Middle School,” explains instructor Pualani Lincoln-Maielua ’01, who developed the new curriculum within HPA’s social studies department. “And likewise to work as a team with Ka‘ai [Spencer] on how my classes and his Hawaiian language classes begin to form a cohesive foundation for our students.”

Lincoln-Maielua is also repeating the capstone course she introduced last year, Migrations of Moananuiākea (Oceania): Traditional Navigation and Modern-Day Voyaging in Hawai‘i. The year-long class culminated with a visit to important voyaging locations on O‘ahu and a two-day sail on small coastal canoes in Kawahaokamanō - Kāneʻohe Bay. This year, she imagines a similar culmination, but she’s ultimately guided by the needs and desires of her students. Her goal is for them to discover their own connection to Hawai‘i—and to themselves.

“If we can remind or teach our students how to walk upon this place, upon Hawai‘i, we already know they will carry that all over the world,” she explains. “That’s just the caliber of an HPA education and the networking that opens up when you graduate from this amazing school. A global consciousness already exists in all of our departments and classes. If we can bring it together with a collective Hawai‘i experience, just imagine the perspective and wisdom that will come from our graduates.” •

New classes developed by instructor Pualani Lincoln-Maielua ’01 Hawaiian Studies 1 - Pilina: Hawai‘i Geography and Family Systems A required semester-long class for ninth-graders. “We immediately connect them to the geography of this place,” explains Lincoln-Maielua, “and get them thinking about where they come from. What is our kuleana to Hawai‘i and to all the places where we are rooted?”

Hawaiian Studies 2 - Mana: Traditional Hawaiian Society and Leadership Roles and responsibilities of ali‘i and the significance of mana in Hawaiian society past and present. “This is for the history addicts,” she jokes, “who want to understand all the players and their roles. It’s also a place to analyze a complex and often traumatic political history that we’re still unveiling together to this day.”

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Hawaiian Studies 3 - Ka‘ao: Hawai‘i Mythology Traditional framework and significance of ka‘ao (myths). “We have a lot of students who are brilliant artists—performing and visual—and I wanted to bring them together with some of our future English majors and explore how this same mythology framework in Hawai‘i actually exists throughout the world.”

Hawaiian Studies 4 - Hoa‘āina: Cultural Resource Stewardship and Engagement A class offered every spring that connects directly to the HPA Sustainability Plan. “This is my ‘get salty and dirty’ class.

Students will spend time with a community organization or family here on the island, focusing on fish ponds, farming, and other agricultural or resource management systems. They’ll experience the real-world challenges and opportunities in practice—right here, right now.”

New Middle School Principal Glenn Chickering brings his green expertise to HPA Born and raised in Detroit, Glenn Chickering spent most of his childhood summers traveling and camping with his family. Their journeys cultivated a love of the natural world that has led Chickering through a diverse and adventurous career, and now, to HPA. After earning an undergraduate degree in communications from Central Michigan University, Chickering moved to Colorado to try his hand at mogul skiing and later became a ski coach for 9- to 12-year-olds.

Finding he had an easy rapport with his young athletes, he eventually gravitated to teaching. “I became a regular substitute teacher in Vail’s public schools,” he recalls. “This gave me the chance to see first-hand the extent to which traditional modes of instruction simply don’t work for many students. Overall, the experience really reinforced for me that education should encompass much more than just the intellectual aspect.”

In the mid-2000s, Chickering’s then partner (and now wife), Melinda, was accepted into graduate school at Tulane, and the couple re-located to New Orleans. It had been just a year since Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city, and Chickering, now teaching full-time, got involved in the burgeoning charter school scene there.

From Louisiana, the couple headed to Taiwan, where they taught for a year until Melinda was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Indonesia. Simultaneously, Chickering says, they learned about Green School, an experiential, sustainable school that was just getting started in the jungle outside of Ubud, a town in Bali. The brainchild of renowned jewelry designers John and Cynthia Hardy, Green School hired Chickering as a founding faculty member. He and Melinda stayed on for 11 years, helping to forge the school’s highly innovative program and pedagogy.

During this same period, Chickering returned to graduate school in New Hampshire, earning a master’s in educating for sustainability from Antioch University.

Chickering and his family join HPA at a pivotal moment, as implementation of the Academy’s sustainability plan begins. Their background building an uber-green school from scratch will be a boon. Meanwhile, Chickering says he will be “listening and asking lots of questions” while seeking opportunities to leverage systems thinking among Middle School students, teachers and parents. “My overarching goal,” he says, “is to help our students bring their truest selves to the world, so that they can effect meaningful change.” •

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5 Questions with Andromeda and Diana Andromeda Godfrey ’86 and Diana Juhr DeBenedetti ’86 met on the first day of school at HPA in 1982, and their freshman-year friendship has been a lasting one. In 2010, the duo founded an independent production studio, Makelight Productions, which develops entertaining independent films with the aim of promoting diversity.

Together, they have created four short films, including the critically acclaimed LGBTQ comedy/romance Dream Date, which played in more than 40 film festivals worldwide. Now, Andromeda and Diana have released their first feature-length film: 2:Hrs—a light-hearted family adventure about a teenage boy who learns he has only two hours left to live.

How did you start working together?

Andromeda: It started when we met in a pub and drank too many Red Bulls. We set a target of doing three short films and a feature. We’ve made four short films, and now the feature!

Why the short films?

Andromeda: We started with short films to learn the muscles you need for a feature-length film. It was also a matter of funding and what’s possible; we were able to fund our short films with crowd-funding.

Diana: The second short film we made was for a contest called 50 Kisses. Our film Dream Date made the cut. It was a collaborative effort with 25 filmmakers. One of the other contestants we met in the process approached us later with the script for 2:Hrs. We loved it and thought it was really fun, so we said yes.

Do you have a favorite moment or memory from making 2:Hrs? Andromeda: Shooting in the Natural History Museum alone at night was pretty incredible. I think, Diana, you and I were walking around outside, just saying, “Oh my God, this is actually happening.”

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Diana: Our writer wrote it to be in the Natural History Museum, but we didn’t know if we’d actually be able to shoot it there. When you imagine your film, you picture the places in your head, and it was pretty amazing for this to actually happen.

Do you anticipate working on future projects together again?

Andromeda: Yes. Yes. There’s nothing that can tear me apart from Diana. We have two more features lined up.

What advice would you give to other Ka Makani out there who are hoping to make films?

Andromeda: Just start making stuff. Grab some people and start making stuff. Don’t wait for the perfect time, because there’s never going to be a perfect time.

Diana: Yes—grab some people! No one can make a film by themselves.

2:Hrs is available for streaming now on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and other platforms.

Class of 2020 puts ingenuity into action SENIOR CAPSTONE COURSES LAUNCHED THIS YEAR HPA has officially established the next milestone of its capstone program, begun in 2015. This year, all seniors will complete, as a graduation requirement, an independent capstone project. To give students a wide range of themes to explore, the Upper School faculty designed 10 new capstone courses that cover sciences, humanities, technology, and the arts. Every capstone course allows students to connect their personal passions and interests with the larger world, and asks them to demonstrate key skills such as critical thinking and clear communication. For the senior class, this will be both a collective and individual experience, as they walk through a common process of ideation, presentation, feedback, and further development; a process that builds familiarity with both academic and professional methods and mindsets.

To further advance this signature program, instructor Aaron Schorn has been appointed HPA’s first K-12 capstone coordinator. “With the Upper School requirement, we now have a cohesive framework for students to demonstrate their skills in fifth, eighth, and twelfth grades,” explains Schorn. “These are beautiful and important turning points—in terms of students’ personal growth and creativity, and also in the collective life of each school. I continue to be amazed at the curiosity of our students and their desire to channel that curiosity into ‘real world’ impact.” •

Selected Upper School Capstone Courses 2019-20 Art, Culture & Community Learn to think critically about how art can reflect or create our sense of identity, culture, and community.

Each student will propose an independent exploration that culminates in a mixed-media installation.

Biotechnology Explore scientific concepts and laboratory research techniques, particularly as related to DNA and proteins. Upon successful completion, students will be able to apply these skills in a laboratory investigation, solving a problem of design and/or creating a product.

Confronting Climate Change in Hawai‘i Explore the scientific facts of climate change and its impacts (environmental, social, and economic), and address solutions, particularly place-based solutions for Hawai‘i Island.

Cybersecurity Develop skills in networking, operating systems, computer architecture, and augmented and virtual reality, leading to case studies and student-led projects on penetration testing and internet security.

Migrations of Moananuiākea (Oceania): Traditional Navigation and Modern-Day Voyaging in Hawai‘i Discover the ancient migrations of Moananuiākea (Oceania), traditional navigation, and modern-day voyaging and canoe sailing in Hawai‘i. (See page 8.)

Novel Writing Focus on creative writing and editing skills needed to complete a novel by the end of the school year.

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Wellspring of Opportunity HPA launches the Wai‘aka Initiative for financial aid

Since the beginning of HPA, financial aid has nourished the dreams and potential of students from Hawai‘i and beyond. Thousands of Ka Makani have received assistance on their HPA journey over the years. With each student who is helped to attend, a transformation takes place that is possible through the generosity of the HPA ‘ohana.

Through financial aid, HPA remains open to the talent and promise that exists across our island and creates a welcoming school ‘ohana with room for all.

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While the impact of financial aid has touched many students and families, one fact is less well-known: HPA does not possess a permanent, secure endowment to cover the growing need of students and families. Yet this kind of endowment has become imperative—not just for HPA but for independent schools everywhere. Applicants who are able to afford the full cost of private school tuition are coming from a smaller and smaller segment of the population. A strong financial aid program is critical for attracting and admitting future HPA students.

To meet this challenge head-on, HPA envisions a permanent, fully-endowed financial aid program that will increase the percentage of need currently funded, and that will eventually increase the overall number of families HPA can assist. As a first step, HPA has launched the Wai‘aka Initiative, a three-year fundraising effort to achieve $7.5 million for financial aid.

“Through this endeavor, we acknowledge the indispensable nature of our financial aid program—as vital as Wai‘aka stream that feeds our campus and hills,” says Zaheva Knowles P’28, director of alumni and parent giving. “When complete, the Wai‘aka Initiative will begin to lessen the burden on families and will make HPA a viable possibility for more students.”

The Wai‘aka Initiative is a multifaceted campaign that includes endowment fundraising, current-use investment, and the HPA Fund. Success will come from all members of the HPA ‘ohana, working together to sustain HPA students—today and into the future. •

YOU CAN PROVIDE IMMEDIATE IMPACT THROUGH THE HPA FUND A gift to the HPA Fund is the quickest way to help students with financial need. n

Become a regular HPA Fund donor, and consider directing your gift to financial aid. n

All gifts have impact regardless of size. When we band together, there is true strength in our numbers. n

Join in and find more information at www.hpa.edu/give.

Object Lesson Olivier Koning ’80 has lived in Hawai‘i for 40 years and attended the University of Hawai‘i at both Hilo and Mānoa. He began his photography career with the international architectural firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo, and he has been freelancing for the past two decades, serving a wide variety of clients.

His recent series of native Hawaiian flora, “The First Hawaiians,” was originally commissioned by HONOLULU magazine and is represented by HO‘OMAIKA‘I at Nā Mea. It can be viewed at Nā Mea Native Books at The Ward Warehouse in Honolulu. Of these ethereal botanical images Koning says, “A lot of people have asked if these are paintings, as they have that quality. Even though some in the wild are not as ‘showy’ as others, they are hopefully revealed in a new light to the viewer.”

Pictured here, ‘Ōhi‘a lehua. Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death is threatening the tree’s future on Hawai‘i Island, where it is prized both for its meaning in myths and legends and for its exceptionally hard wood. •

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Joining the HPA

tradition HPA welcomes its 12th head of school,

Patrick J. Phillips, and the Phillips ‘ohana

Sometimes in life, an ah-ha moment arrives, powerful enough to

set you on a new path. For Patrick Phillips, that moment came soon

after his college graduation, while working as a restoration ecologist in—of all places—New York City.

After earning a B.A. in environmental studies (with a minor in art history) from Middlebury College, Phillips signed on with City Parks Foundation, a young non-profit dedicated to the rehabilitation of the five boroughs’ public parks. “All these beautifullydesigned places of the 1920s and ’30s really weren’t being managed,” he explains.

“Invasive species had taken over in many areas, and residents weren’t that aware or involved. Our job was to revitalize the parks and help native species reestablish themselves.”

Their mandate also focused on young people who the foundation hoped would grow into responsible stewards of the parks. Phillips and his colleagues spent the work week cutting down brush or studying park blueprints, then volunteered on Saturdays with local children, teaching them how to care for and respect public land.

“Somewhere toward the middle of the year, I realized I was looking forward to Saturdays more than anything else,” says Phillips. “Teaching became more than just an enjoyable activity; it felt like the right place for me. I never looked back.”

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DEDICATION TO FAMILY, AND TO SCHOOLS His vocation to teach was also, one might say, in Phillips’ DNA. The son of two educators, he grew up on private school campuses around the United States. “I was immersed in the rhythms of the school year from a young age,” he says, “and surrounded by teachers, coaches, dorm advisors, and others who modeled continual improvement. I watched them connect with their students in many different ways—going to plays, games, recitals; guiding in the classroom or the dorm.

Even before I became a teacher, I understood how vital and life-changing a school can be.”

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Phillips landed his first teaching job at the Canterbury School in Fort Meyers, Florida. At Canterbury he took on high school chemistry and middle school math, along with various coaching positions in soccer, basketball, and track.

“It was like entering an immersion experience,” he says. “For three solid years, I lived and thought almost exclusively about teaching and coaching.”

Eager for professional growth, Phillips applied and was accepted to the Summer Institute for Early Career Teachers at the renowned Klingenstein Center at Columbia University. There, he forged connections with colleagues from across the U.S. and around the world. One of them was

Ainslie Couvillon, a Yale graduate, math teacher, and painter from the Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut. “I arrived early and dropped my bags in the dorm,” Phillips remembers, “then went downstairs to start meeting people. This very vivacious woman came around the corner, and I thought, ‘I really should meet her!’ So I offered to carry her bag up, and we hit it off. Here was someone who loved teaching as much as I did, who loved talking and thinking about what makes schools succeed. Decades later, we still do.”

After a year of long-distance dating, the couple settled down in the Washington, D.C. area, where Ainslie taught algebra and geometry at Georgetown Prep (with Euclid’s Elements as a textbook!) and Patrick joined the faculty of the Potomac School. At Potomac, he developed several of his “all-time favorite courses,” including History and Philosophy of Science; Wilderness and the American Mind; and Science, Technology, and the Environment. “That last one allowed me to take advantage of the school’s beautiful grounds,” he says, “and to explore place-based learning. I began to better understand the need students have to connect physically and emotionally to the topics they are studying.”

From those early days of teaching and marriage, Patrick and Ainslie Phillips would build a substantive, adventurous life in education—for

themselves and for their family. Their first move after D.C. took them to The American School in Switzerland (TASIS), where Patrick continued to teach and also held his first administrative position, dean of students. Ainslie taught math and managed the middle school boarding program.

Their first daughter, Taylor, was born during their TASIS tenure.

Wanting to be closer to extended family, the Phillipses returned stateside, where Patrick earned his master’s degree in school leadership at the Harvard University School of Education.

Following Harvard, he gained extensive leadership capacity as upper school head with four very different schools, from Westchester Academy, where he was a one-man department, to Charlotte Country Day School, where he managed a team of deans, administrators, and school counselors. At Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he

“ From conservation ecologist to chemistry teacher to head of school, Patrick Phillips’ work in education has been characterized by a dedication

to community; a delight in K-12 schools; a continual striving for intellectual growth; a passion for sustainability and place-based education; and an eagerness for international connection.”

Laurie Ainslie, president of the HPA board of trustees

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“ I can’t imagine a more exciting

place to do this work than HPA. My family and I are honored to become part of the history, traditions, and vision that

distinguish HPA’s service to

Hawai‘i and the world beyond.”

Patrick Phillips, head of school

oversaw an urban upper school program for 800 students; then he moved his leadership into the international sector and back into the boarding school realm with a return to TASIS, this time in England.

During this period, three more children joined the Phillips family: two sons, Grayson and Cooper, and another daughter, Riley. Ainslie continued to paint while also substituting for math teachers and pursuing sustainability projects and community service. Today, the Phillipses are a multifaceted, intellectually curious, adventurous clan.

“We’ve been fortunate to live in many different places,” says Ainslie. “It has made our kids want to learn even more about the world, and it’s certainly part of what drew us to HPA.”

DRAWING FORTH CONNECTIONS FROM MANY DIFFERENT PLACES Patrick Phillips’ interests are as multifaceted as his family’s. He sometimes describes himself as “a hockeyplaying, opera-going science teacher who loves to read.”

As he explains it, “From childhood on, my life in schools introduced me to many multi-dimensional individuals. My own father was an excellent teacher and coach who also acted and sang in school musicals. As we discover different passions, we become more complete, engaged human beings.

Nurturing this kind of well-roundedness is a value I’ve absorbed from my family and from colleagues I’ve admired over my career.”

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His multidimensional perspective served Phillips especially well at Breck School, a day school for 1,100 students (pre-K through grade 12) just outside Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he became assistant head after TASIS England. It was a homecoming of sorts; his father worked at Breck for 25 years, and Phillips is class of 1987. As assistant head, he led the planning effort for Boldly Breck, the school’s strategic plan, guiding many different stakeholders through a tight, 10-month timeline and fostering faculty and curricular interconnection wherever possible.

In particular, Phillips led the charge to redefine and develop the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education at Breck. “The goal was to take better advantage of all the research that informs how we learn best—at different ages and in different environments,” he explains.

“The center served faculty, students, and parents in different ways, but the common purpose was delivering the best possible education to each individual learner.”

“I believe it’s so important to make these kinds of larger connections across a school community,” he continues.

“As teachers, we can easily get so focused on our own classrooms. Part of my role as a leader is to highlight and strengthen the points of connection—where academic disciplines or school divisions can collaborate; where new programs can complement existing expertise; and sometimes where we need to address a shortcoming. This ‘big picture’ work creates energy and context for each of us to do our very best solo work. Common purpose leads to a school that’s full of life, that changes lives.”

MOVING AHEAD WITH PURPOSE “From conservation ecologist to chemistry teacher to head of school, Patrick Phillips’ work in education has been characterized by a dedication to community; a delight in K-12 schools; a continual striving for intellectual growth; a passion for sustainability and place-based education; and an eagerness for international connection,” observes Laurie Ainslie, president of the HPA board of trustees. “In short, we have found a superb and experienced school leader, whose career reads as if it were meant for Hawai‘i Patrick Phillips introduces the Phillips ’ohana during his installation ceremony Preparatory Academy. We are thrilled to have in August. From the left: Taylor (a sophomore at Middlebury College), Riley ’27, Patrick and his family on board.”

Cooper ’24, Grayson ’20, and Ainslie Phillips.

Phillips arrives at an exciting and important time for HPA, in its 70th anniversary year.

The school is moving full steam ahead on its opening our home on many occasions throughout the strategic plan, with the Wai‘aka Initiative for financial aid school year.” Meanwhile, within the campus community, and the alignment of K-12 project-based learning and the the Phillipses are hosting pau hanas for faculty from capstone experience as key priorities. (See pages 11 and 12, both campuses and inviting senior class advisory groups respectively.) Also at the forefront is HPA’s sustainability to dinner at Atherton House to become acquainted with plan, which the school is implementing immediately within students in a smaller setting. existing resources while also seeking philanthropic support Patrick and Ainslie are also getting to know HPA as for expansion and development. (See page 4.) current parents, with a child in each division: Grayson ’20 “Two things stood out to me when I first learned of is a senior; Cooper ’24, an eighth grader; and Riley ’27, the leadership search at HPA,” Phillips says. “First, the a fifth grader. “We’ll have three capstone presentations to vision for HPA to become a true and recognized leader in attend this spring,” says Patrick. “We feel so fortunate sustainability education. Equally striking was the school’s and excited that our children can take part in this singular mission to ‘honor the traditions of Hawai‘i’ and what is HPA experience.” possible here because of the history and people of Hawai‘i Looking toward the future, Phillips is eager to help Island. I found the combination irresistible, a dream come elevate and advance this kind of curricular innovation. true for an educator.”

“We’re in the midst of a powerful shift in education,” he As a starting point, Patrick and Ainslie Phillips are says. “Our mandate isn’t about fixed information or a fixed immersing themselves in school life and learning as much world anymore. We’re equipping students to adapt and as possible about the culture and communities of their new change over a lifetime, wherever their purpose leads them. home. They have begun to connect with all members of the I can’t imagine a more exciting place to do this work than HPA ’ohana, energized by the widespread affection HPA. My family and I are honored to become part of the for HPA. “We have been delighted to meet so many parents history, traditions, and vision that distinguish HPA’s service and alumni,” says Ainslie, “and are looking forward to to Hawai‘i and the world beyond.” —Kristin Fogdall

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Mid-century

Master

HPA continues to build on the elemental legacy of Vladimir Ossipoff

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It might be easy to miss if you aren’t keeping an eye out, but the long, simple buildings nestled just so into the hillside of HPA’s campus, sheltered from the kipu‘upu‘u and tradewinds, are the work of renowned mid-century architect Vladimir Ossipoff. In 1958, the HPA board of trustees commissioned Ossipoff to design a school campus for newlyacquired land on Kohala Mountain Road. A pioneer in green building and design decades before a formal movement took hold, Ossipoff was dedicated to creating beautiful, lasting structures that still honor the natural forces and limitations that surround them.

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His relationship with HPA would span more than a decade—from 1958 to 1971—during which he designed and oversaw construction of the Upper Campus residence halls, classrooms, administrative building, library, chapel, gymnasium, and dining hall. His work effectively set the tone, flow, and feeling of the Academy from that point forward. Today, HPA possesses the largest single collection of Ossipoff’s work in one place. As the school begins to implement its ambitious sustainability plan, Ossipoff’s philosophy and influence remain as relevant and inspiring as ever.

Local ingenuity, global perspective Vladimir Ossipoff was born in Russia, grew up in Japan, studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and came to Hawai‘i in 1931 looking for meaningful work. He made his home and his career in Hawai‘i, designing residences and commercial buildings throughout the islands.

The Liljestrand House on Tantalus, the sun-screened IBM building, and the Honolulu International Airport Terminal are among his most famous structures—and the principles behind these are the same that governed his design of HPA. “Ossipoff was a poet who didn’t use words,” says Dean Sakamoto, architect and author of the book, Hawaiian Modern: The Architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff. “He had a keen, sharp eye for aesthetics, but he was also very practical.” Sakamoto, whose groundbreaking and beautifully rendered book was based on a landmark exhibition he curated for the Honolulu Museum of Art of the same name, characterizes Ossipoff’s work as combining local and global influences and providing “a model for architects who value stewardship of the land and the reconciliation of disparate cultural legacies.”1 Ossipoff achieved this, in part, through his considered use of native materials and techniques, his careful and creative integration of structures with their sites, and a genius for tradewind ventilation and natural lighting.

Ossipoff was also concerned with the conservation of natural resources and the role of architecture and design in environmental sustainability. In 1978, 15 years before the founding of the U.S. Green Building Council and the development of LEED standards, Ossipoff wrote a letter to the Honolulu Advertiser in which he proclaimed that buildings of the future “will be oriented to energy conservation. … We will again think of a building’s orientation, its insulation, its shading devices, solar panels, etc. all as we had begun to do years ago before we were seduced into ignoring the elements.” Indeed, his work at HPA is a testament to this belief.

Belonging to the hills Ossipoff’s design for HPA’s campus paid careful attention to the school’s context, climate, resources, and limitations. He used ʻōhiʻa trees from the island, volcanic rocks from the site, and simple, durable materials like concrete and galvanized steel. His specifications for each building were precise, even down to the doormats for the library: “Durable, Northwest, or approved, woven rubber, straight line pattern; 1 standard color as selected.”

From the doormats to the windows, from the leeward lanai to the pitch of each roof, the campus as a whole belongs to its place, and its structures and design affect the lives of its inhabitants. “After I became an architect, I realized that being in and around Ossipoff’s buildings at HPA shaped me,” says Greg Warner ’77. “It was a watershed moment, giving me clarity and confidence in my own Sakamoto, D. (2016). Learning from Hawaiian Modernism: Five Design Themes of Vladimir Ossipoff. In: K. Ashraf, ed., Locations: Anthology of Architecture and Urbanism, 1st ed. Novato, CA: ORO Editions, p.187.

1

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“ By working within limitations—by improving one’s skill within the imposed limits through repetition and constant striving for betterment— enduring structures do result.”

— Vladimir Ossipoff

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PRESERVATION PLANS UNDERWAY In 2016, HPA was forced to remove Davies Chapel’s ʻōhiʻa wood bell tower when it nearly collapsed.

Plans are now in motion to replace the tower and the bell (dedicated to founding board member Marjorie Robertson), install a new roof, refinish the pews, and address outdated systems and other urgent maintenance requirements. HPA is working with alumnus and architect Greg Warner ’77 to ensure an aesthetically-appropriate approach for the chapel’s restoration. To preserve this architectural gem and school treasure, HPA will undertake a $1 million fundraising campaign. If you have questions or would like to help, contact Director of Advancement Hannah Candelario ’01: hcandelario@hpa.edu.

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work.” Today, Warner is a principal designer at the awardwinning Walker Warner Architects, a firm he co-founded in San Francisco in 1989.

Yet it was essentially a twist of fate that landed Ossipoff in the role of master planner for the Academy’s new campus. Bishop Kennedy had hired a different architect for the job, but when those plans showed all the school buildings clustered on the property’s only naturally flat surface (what is now the football field and track), the board decided this approach was just too short-sighted. Leslie Wishard and Theo Davies extended the offer to Ossipoff, satisfying many members of the board of governors who had wanted him from the beginning.

Ossipoff’s vision for a campus perched among the hills proved a winning one. In 1970, he received a Hawai‘i Chapter AIA Honor Award for his design of the campus. The jury comments praised the “loose cluster of unpretentious, beautifully designed school buildings … fitted into the rolling mountain slope of Kamuela without violence to land and nature, and utilizing indigenous materials without forced self-consciousness.”

Working within limits Of all the structures Ossipoff designed for HPA, Davies Chapel is perhaps the most celebrated. “I remember sitting in the chapel and thinking, ‘Why are the floors like this?

Why are the birds flying through?’” Greg Warner recalls. “I didn’t know who Ossipoff was then, but that building is why I am an architect today.”

“It’s one of my favorite buildings in the world,” says Dean Sakamoto. “Davies Chapel was done so creatively with very little.” Sakamoto, whose scholarship on Ossipoff’s life and career has garnered international attention to modern architecture in the islands, writes almost reverently of Davies Chapel, calling the interior a “tour de force. …

[T]he sanctuary expands inside into a two-and-one-half story volume that is dimly lit, quiet, and cavelike. This visceral shift is heightened when one realizes that the entire north wall of the church is bermed into the hillside behind it. … The Davies Chapel is powerful, brooding, and earthbound. It is Ossipoff’s most original, rustic, and elemental structure.”

Dick Solmssen, HPA teacher from 1958-2010, was present when the chapel was constructed. He recalled Ossipoff standing with a fishing pole, pointing briskly to the precise locations where he wanted holes sledgehammered into the concrete walls, revealing volcanic rock inlays (a design feature that would be emulated nearly 50 years later on HPA’s Energy Lab, in homage to Ossipoff). And when the workers had just finished making the poured concrete floors perfectly level and smooth, Ossipoff instructed them to pick up their rakes to make grooves in the

floor. “They all muttered to each other in Japanese, ‘Crazy, stupid architect,’” Solmssen recalled. They were shocked when Ossipoff, who grew up in the Russian embassy in Tokyo, answered back in perfect Japanese.

Davies Chapel reflects Ossipoff’s genius for working within the constraints of both context and budget. On an island, where limits, borders, and origins are everywhere evident, Ossipoff’s considered use of resources and his sensitivity to place remain important and keenly-felt. The chapel’s massive, unvarnished ʻōhiʻa columns and raked and sledgehammered concrete moorings are a testament to the island, to the strength and directness Ossipoff saw in HPA’s student body, and to the creativity and vision of the architect himself. In 1967, at the opening of the chapel, Ossipoff noted the value of boundaries and context: “By working within limitations—by improving one’s skill within the imposed limits through repetition and constant striving for betterment—enduring structures do result.”

Solid foundations for a green future As HPA envisions a more regenerative and sustainable future, Vladimir Ossipoff and his buildings remain a source of inspiration—a legacy to uphold. The HPA Sustainability Plan, approved by the board last April, establishes ambitious benchmarks, including 100 percent renewable energy consumption by 2030; reducing freshwater consumption to 25 gallons per day per student; and increasing the acreage of HPA’s land allocated to native plants and carbon offsets by 50 percent, among others.

Responding to these urgent needs, HPA will inevitably draw upon the ingenuity of its original master planner.

As a starting point, HPA is once again working with Flansburgh Architects, designers of the Energy Lab, to evaluate HPA’s present-day campus master plan. The ultimate question: What will be required, from a facilities and land-use perspective, to achieve HPA’s ambitious sustainability goals? When complete, HPA’s updated campus plan will take into account both existing and proposed facilities, on the Upper Campus and the Village Campus, and will include recommendations to place HPA among the greenest of schools. It will also honor, preserve, and expand Ossipoff’s far-sighted and enduring accomplishments.

“With Ossipoff’s buildings, the bones are all there, Warner notes. “His buildings have become legacy pieces because they have integrity. They have the strength to adapt, from an environmental perspective. We must continue to live up to that, to ensure that HPA buildings serve our environmental goals and also remain timeless in context and sensibility. That’s our Ossipoff legacy. That’s as good as it gets.” —Leah Lavin; chapel photos courtesy of Matthew Millman 27

KA MAKANI

PRIDE

TOGETHER AS ONE HPA paddles to prominence on the high school circuit

When at their best, the HPA crews look like a machine out on the water—six paddlers working in unison toward a finish line. In rhythm, their paddles hit the water, pulling the canoe along the placid waters of the Pacific and ahead of their competition.

For a coach, finding the right crew that can function with such flawless efficiency is a complex puzzle that might take a full season to figure out. However, HPA head coach Mesepa Tanoai has had the magic touch of late. Last year, his Ka Makani crews won the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) championships in both the boys and mixed races in what was a landmark season for the program.

“Our team members set their goals from day one,” Tanoai said. “Our student-athletes stayed focused, trained hard over the year, and it paid off.”

After the BIIF, Ka Makani crews were not done just yet.

At the state regatta on O‘ahu, HPA became the first Hawai‘i Island school to capture two state medals—a silver in the mixed race and a bronze for the boys.

“I told the seniors, don’t leave anything out there, and they brought it,” Tanoai told the local newspaper following the race. “To watch that was pretty memorable.”

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Tanoai credited the hard work of not only his paddlers, but his assistant coaches Kainoa Tanoai ’12, Rex Honl, and Kiera Horgan for the banner year.

Outrigger canoe paddling is the official state team sport of Hawai‘i, a fact sometimes overlooked despite paddling’s cultural significance in the islands. In the early days of Hawai‘i, outrigger canoes were not used for sport, but rather were essential to island life and a symbol of discovery. Along with travel, the kanaka maoli used large koa canoes for tasks like fishing, transportation, and even combat.

Now, hand-carved koa canoes are sacred members of clubs around the state that compete both in regatta and long-distance races. The highly-competitive club regatta season runs through the summer months, while races like the Moloka‘i Hoe—a 41-mile grueling adventure from Moloka‘i to O‘ahu across the Ka‘iwi Channel—are among

KA MAKANI PRIDE

the most challenging athletic endeavors in the world.

“The history of paddling in the Hawaiian culture is one of working together for a greater purpose,” says Mesepa Tanoai. “I translate this into teaching our student athletes to set goals and work together towards a goal that’s much more than winning canoe races. Our paddling athletes learn teamwork, camaraderie, and how to overcome obstacles. The skills they learn through the sport will be ones they use throughout their adult lives.”

Tanoai has spent more than four decades in the sport, travelling and collecting medals at races around the globe. He’s well known in paddling circles and coaches with Kai ‘Ōpua during the Moku ‘O Hawai‘i club season.

Coaching at HPA, however, presents a different set of challenges.

“Typically, club participants start paddling at a very young age. So they come with a baseline of knowledge and capability in the sport,” Tanoai explains.

“High school students tend to have little or no knowledge, with some never having held a paddle.” It’s a challenge Tanoai embraces, and a favorite outcome of his skipper duties is seeing the growth of those who pursue the sport for all four years of their high school careers.

Last season’s BIIF championship double was historic for the HPA program, yet there’s still room to grow. In nearly two decades as a sanctioned high school sport on the Big Island, no program has ever pulled off the clean sweep of all three BIIF championships (boys, girls, mixed).

“It’s not impossible—we can win all three,” Tanoai says. “It will take dedication from the team and a strong strategy from our coaches to bring it all together.” —J.R. De Groote

KAINOA TANOAI ’12 CAPTAINS RED BULL WA’A Kainoa Tanoai ’12 has made a name for himself in the paddling world, but has never been one to forget his roots. During the high school paddling season, Kainoa returns to help out his dad, Mesepa, with the HPA crews. “It’s an awesome feeling being able to give back to the student-athletes of HPA and being able to share my passion for canoe paddling with the next generation,” he says.

Kainoa (above, second seat) is the captain of Red Bull Wa‘a— Hawai‘i’s elite super-crew based out of the Big Island. With iron will and unparalleled endurance, he and the Red Bull team made history in 2017 as the first Hawai‘i-based crew since 2005 to win the Moloka‘i Hoe. The race is a 41-mile channel crossing that starts at Hale O Lono Harbor in Moloka‘i and finishes at Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Waikiki on O‘ahu. Kainoa and the Red Bull squad managed to hold off Shell Va‘a, which had dominated the previous decade-plus at what is considered the world championship of men’s long-distance outrigger canoe racing.

This and Nothing Else: Red Bull Wa‘a, directed by Marc Salomon, Marc Levy, and Justin Mitchell, premiered in KailuaKona last year in advance of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Long Distance Canoe Races. The film follows the Red Bull crew leading up to and during the historic race.

“You can’t pull the canoe by yourself,” Kainoa says in the film.

“For a lot of people, it might look like guys are just swinging paddles, but it’s about learning trust. There’s six guys coming together, working as one.” While helping Ka Makani from the shore, Kainoa is hoping to pass along these and other valuable lessons to HPA paddlers. His coaching role may be different, but the goal remains the same: working together to build a powerhouse paddling program. — J.R. De Groote; photo by Kaikea Nakachi ’11

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KA MAKANI PRIDE

EMMA TAYLOR ’16

Soaring with the Eagles at Boston College During her storied career at HPA, Emma Taylor ’16 built a resume that will forever be mentioned among the best in Big Island Interscholastic Federation history. Taylor collected seven state gold medals in her four years and won both the 100 and 300-meter hurdles races her senior season, helping propel Ka Makani to their first team state title in over 20 years. HPA edged Kaiser 57-55 for the championship, getting 28 individually from Taylor.

“I will always cherish that night. The girls I got to compete with—including my own cousin Kau‘i Taylor ’16 —made it even more special,” Taylor says, recalling the historic meet. “I remember being in tears because I was so exhausted before my final event—the 4x400 relay. I was scared that I was going to blow my leg because of how fatigued I was. But all of my teammates, especially Savannah Cochran ’16, wouldn’t let me get down and assured me that we would do great. That relay ended up giving us the point difference to win.”

After graduating from HPA, Taylor headed more than 5,000 miles east to Boston College, where she walked onto the Eagles’ NCAA Division I track and field program. The change of scenery was a bit of a shock to her system initially, but—to no one’s surprise—Taylor quickly and swiftly found her footing.

“One tough part is not being able to jump in the ocean whenever I want. And even when I can, it’s freezing,” Taylor jokes, “but I really do love it here. The city, the culture, and the sports fanatics have my heart. I think I am planning on staying here for a bit longer after I graduate.”

Now entering her senior year at Boston College, Taylor has built a community of close friends and is on pace to graduate with a major in communications with a minor in marketing. Athletically, she has competed in the indoor and outdoor ACC championships every season and has worked her way to a funded athlete position

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with the Eagles. Her specialty is the 400-meter hurdles during the indoor season. It’s one of the most grueling events offered.

“Sounds painful, right?” Taylor jokes, noting that she hopes to qualify for the NCAA East preliminary meet this season, a goal she has targeted since her freshman year. “It is an extremely difficult event, but ever since I got put into it freshman year by my coach, I’ve loved it.”

“ I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience, athletically, academically, and socially. My advice to current Ka Makani would be to branch out when looking at college options. The further the better!

”

“I couldn’t have asked for a better college experience, athletically, academically, and socially,” Taylor continues. “My advice to current Ka Makani would be to branch out when looking at college options. The further the better! As amazing as the island is, you will survive being away for a few years.

So far, I’ve traveled to Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Miami for conference championships.

The high-performance environment is so exciting, and it drives all of us to run the very best we can.”

—J.R. De Groote; photo courtesy of Boston College

FROM THE ARCHIVES When HPA’s alumni office unearthed this gem from the archives, they did a little more digging to find out the result of this match-up with Honoka‘a High School. HPA defeated the Dragons in this 1965 game, winning 32-19.

According to Bobby Command, former sports editor for West Hawaii Today, HPA finished 7-2-1 and 7-0-1 in the BIIF that year under head coach Hans “Pete” L’Orange Jr.

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Alumni News Class Notes Events Giving and More

Ka Makani pinning ceremony at Baccalaureate, 2019. Sophie De Reus ’19, Kealia Haitsuka ’19, and Hana Haitsuka ’16.”

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A MESSAGE FROM DAENA CRAVEN

Making the HPA experience accessible to all.

Each year, it is my great honor to serve as part of the faculty selection committee for the Big Island Faculty Scholarship Fund. This particular scholarship fund was made possible through the generosity of my good friend and former colleague, Bill Davis, and others like him who believe that the HPA experience should remain accessible to all.

As part of the committee, every year I read essays from incredibly dedicated and deserving Big Island students who contribute to our community in remarkable ways. Though their backgrounds and interests are as varied as our island, they share a common desire to be a part of our school community, and also a common need for financial support on their journey.

This year, as HPA launches the Wai‘aka Initiative for financial aid, I am especially aware of the value these young people bring to our community. I am excited and hopeful for the day when HPA will be able to assist more of them because they have so much to offer. It is incredible to see all our students grow exponentially when they share their educational journey with friends and classmates from all walks of life.

I know from my own experience, both as a teacher and

For the past 24 years, Daena Craven has served HPA in a variety of roles: teacher, coach, administrator, and now as co-curriculum coordinator. Her husband, Scott Craven, worked in HPA’s advancement office from 2000 to 2005 and helped to build HPA’s endowed scholarship funds. They live in Waimea with their daughter, Lia ’23.

a parent, that securing and expanding access to HPA is an endeavor worth pursuing. My daughter has been shaped and nurtured in so many ways by this place, allowing her

with others. I share this hope for our Big Island Faculty

confidence to grow. Through actions small and large, our

Scholarship recipients, as I see them forging friendships

HPA ‘ohana steadily shows its commitment to welcoming

and trying new classes and activities across campus. This

each student by supporting individual growth. This is a

ethic of care and this spirit of generosity is a defining

closely-knit community where kindness is extended to all,

feature of our island home; may we hold this together and

and yet there is more that we can do to reach the many

do what we can to honor it, together. •

families who need aid.

As she begins her high school years, my hope for my daughter is that she will continue to learn how important it is to give back to her community and to empathize

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ALUMNI EVENTS

Our HPA ‘ohana gathers together Watch for more information about these upcoming HPA events. Locations TBD. Make sure we have your current email address at www.hpa.edu/update!

Maui HPA ‘Ohana Event January 30, 2020 at 5 p.m. hosted by Michael Spalding ‘66

Honolulu Alumni and others enjoyed the HPA ‘Ohana Pau Hana at Honolulu’s Aloha Beer Co., especially when they heard the late-breaking news that just-arrived Head of School Patrick Phillips and his wife, Ainslie Phillips, would be joining the July 24 event.

Washington, D.C. The HPA admissions office, in town for a conference, hosted alumni and other members of the HPA ‘ohana at the City Tap Room on September 13.

Kauai HPA ‘Ohana Event February 1, 2020 at 5 p.m.

New York City HPA ‘Ohana Event April 1, 2020 at 5 p.m.

Boston HPA ‘Ohana Event April 3, 2020 at 5 p.m.

On-campus Ka Makani Pinning Ceremony May 21, 2020 at 9:15 a.m., outside Davies Chapel

Mark your calendar for reunion magic

May 28 – May 31, 2020

Mark your calendars for Reunion 2020, which will take place Thursday, May 28 to Sunday, May 31. We will welcome back classes ending in 5 and 0, plus all HPA alumni for many events including the traditional lū‘au on Saturday night. Come reconnect with old friends, faculty, and the beauty of our campus, which always feels like home. Plus, meet new Head of School Patrick Phillips and tap into the energy of HPA today. There’s something for everyone—including the kids.

You can help make reunion special just by spreading the world and making plans to attend with friends. If you’d like to join our corps of class volunteers, we’re always looking for leaders and helpers; contact alumni@hpa.edu.

1955...... 65th

1990...... 30th

1960...... 60th

1995...... 25th

1965...... 55th

2000..... 20th

1970...... 50th

2005...... 15th

1975...... 45th

2010...... 10th

1980...... 40th

2015...... 5th

1985...... 35th

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CLASS NOTES

Class Notes 60s: Lee Jette ’60 reports that he has been married for 53 years and has two kids: “one an army Lt. Col. doctor, the other still searching.”

Kit Coleman ’69 retired last year. He and his wife, Heidi, have three children: Henry is 32-years-old and is attending Virginia Tech’s MFA program. Emma is 29 and is a hospitalist at Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage. She has two children: Finn (2.5), and Claire (9 months). Charles is 27 years-old and is a commercial fisherman.

Rodney West ’64 has reentered the job market, “sort of. My youngest son is a forester, and while looking for some winter fill-in work, he ran across a job he thought sounded like it might be fun and something I might be interested in (excuse me, something in which I might be interested). The job is driving vehicles through an auto auction one day a week. This is a car dealer only auction, and there are eight lanes going at the same time. In lanes 1 and 2 there are two auctions going at the same time. I drive section 2 vehicles—mostly 2016 and newer trucks. In 5 hours, we process about 1,700 vehicles from all over the Northwest and Canada. This is no Barrett Jackson, as each vehicle gets about three minutes; you either want the thing or you don’t—move it out. I’ve driven a few fun vehicles like a Jeep Cherokee SRT and a Challenger SRT (both 475 HP), Corvettes, a Tesla, and a fire engine. One morning, I hopped into a 2019 something with active bluetooth. It said, “good morning, how may I help you?” I said, “you can shut the hell up” and it replied, “ok, shutting up.” That cracked me up and made my day.

So, along with working with the Sheriff’s department, I am now a driver for a car auction one day a week. In my free time I’m working on home projects to try to keep this eighty-year-old farm house from falling down and the rest of the four acres from returning to the wilderness.”

Jim Dahlberg ’65 and his ‘ohana are in “The Land of Smiles, enjoying the kau kau and hospitality. Podo and Johnny Baldwin ’67 have stayed with us and there is lots of room for you and your ‘ohana at our hale and small resort we have in Bangkok and Isan. We are here every June and July. Save the date for next year’s Hau’oli lā hānau at blacksandsbeach.com on March 21, mālama pono and a hui hou, Dolly aka Fish Eyes.” Jim Klopp ’65 reports that he sees Mike Nelson ’65 frequently and “called on Lars Nelson ’65 a few weeks back. Lars has a cool experimental float plane. I’m looking into real estate in Tampa and chatted with him quite briefly.”

Monty Tester ’65 is “just hangin’ out here on Maui with my friends, except when tennis calls on me to go to O‘ahu or some other island. Things are fine; right now I’m enjoying this warm sunny weather in Ha‘ikū.”

Steve Muni ’69 writes: “While I may never get to be a judge in a court of law, last May I served as a judge of commercial wines for the Amador county fair and as a judge of homemade wines for the

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A note from Peter Cannon ’64: The class of 1964 graduated two months before the Gulf of Tonkin incident led the United States into the Vietnam War. By the time this class began graduating from college in 1968, the Vietnam War was fully raging, and the number of US troops in country was more than half a million.

Over 40% of our class served in the military. One of our classmates, Captain John Robert Peacock II, a US Marine fighter pilot at age 26, was lost on October 12, 1972 over Laos and never found.

The loss of Robby Peacock took a profound toll on our class and on the Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy community. As a senior, Robby was the HPA student body president and was loved by all of the teachers, administrators, and students of our era. We who knew him have missed him dearly for all of these years.

At our 50th class reunion, Robby Peacock’s United States Marine dress sword was presented to our class by his family. At our 55th reunion, Robby’s sword, his medals, and other personal United States Marine Corps memorabilia were presented in a beautiful koa case to the school. The sword and memorabilia were enshrined in Dyer Memorial Library during Alumni Weekend.

Thank you, Robbie, for your service to our country.

Thank you for being our friend. We salute your contribution to our freedom.

With aloha.

The class of 1964

We want to hear from you! Please submit your notes and photos to www.hpa.edu/notes by January 3, 2020 for the next issue of Ma Ke Kula.

CLASS NOTES

California state fair. For the Amador county fair, my panel of three judges went through 70 different wines in the course of a long morning. And for the state fair, we went through 60 in the course of a full day. And yes, you spit the wine out, otherwise you’d never make it to lunch! It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!” Steve is now the permanent Supervising Deputy Attorney General of the Health Quality Enforcement Section of the California Attorney General’s office in Sacramento. He leads a team of lawyers who represent the California Medical Board and other related medical boards in disciplinary actions against their licensed professionals. “In short, we take bad doctors’ medical licenses away from them. While the over-prescribing of opioids is a common problem that we deal with, some of the cases are straight out of the Jerry Springer Show!”

Dick O’Donnell ’69 and his wife, Bebe, celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary in February. “We did an eight-day cruise to the Caribbean in December 2018.” Dick’s business, Man in Green, is growing: “trust

the Man in Green to save you green... $$$ that is... on business phones and credit card processing.” Dick wears green every day and even had his Lexus painted kelly green. He writes: “we have two grandsons: Carter (7) and Jackson (3) who live in Walla Walla, WA with their father, our son, Tom, doctor of PT. Bebe and I live in Gibsonville, NC—five minutes from Elon University— and operate an Airbnb. We love hosting Elon parents from all over the world.” Tom Sofos ’69 reports: “no changes. Still happily married, still working because I enjoy it, and reasonably healthy at my age.”

70s: Charles Schuster ’70 wrote in with some sad news to share: “We regret the passing of two members of the Class of 1970, which may not have been noted previously.

Jeff Loo passed away from an apparent heart attack on October 31, 2017, at age 65, after a long career with the Hawai‘i County Fire Department. At his retirement, Jeff was the island’s oldest rescue worker. His

Damien Sulla-Menashe ’02 began working at a

small agriculture tech startup called TellusLabs located in Somerville, MA last year. “Our mandate was to create

very moving memorial service was attended by firefighters, rescue personnel, and friends from all over, and was especially memorable with each station calling in to say a few words of farewell to their brother firefighter and rescue worker. Owen Koehnen died of kidney failure April 3, 2019, at age 67. A well-attended memorial service was held June 23 in Hilo, upstairs at the Mokupāpapa Discovery Center, which had been the site of the family furniture business. Owen served in the Navy in the early 1970s, then returned to Hilo and became a letter carrier and postal workers’ union shop steward until he retired.”

Susan Landrigan Wetzel ’71 retired from Pendergast Elementary school district after 23 years. She recently moved from Arizona to Colorado Springs, CO. She is looking forward to visiting Hawai‘i this fall and hanging out with Pat and Howard Hall.

Chuck Hart ’74 just retired from the Hawai‘i DOE after teaching 19 years of elementary education on the Big Island. “My wife Kelly and I are celebrating by traveling (continued on page 40)

a ‘living map of the world’s food supply.’ Using satellite and weather data sources, we modeled and mapped the production of major crops in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina. At the end of last year, TellusLabs was acquired by another agriculture company called Indigo Ag also located in Boston. Now Indigo is becoming a very big deal; we were recently listed at the top of CNBC’s top 50 Disruptors, a role that companies like Airbnb, Uber, and SpaceX have held before us. As part of Indigo Ag’s GeoInnovation department, I enable farmers to see real time information about their fields during the growing season. We have committed to de-commoditizing the agricultural system and have recently announced an initiative to pay farmers to sequester carbon in their farms’ soils. In addition to beginning work at Indigo Ag, my long-term partner Kaitlin and I have become engaged to be married this February. We have also adopted a very cute black cat named Musubi, who we are absolutely obsessed over.”

37

Local Vibe Creative entrepreneurs Jake Mizuno ’86 and Asia Leong ’89 bring a world of experience home to Hawai‘i

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ALUMNI NEWS

Over the last 200-odd years, the Kaka‘ako district of Honolulu has gone from a mecca of natural salt ponds and fishing villages to an area of industrial production dotted with small communities, to a commercial business zone.

Now, it’s been newly rejuvenated into a thriving arts district. Old warehouses reborn as artists’ studios and other creative spaces share the streets with locally-owned shops and services.

Among them is Milo, a travel and lifestyle boutique with a dash of surfer edge which opened two years ago in the SALT at Our Kaka‘ako development, winner of the 2018 Shopping Center of the Year Award. Owned by Jake Mizuno ’86, Milo shares space with Paiko, a botanical boutique that deals in local flora and also hosts community lei making and native flower arrangement workshops.

It’s Mizuno’s 28th store, and the personal nature of the shop, which stocks mostly independent brands that focus on sustainability, is something special for him. “Before Milo, I did a lot of broad, bigger audience retail,” he explains. “What I experienced back then was no mercy for local business.

That was a very, very clear awakening.

Kaka‘ako is all small scale and very local, and SALT is owned by a local foundation.”

Mizuno also owns Stoke House, another modern surf shop and boutique, and Arvo, an Australian cafe which introduced Aussie style avocado toast to Hawai’i in SALT at Our Kaka‘ako. But Milo has a unique extra: the input of Mizuno’s partner, Asia Leong ’89. The pair met in passing while they were students at HPA, but later got to know each other better as part of the alumni ‘ohana.

Leong had gone off to art school in Paris and became a sought-after jewelry designer based there and in Biarritz and New York City. Her elegant, nature-inspired pieces were featured in magazines like Vogue and Marie-Claire and worn by celebrities like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. Mizuno, meanwhile, was busy opening golf courses, hotels, and retail outlets in Hawai‘i, on the

mainland, and in Japan (where he grew up in part), while never losing sight of his love for paddling and surfing.

Among other things, he was responsible for bringing Roxy to Hawai‘i.

Through it all, the pair stayed in touch, and about a decade ago they reconnected in what Leong calls, “a really sweet love story. Later in life, we got our lives back together and blended our family. After years of travel and working in fashion, it was the most wonderful thing ever to come home and raise a family and work in Hawai‘i.” Like their parents, Mizuno and Leong’s kids are all pursuing their passions. Malia, 22, recently graduated from UCSD with a BS in psychology and a minor in film studies. Noa, 20, is a professional surfer sponsored by Vissla, Volkswagen, and others. Danaë Rose, 16, just completed a year abroad, training and competing in equestrian jumping, and returned to Hawai‘i last summer.

Milo is a deep expression of Leong and Mizuno’s partnership on all levels. “Jake really wanted to create Milo with our family, my art and design, and his surfing background in mind,” Leong explains.

“He loves working with all of the makers and the surfers. I’m giving Milo my touch, my vision, and some of my experience of working in fashion and my travels.”

Mizuno adds, “Asia’s connection with rural life and the forests of the Big Island is her inspiration. Her jewelry and design career is something no one could do without that beautiful childhood.” Both of their backgrounds also fit perfectly with the community ethos of Kaka‘ako, which revolves largely around the artists collective Lana Lane Studios—which founded “Pow Wow World Wide” street art festivals all around the globe—that Mizuno calls “our heart and soul.”

Kaka‘ako is “a place of coming together,” Leong says.

“It all just kind of happens naturally. It’s not commercial or slick. It’s got some grit and some edges and quite a bit of energy and this wonderful vibe.” Together, Mizuno and Leong are contributing to the creation of a space devoted to living and working with the people of their community and their island home. For them, Milo is a manifestation of their unique perspectives as keiki o ka ‘āina and citizens of the world, a place where their passions have become their work. —Melanie Rehak

39

CLASS NOTES

(continued from page 37) through Croatia and Slovenia. On my birthday, we did a rafting and cliff jumping adventure on the Cetina river outside of Split, Croatia. (See photo, page 41.) I missed getting together with my classmates for our 45th reunion! Maybe next year.” Steve and Meg Solmssen Lin ’74 welcomed their first grandchild: Luka Ka’ eo! She reports that they are “super excited for this phase of life... all the joys of parenting without all the humbug!”

Michael Tavares ’75 writes: “I have been blessed. After working for 37 years for the army doing two things I thoroughly enjoyed (flying helicopters and analyzing difficult problems), I am now able to serve others in a meaningful way: I have started a third career as an investment adviser representative. Financial planning has been a passion of mine for years and I finally can do what I want to do for my third career. I now research the stock market and help our clients make investment decisions that fit their investment goals and risk tolerance.

This is great work since I get to help others reach their lifetime financial goals. Analysis of market trends and stock performance has been a great challenge. I agreed to work for this company because the owner ensures our clients are our top priority. We work every day to make sure our client’s goals are our focus.”

David Albachten ’76 reached the end of another school year as a head teacher, his tenth in ESL (English as a Second Language). This year 100% of his class (43 students) passed the English proficiency exam at Bogazici University, Turkey’s most prestigious university, on their first attempt. Over 60% received the highest mark (A) and the remaining the second highest mark (B). For the 2019-2020 school year, the administration has asked David to join the testing office to help perfect the proficiency exam. In the fall, he will present at the second international higher

Fedrico (Bevo) Biven ’66 has

been keeping busy with theatrical pursuits! Since 2000, he has appeared in 28 theatrical productions, including Captain Andy in Show Boat, George in Billy Elliot, and Senator Max Evergreen in Nice Work If You Can Get It. Bevo has won two Po‘okela Awards from the Hawaii State Theatre Council: one for supporting actor as King Pellinore in Camelot (pictured above), and another for his role as Abner Dillon in 42nd Street. He has been acting with the Diamond Head Theatre since 2002, and he served on the Board of the Manoa Valley Theatre from 2012-2018.

Theater is nothing new for Bevo; his junior year at HPA, he was Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, and he played Grandfather in You Can’t Take It With You his senior year. He also played banjo with the Somerset Three (bandmates Gaylord Dillingham ’66 and Mark Collins ’67). Bevo gave up the banjo and guitar for piano 15 years ago. You can see him in Diamond Head Theatre’s Kinky Boots this fall!

education conference on computer use in second language English academic writing.

He and his wife are looking forward to a trip to South Africa in early September before the school year starts, including a safari in Kruger National Park and time

We want to hear from you! Please submit your notes and photos to www.hpa.edu/notes by January 3, 2020 for the next issue of Ma Ke Kula.

40 // FA L L | W IN T E R 2 019

in Cape Town and the Stellenbosch wine region. Kevin Kelley ’76 sent a photo from the Wreaths across America laying of wreaths at veteran cemeteries across the country before Christmas in 2018. “Yes,” he writes, “saluting in civilian clothes is legal in these circumstances. It was a cold and wet day, but there were a lot of people out for the occasion.” He has retired from the Army Reserves and is living north of Charlottesville, VA. Jonathan Long ’77 just retired from the Oregon Department of Forestry after working for 34 years as a professional forester. “Will now be traveling across the country on my Harley-Davidson motorcycle!”

80s:

Renee Brendel-Konrad ’82 shared a photo from this year’s alumni pinning ceremony with her two sons, Kalei Konrad ’10, and Kamea Konrad ’19. (See page XX.) She wrote, “Kalei and I got to pin a few of the newest alumni before my son, Kamea, graduated. The graduation was so beautiful. I’m so excited for Kamea’s next adventure at UMASS Amherst.”

Lisa Hall-Anderson ’84 is staying busy with research and teaching, working “on gene therapy for Down syndrome and other trisomy (an extra chromosome) chromosomal disorders. We can shut off expression of the 400+ extra genes at one time. I’m also still teaching Human Genetics to the first-year medical students (been doing that since 2003). My husband, Dan, is a professor at MIT and has some promising research on Type 1 diabetes going to clinical trials soon. I’m planning on retiring from research next summer, and looking for more teaching opportunities, and to hang out with my mom and dad more often.” Her daughters are 18- and 16-yearsold, and her youngest is going to be a junior boarder at HPA next year. “I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do in my empty nest next year!”

Adam Norwood ’89 is assistant head of school for curriculum and instruction at Lyndon Institute. He “just returned (continued on page 44)

CLASS NOTES

1 2

1. Chuck Hart ’74 celebrated his birthday and retirement with a rafting and cliff jumping adventure on the Cetina river outside of Split, Croatia.

2. Nora Healy ’19 is at the University of Colorado, Boulder this fall.

3. Renee Brendel-Konrad ‘82 took part in this year’s alumni pinning ceremony with her two sons, Kalei Konrad ‘10, and Kamea Konrad ‘19.

3 4

4. Dick O’Donnell ’69 and his wife, Bebe, enjoyed visiting HPA and the Big Island for reunion festivities this summer.

5. Rachel Chang ’19 is at California State University, Northridge.

6. Kekahikolemaikalani Scheffler ’19 is studying English Literature at Trinity College in Dublin.

7. Tanner Riley ’17 studied abroad with Dartmouth in Morocco this summer.

5

6

7

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ALUMNI NEWS

Mālama Manō

KAIKEA NAKACHI ’11 IS WORKING TIRELESSLY TO PROTECT HAWAI‘I’S SHARKS

Kaikea Nakachi ’11 loves to share stories—tales of his remarkably diverse family, folklore of Tūtū Pele and King Kamehameha, and anecdotes of his almost daily encounters with the tiger sharks he studies. One such story helps to illustrate the extent to which Nakachi’s life is inextricably linked to the ocean he so cherishes. “At the same time that my mom was pregnant with my twin sister [Alohi ’11] and me, my dad was building his first boat, Kamanakai or ‘Spirit of the Ocean,’ the original vessel of his eco-tourism business. That boat was like our third sibling and was the reason Alohi and I learned to swim at a very young age. We were a family who lived every day on the water.”

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Born and raised in Kona, the two siblings attended Kamehameha Preschool and, later, Innovations Public Charter School in Kailua-Kona. Through the tight-knit swimming community on Hawai‘i Island, the twins and their parents eventually discovered HPA’s flourishing swim program. They enrolled for seventh grade and stayed on through high school, helping HPA to win the state swimming championship in 2011, their senior year.

When it came time to apply for college, Nakachi, once again drawn to the sea, initially aspired to follow in his father’s maritime footsteps. Focusing his search on schools that offered naval architecture, he ended up matriculating at Florida Institute of Technology, where he swam all four years and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in biological oceanography. Undergraduate research on diatom communities and densities among shark species, coupled with volunteer work tagging great hammerheads, bonnetheads, and bull sharks for Sarasota’s Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, solidified Nakachi’s desire to pursue shark conservation as his life’s work. He is currently completing a master’s in tropical conservation biology and environmental science at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

While Nakachi’s formal education has been somewhat traditional, he has very consciously taken a different path in his graduate research and data collection. Grounded in his

Hawaiian heritage, he is guided by his father and grandfather, who have passed along the Hawaiian practice of kahu manō, caring for sharks, and who are active in lobbying the Hawaiian state government for shark protections. In 2016, Nakachi founded Mālama Manō, a family non-profit devoted to observing and protecting Hawai‘i’s native sharks.

“My purpose in founding Mālama Manō and in the ways that I am studying shark populations without hooking and restraining, is to bring awareness to the critical importance of doing non-intrusive research. Before the Kingdom of Hawai‘i was overthrown, there was a great give-and-take relationship, a symbiosis, between Hawaiians and sharks.

Over time, that intimate connection was lost to the point where tiger sharks are considered a near threatened species here. Our work now is to reconnect with the sharks, to give them a voice. The more we reclaim that practice, the better off we will be as Hawaiians and as humans.”

—Melanie Sage Nelson; photos by Kaikea Nakachi ’11

43

CLASS NOTES

9

10

11

8

14

12

8. Ben Honey ’05 graduated in May 2019 from the University of Houston, Clear Lake with a Master’s degree in systems engineering.

9. Bonnie Rice ’79 and her daughter, Ashley Ogden Wilken ’06, work together for The Rice Partnership, which recently opened a new office in San Luis Obispo.

13

12. Leila Takahashi-Ruiz ’14 is entering the integrated biomedical sciences Ph.D. program at UT Health San Antonio to study and research microbiology and immunology.

13. Ana Gabrielle Lias Geiger ’11 and Angel Yamil Lias Arellano were married in North Carolina on April 26, 2019.

10. Ashley Ogden Wilken ’06 and her husband, C.R. Wilken, welcomed a new baby, Betty Flower Wilken, on May 23, 2019.

14. Zoe McGinnis ’18, Alex Thomas ’18, Silas Rhyneer ’18, and Aidan Brown ’18 met up in Seldovia, Alaska.

11. Russ Aguilar ’09 is a civil and human rights activist in Marin county, California.

15. Rana Elling-Hwang ’19 is studying at the Musicians Institute, College of Contemporary Music in Los Angeles.

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15

C CL LA AS SS S N NO OT TE ES S

(continued from page 37) from China to visit our partner schools and host commencement ceremonies in the cities of Hefei, Shaoxing and Fuzhou. I also presented a workshop at the Deeper Learning Conference at High Tech High in San Diego on how to implement an intensive multi-week project-based learning program in schools.” Stephanie Rutgers ’89 is currently a program consultant for the San Bruno Community Foundation running the scholarships and grants program in San Bruno, California. “My work experience at HPA in the Admission Office has provided me with great experience to do this job especially in the scholarship department.”

90s:

Rebekah Kramer Bohucki ’94 is a registered nurse living in Mesa, AZ. She is

In Memoriam: In the past year, we were saddened to learn of the deaths of the following members of the HPA ‘ohana. If you would like more information, please contact us at alumni@hpa.edu. We may be able to put you in touch with the family or friends of the departed.

A LU M N I

Mr. Owen Koehnen ’70 Mr. Nathan Lee ’83 F O R M E R FAC U LT Y/STA F F

Mr. Francis Kainoa Lee FRIENDS

Dr. Earl Bakken

married with a 4-year-old son.

00s: Maki Murakami ’04 attended Sapporo Sound Art College and now has a permaculture farm in Gorkha, Nepal.

Ben Honey ’05 is “still happily employed as a contractor at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Passed 10 years on the job here this past January.” (See photo, page 44.)

Ashley Ogden Wilken ’06 and her husband, C.R. Wilken, just welcomed a little girl, Betty Flower Wilken, on May 23, 2019. Betty is the first grandchild for Bonnie Rice ’79. (See photos, page 44.) Welcome, Betty! Ashley also just celebrated her first work anniversary working for The Rice Partnership at their new office in San Luis Obispo as a Senior Wealth Manager. Steven Gaughan Philp ’06 was recently ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary. “I will be joining the clergy team at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York, NY as their new Rabbinic Fellow. My job is primarily focused on education and outreach to interfaith families, converts and conversion students, and millennials. I will also help build our social justice initiatives.” (continued on page 46)

Aloha nō, Uncle Francis.

In March, we lost one of HPA’s most steadfast and gentle members: Uncle Francis Lee. Francis Kainoa Sha Look Lee worked in HPA’s maintenance department for nearly 30 years. He was born in Hilo, was a member of the Imiola Congregational Church, and was an

In May, Kūwalu Anakalea (HPA’s

active waterman and original crew

K-8 Hawaiiana and Social Studies

member on the Hōkūle’a’s maiden

teacher) led a Kīpaepae Ho’oku’u

voyage to Tahiti in 1976. He always

ceremony for both Uncle Francis

credited his beloved wife, Patricia

and Aunty Pat with the support of

Ann Weber Lee, with setting him

community members and family,

on the course that would lead to the

including their two sons, Kainoa

Hōkūle’a, signing him up for a canoe-

Christopher Lee and Kealiʻiaea

building workshop in 1975.

Kenneth Lee ’96.

45

CLASS NOTES

(continued from page 45) Russ Aguilar ’09 writes, “I am a civil and human rights activist in the amazing and beautiful county of Marin, where I was raised. I’m also an active member of the Democratic Socialists of America and Marin County Young Democrats. I’m a dancer, hiker, and avid cyclist! I’m also a professional photographer.” (See photo, page 44.)

10s:

Ana Gabrielle Lias Geiger ’11 and Angel Yamil Lias Arellano were married in North Carolina on April 26, 2019. (See photo, page 44.)

Kazuki Arakawa ’14 is living in Tokyo, Japan and completing a master’s course in biology at Sophia University. Leila Takahashi-Ruiz ’14 just completed an NIH-funded post-baccalaureate research education program (prep) at Virginia Commonwealth University. This fall, she is entering the integrated biomedical sciences Ph.D. program at UT Health San Antonio to study and research microbiology and immunology. (See photo, page 44.) Hannah

Twigg-Smith ’14 finished the first year of her Ph.D. at the University of Washington, where she is a member of the Machine Agency research group. “We are developing machines for automation and fabrication and studying how we can help normal people build their own machines. We just received a grant to help us continue our work!” Connor Peterson ’14 is working as a service professional at Eddie V’s Prime Seafood in Downtown San Diego.

He writes, “helping my father open his own restaurant on the Big Island taught me a lot about how the industry works.

Now I have an opportunity to further that knowledge in the corporate sector of the restaurant business. I’m currently working on revamping the cataloging system for our wine and liquor inventory of over 400 different bottles of wine and liquor.”

Tanner Riley ’17 wrote: “I just finished my freshman year of college (even though I graduated in 2017, I took a gap year to travel and learn and save some money for college). My first year at Dartmouth was crazy and hard but also fun and I made some really great friends and learned a lot about myself. I decided to study Arabic in

my first year (even though I plan to major in neuroscience), and now because of my Arabic studies, I’m studying abroad with Dartmouth in Morocco this summer! It’s been an incredible experience so far. I’m living with a host family in the Old Medina region of Rabat.” (See photo, page 41.)

Zoe McGinnis ’18 met up with Alex Thomas ’18, Silas Rhyneer ’18, and Aidan Brown ’18 in Seldovia, AK! (See photo, page 44.) She is looking forward to studying computer engineering next year at Olin College in Boston, MA. “During my gap year, I am working as the IT Specialist for Kapa‘a Middle School and Kapa‘a Elementary School.”

And congratulations to some of our newest alums! Rachel Chang ’19 is headed to California State University, Northridge this fall. (See photo, page 41.) Rana EllingHwang ’19 is studying at the Musicians Institute, College of Contemporary Music in Los Angeles. (See photo, page 44.)

Kekahikolemaikalani Scheffler ’19 is studying English Literature at Trinity College in Dublin. (See photo, page 41.)

Jessica Carew Takei ’93 is living in Honolulu with her family. She and husband Bobby have two beautiful children: Leleo is 7 and Vaitea is 4.

Jessica earned a B.S. in Aquatic Biology at UC Santa Barbara and an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology at UH Manoa. For the past six years, she has primarily been a mom to her children, helping out at the Honolulu Waldorf school and teaching a few weeks of Summer Fun there. This fall, she will be working more for Kealopiko, which creates designs and clothing inspired by the natural, cultural, and historical landscapes of Hawaiʻi, at their South Shore Market store. Jessica writes: “Besides navigating motherhood these past years which is always exciting, I have really been enjoying getting my fitness and health back on track with the help of the Body Back program through Fit4Mom Honolulu. I love it so much that I became an instructor, teaching classes twice a week. I really enjoy supporting mamas in their postpartum journeys.”

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TOGETHER FOR HPA.

Generations of Ka Makani are rooted in this place.

Together, we keep HPA strong—for each other and for today’s students.

With your gift to the HPA Fund, you help deliver the elemental experience of HPA. Friendships forged in classrooms, dorms, hills, and endless ocean. Arts, athletics, and an array of programs that ignite ambition and creativity. Sustainability leadership and community service. Theme Week, May Day, capstone courses, Hawaiian studies, and countless individual moments that change lives forever.

With clear strategic vision and a renewed sense of service to Hawai‘i and the larger world, HPA is on the rise. Alumni giving has more than tripled in the last 24 months, and parent giving continues to grow. Please join in support of the school we love. Together for HPA! Thank you.

Let’s put aloha into action. Make your gift today. Thank you. www.hpa.edu/give If you have already made your gift, please accept our thanks.

47

Pali kapu o nā li‘i o Waimea (sacred hills of the chiefs of Waimea) was revealed and blessed at the Waimea Community Center in September. An HPA student alaka‘i group collaborated with muralist Estria Miyashiro to complete the project, which was funded by The Healy Foundation and initiated by Kawehi Cabuzel ’21. In the center is the goddess Wao, who lived on the Hōkū‘ula hillside and gave birth to her children from the top of La‘e la‘e. On the far right of the mural, the shape-shifter Manaua emerges from the waters of Kohākōhau. Photo by Sheri Salmon ’03

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ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 65-1692 Kohala Mountain Road Kamuela, HawaiĘťi 96743 www.hpa.edu

Want more info on HPA? Application inquiries: admissions@hpa.edu All other questions: connect@hpa.edu

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