Alumni Catch-Up

Island School Alumni

Where are they now?

6 Alumni share their stories of life after Island School

We want to hear from you! Submit your stories and photos to alumni@ischool.org Join us for our Alumni Reunions on July 15, 2022, and December 30, 2022

I went to Island School from middle school through high school. The level of comfort and familiarity we enjoyed in a class that had known each other since adolescence-and in some cases since kindergartenwas something I took for granted. After having lived on the east coast for the past 5 years, I am finally beginning to seek out people with whom I can connect over a shared cultural experience, whether that be having grown up in Hawaiʻi or even just being raised in a community as small and tightly-knit as Island School. I think back fondly on eating lunch in Mrs. Wortmann’s classroom, collective rebellions against dress code, and the support our class offered each other in the moments before performing at May Day. Some of my favorite memories from that time are strangely set on the hour-long bus commute that the North Shore kids would make each morning. There was something special about shuttling through the dawn and witnessing the sunrise with a bunch of sleepy kids.

After graduating from Island School in 2016, I moved to the mainland to study at Haverford College where I majored in a program called “The Growth and Structure of Cities.” Having lived my whole life on Kauaʻi, urban systems were fascinating to me. A really important moment in my undergraduate studies was my introduction to the concept of landscape urbanism. This theory suggests that we think about cities not as a collection of vertical forms (buildings), but rather as a convergence of horizontal systems across a landscape. In this way, we can begin to design cities that consider humans as part of the ecological system that a landscape sustains. This past fall, I moved to Cambridge, MA and began the Masters of Landscape Architecture program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. I now spend most of my days in the studio drafting designs and creating models. As a designer, my goal is to create landscapes that mediate the human/ non-human relationship in the context of rapid urbanization and the climate crisis. I can thank my upbringing at Island School for both my environmental sensitivity, and for my deep curiosity about what lies beyond our small community. I think Island School kids go out into the world with wide eyes, and that’s a beautiful thing.

Amber Hopkins, 2015

I graduated from Island School in 2015. Then I moved to Orange County, California to attend Chapman University, where I received BAs in Psychology and Philosophy. After undergraduate, I worked as a research assistant in a computational neuroscience lab for two years. Now I am working towards a PhD in Psychology (Cognitive Neuroscience emphasis) at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). When I am not in class or in the lab, I surf, cook, and spend time with my friends.

Once I finish graduate school, I want to become a teacher. I was lucky to have many teachers that encouraged my growth and helped me realize my interests, from Island School to now. I want to pass this forward.

Island School provided me many special experiences, including classes that set me on my current path, love and support from faculty, and lifelong friendships. Some of my favorite Island School memories include chatting with Ms. Wortmann as I grew up, learning Chinese with Dr. Barale in high school, and spending time with friends, but there are many others.

My time at Island School impacted both my personal life and academic trajectories. A psychology class I took with Mr. Bray introduced me to neuroanatomy and philosophy of mind, motivating my choice of undergraduate majors and ultimately leading me to where I am now in my academic journey. In addition, I met many of my best friends at Island School. We dispersed after graduation, but we have stayed in each other’s lives. I live close to some now in LA and see them regularly.

Ashley Larkin, 2015 I graduated from Island School in 2015. I attended the University of Colorado Boulder where I majored in history and minored in sociology. After graduating, I began working for an engineering company in Colorado as a buyer. I have been at the company for almost 3 years and I am currently working for them remotely in Oregon. My husband and I moved here with our dogs to be closer to family and to hopefully get to visit Hawaii more often. It has been almost 7 years since I graduated from Island School, but I still think about my time there often. I made the best friends I could ever ask for and even met my husband there. Some of my favorite memories of Island School are being in Chorus, playing on the tennis team, and going to prom with my (now) husband. These are a few of the highlights, but I genuinely had fun every single day I was there. I loved all of my teachers and had all of my classes with my best friends. Island School had a significant impact on me. I went to a very small elementary school in Kīlauea from pre-K through sixth grade. The average class size there was about ten people and my sixth grade class had four students in the whole grade. Island School felt huge and very intimidating in comparison! I was extremely shy when I first started. I was forced to meet tons of new people and start all over. This ended up being the best thing that could have happened to me. I gained a confidence that I never had before and learned how to be comfortable meeting new people, making friends, and pushing through challenging situations. The opportunities to play sports, join clubs, take art classes, and be in Chorus all helped me discover interests I did not know I had. The teachers and classes I had taught me to love learning, challenged me, and gave me a foundation to be successful in college and my career. I thoroughly loved my time at Island School and would not change a single thing about my time there!

Kellan Wortmann, 2014

I graduated from Island School in 2014. Island school was a great experience, even looking at the daily, mundane activities. I loved how the school was open and we could look at the mountains between classes and bump into friends and family from different grades. Because my mom, dad, grandma, aunt, brother, sister, and cousin all were working, attending, or volunteering at different times, I have more memories of seeing them than I can count. If I had to pick specific memories, May Day and Fall Round Up were always exciting, and showcased the great community we had at Island School. I loved going to practice and games for soccer and volleyball and races/meets for cross country and track. I was very proud of Island School and took representing them in those sports seriously. The list goes on and on. Asking Ashley Larkin to be my girlfriend in tenth grade was a big moment! Only trumped by getting married to her in 2020!

After graduating from Island School, and having had success in math & science there, I majored in applied computational mathematics at Virginia Tech (shout out to Dr. Kozak and all the other Island School/VT Alumni). I currently work as a Data Scientist at a software company called Gusto, and live in Oregon with my wife, Ashley (also an Island School alumna!) and two dogs.

Island School taught me to work hard and with purpose regardless of outcome. The teachers and coaches I was exposed to consistently encouraged me and my peers to try our best and did a great job of giving us as much responsibility as we could handle. When I graduated and entered “the real world”, I realized that as long as I tried my hardest and focused on the process rather than the outcome, I would continue to grow and achieve.

I attended Island School for four years and graduated in 2014. After Island School, I attended Biola University in La Mirada, California, where I studied elementary education with the intent to become a kindergarten teacher. After college, I remained in California to pursue many different creative projects and jobs. I am currently working as a Photographer and a Photo/Production Assistant in Los Angeles, California. I do freelance and commercial photography for different fashion, beauty, and wellness brands around Southern California. I love collaborating with other creatives and enjoy the energy on set.

All throughout my time at Island School I was interested in the arts. From chorus with Mr. Steinbacher, to art classes with Miss Penny, I feel lucky to have been taught to express myself artistically while in school. While I was in college, I studied abroad in Italy and got to take a charcoal drawing class that I still look back on very fondly. I am thankful for the opportunity to let my creativity grow throughout high school and college, which has led me to the career I am in now.

Some of my favorite memories from my time at Island School are from my spanish classes. I loved learning the language and studying culture, and made some of my closest friends through my high school spanish classes. I also loved traveling to Oʻahu with my chorus class each year, staying in hotels with my friends and singing with students from schools from across the state.

Daniel Braun, 2001 I attended Island School between 19992001. I very much value the friends and memories made over that time. My early career was in hospitality and I mainly worked at the Kauaʻi Beach Resort in the 2 years following high school. I then moved back to my hometown in Florida where I started to seriously study wine while trying to advance my career at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. I became a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2006 and also became a food & beverage manager for Hyatt during this time. I was able to gain experience working in and managing different types of food and beverage outlets including two of the top rated restaurants in the city. I also attended a Hyatt course for managers on how to train employees for consistent results across a large brand. I greatly missed Hawaiʻi and accepted a position at the Four Seasons Maui at 23 years old. As an assistant department head, I helped open a steak house concept called DUO. Shortly thereafter, I took over the wine program for the hotel. Missing Kauaʻi, I moved back in 2009. In the summer of 2009 I opened a wine store in Kapaʻa. The lease was short and when it expired I moved to the North Shore. In the summer of 2010, I opened a store called Princeville Wine Market. During this time I continued my wine studies, taking the Advanced Course through the Court of Master Sommeliers and becoming a Certified Specialist of Wine through the Society of Wine Educators. I have competed in sommelier competitions and have been a team leader for a national study group of professionals prepping for Advanced and Master level certifications with the Court of Master Sommeliers. Three employees have become Certified Sommeliers while working with me at the Princeville Wine Market. In 2018 I helped form the Kauaʻi chapter for the oldest gastronomic society in the world, Chaine des Rotisseurs. I currently serve as president for the chapter. My efforts to promote food and wine culture on Kauaʻi were recognized in 2019 when I was featured in Barron’s “Penta” magazine. My wife Tamara and I live in Princeville with our two cats. Many have seen or met Tamara only in costume as she has helped with entertainment for the Island School fundraiser for many years.

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Important dates for the Giving Calendar

July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023 Annual Fund Campaign

July 15, 2022 Summer Alumni Reunion

November 29,2022 Giving Tuesday

December 29, 2022 Winter Alumni Reunion

Spring 2023 Annual Gala Auction