Mililani High School celebrates its 50 years of operation, being home to hundreds of thousands of graduates. Over all of these years, MHS has served as a home and an important figurehead in the community to generations of students, faculty and alumni alike. The year of 2023 will include different opportunities to look back and honor the history of those who helped to cultivate MHS into what it is today.
for the high school can be seen in numerous forms, with the collective participation of its diverse community.
Memories are like mirrors. They allow us to reflect upon ourselves and view the things we have allowed to fall behind us. Through our memories, we are able to glimpse at the person we’ve become, the cuts that we’ve gained and the scars that we’ve allowed to heal. Yet, most of all, it allows us to take in the view of the people who are keeping us up from behind, ready to catch us when we fall.
Nowadays, I tend to struggle when it comes to braving the challenges life has thrown at me. Between balancing my roles in school, the Times, extracurriculars and personal life, I tend to lose sight of my hope and optimism as I’m blinded by the numerous, arduous tasks that must be completed. So, in an effort to restore my positivity, I gaze into my mirror of memories as it reminds me that I am not alone. It allows me to witness all of my family, friends and loved ones who actively support me from behind as I prepare to face the storm ahead of me. Yet, what I appreciate about the sight even more is the notion that
even when I was expecting them to reach their limits with me, they never left my back vulnerable. I owe a majority of my success to my support group because they were the individuals I have leaned on, and will continue to lean on.
Mililani High School is no exception as they have 50 years worth of memories that can be reflected upon by hundreds of individuals that have walked its halls. The mirror these moments forge exhibit many of the positive contributions and moments that truly embody the Trojan Nation, however, in order to achieve success, one must begin at a lower starting point. MHS, throughout its history, has faced many challenges and setbacks as it strived to serve the Mililani community throughout its years. Yet, it’s due to the darkened atmosphere that allowed for its past and current supporters to shine brighter. For it is the light behind MHS that allows the school and its impact to be illuminated. Whether it’s attending the community craft fairs to simply providing the school the opportunity to nurture their youth, support
As the Trojan Times releases their second community issue, the staff has done a wonderful job in producing an issue with the hopes of providing the spark towards reliving or learning of special memories to the community that has provided for them for 49 years. They have dedicated many hours, while simultaneously battling the inevitable burnout as Spring Break nears, to produce stories that provide a collection of unique experiences and moments that help define what MHS is for the students, alumni and families.
Through the numerous historically themed pieces on the school, its publication and student body, community members are able to reflect on all the Trojan Nation has accomplished and overcome as they continue to provide an environment of growth and education for its youth. The issue also permits its readers to witness the progression of the school as they implement new experiences and reinstate long awaited tradition to further connect its students with their community.
So, without further adieu, the Trojan Times happily presents their second community issue that honors the memories and history of MHS. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it!
Designer Brynn Vincent
Trojan Times mission is to inform the community of news, people and issues of concern.
Community. Responsibility. Dependability.
Editor-in-Chief
Shelby Seu
Story Editor
Sarah Dittle
Opinions Editor
Macallister Graves
Copy Editors
Arie Yamasaki
Isabella Makino
Digital Editor
Alexia Cramer
Anela Reese
Averey Jim
Camryn Okinaka
Dannika Pila
Ezra Burton
Gianna Brown
Head Social Media
Anya Hubbard
Head Designer
Ken Sakata
Head Photographer
Brynn Vincent
Photo Stylist
Brynn Vincent
Advisor
Daniella Reyes
Staff
Jaya Dube
Jaylenn Jay-Abe
Jullia Young
Krystin Oducado-Lum
Marcus Morifuji
Randen Tadaki
Now this is a memory that will last a lifetime.
Photographer Marcus Morifuji Brynn Vincent
Writer Designer Camryn Okinaka
at the Craft Fair with Model UN in December of 2022, recalled her experience at the fair.
Celebrate the changing of the season with Mililani High School at the upcoming MHS Athletics Foundation Mother’s Day Food & Craft Fair, which will take place on Saturday, Apr. 15, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. MHS will be welcoming over 175 vendors, providing visitors with an opportunity to support local, small businesses featuring: food trucks; food, drink, and dessert pop-ups; crafters, local artisans and gift retailers. Participants can sit, relax and eat in two covered dining lanais, as music is played by a DJ and prize giveaways are announced throughout the day. This event can be accessed at Mililani High School’s upper parking lot, under B & C Building walkways, on-campus and in the cafeteria. Free parking will be available at the upper parking lot, lower gym lot, Mililani Waena Elementary School and on-street parking.
The Mililani High School Athletics programs hold 3 food & craft fairs every school year in April, November and December. Varieties of clubs, sports-related organizations and teams attend the fair, with students volunteering at their respective booths alongside vendors. Students are expected to assist with restocking and interacting with customers, selling a variety of goods and utilities such as: food, jewelry and clothing. Senior Diana Valez, who previously volunteered
“I liked how many booths there were. I was certainly surprised by how much there was, I don’t think I realized the magnitude that [the Craft Fair] had or the effect that it had on the community until I was there,” said Valez. “It felt nice to know that there was a welcoming community.”
A portion of the profit from the MHS Athletics Foundation Mother’s Day Food & Craft Fair that vendors generate go towards the Athletics department at Mililani High School. For student-athletes, it is an opportunity to gain leadership, time management and customer service skills while contributing towards their sports program.
“I feel the [Craft Fair] is important because it offers a great way to be involved in the community life of the school,” said Donna Shiroma-Nakasue, Event Coordinator of the fair. “It also provides additional funds for helping the sports program, so all of the different sports teams that we have will benefit from the event.”
Attending and working at the Craft Fair is a chance for students to develop a better understanding of the community and recognize the importance of such an event. The fair is also a chance for vendors and local businesses to spread awareness about their services while interacting with the community surrounding Mililani. Members of the community can enjoy a variety of goods, while sustaining locally-owned businesses in return.
“It has been rewarding to be a part of the MHS Food & Craft
Fairs because it brings our community together in support of our school, our athletics programs and small local businesses,” said Shiroma. “In addition, it’s so great to see our student-athletes giving their time and effort to assist vendors with setup and breakdown. Vendors are always impressed by the great attitudes and helpfulness of our volunteers at our events.”
If you have any questions about the MHS Athletics Foundation Food & Craft Fairs, please email Donna Shiroma-Nakasue or call (808) 307-4200. You can also follow the MHS Athletics Foundation Food & Craft Fairs on Instagram
and Facebook at @MililaniHS. craft.fairs. Save the date, MHS Athletics Foundation Mother’s Day Food & Craft Fair will take place on Saturday, Apr. 15, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
On May 6, also known as National Comic Day or Free Comic Book Day, the Mililani Public Library, in collaboration with Mililani High School’s library, will be holding an event based around comics, where anyone who visits the library will have the opportunity to expand their reading into the realm of comics by receiving a free comic book. Alongside the comic giveaway day, the public library will also be displaying the top three winners of the comic book art competition, which is currently open to all Mililani High School students.
All students may submit up to two entries in the art contest, as long as they adhere to a set list of requirements. Whether hand drawn or computer generated, each design must be original, 2-D, and include an interesting backstory of sorts, which may not exceed 300 words. Entries must be submitted to Librarians Mrs. Betty Arai or Mrs. Rieko Goo at the Mililani High School Library no later than Friday, Apr. 14, 3:00 p.m.
Then shortly after, on Apr. 28, the winners will be announced. This happens after careful consideration of all artwork by a panel composed of MHS teachers, school librarians and public librarians. Students’ work will be judged on its overall creativity in addition to the artistic merit of their pieces and its quality. Once winners are selected, all pieces will be displayed at the MHS library and at the public library on May 6. Along with the honor and pride of having their artwork shown to the public, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners will
receive $50, $25 and $10 gift cards respectively.
“The public library will have a huge audience because on free comic book day, they will give out free comics to anyone who comes in and so they usually have hundreds if not thousands of people so there’s gonna be pretty big publicity around especially the winners,” said MHS librarian Betty Arai.
This dual-event is, in its entirety, a promotional effort for literature, which will come to include a day of recognition for comics only.
Comics first emerged as a public sensation in the late 19th century due to their inclusion in newspapers. Sensationalist journalism, while not always accurate, was popular at this time as it excited readers and garnered greater viewers as headlines and stories became increasingly absurd.
The inclusion of comic strips in papers were another editorial tactic to entertain and interest the individual in hopes of gaining massive readership. Although the canonical features of comics were established in the newspaper, the first independent comic book, which was comprised of reprints of earlier material in the papers, came about in the 1930s. With the creation of original characters and stories and, most notably, the introduction of Superman in 1938, the Golden Age of comics began. The works of comics developed into new genres, and became very popular especially during WWII where kids would dream of becoming the superheroes they read about. Comics became a reflection of society and history, and are now an integral part of
American culture.
For more information on Mililani’s own comic contest, visit https://www.mililanihs.org/.
Designer Camryn Okinaka
It’s human nature to be curious.
On Jan. 18, students got the opportunity to present their own self-directed, independent science projects at the Mililani High School Science Fair in the school’s cafeteria. The qualifying students then advanced to the Central District Fair which was held at Mililani Technological Park on Feb. 3. Some students participated out of interest, others participated because of classes such as AP Research or AP Biology, while the remainder competed in the Science Fair to gain the qualifications for the STEM Capstone diploma.
“I think so much of it is that once I have a question I need an answer. Sometimes you can’t find an answer so you need to make one,” said senior Lauren Gerber, one of the students to progress to the Hawai’i State Science Fair. “I think that the main reason I’m so interested in research is because I enjoy knowing things.”
The Mililani High School Science Fair had been strictly online due to COVID restrictions in years prior. This year saw the return of an in-person event with students using poster boards decorated with information to display their projects to the judges. For many, one of the biggest differences upon the return to in-person was the face-to-face communication it entailed. Students at this Science Fair would get 7 minutes to present their project with the rest of the allotted time being used for the judges to ask questions about the student’s process and research findings. In-person judging allowed for conversations to be held between both parties.
The Central District Fair held MHS students as well as students from Waialua High School and Moanalua High School. Unlike the School Fair, the District Fair operated differently as the students presented on presentation slides instead of poster boards. The judges, which consisted of community science professionals, then took the time to walk around and oversee the projects in smaller groups of 3-4. There was a second part to the District Fair judging in which the judges called back certain students to individually present in front of the whole panel of judges. One or two students typically receive the opportunity to directly advance to the international level, while the rest who place at district level then
move on to the State Fair against top contenders such as Kamehameha High School and Iolani High School.
“I think the key piece in science fair is not just the project and the experiment but the presentation,” said Science Fair judge Lani Arakaki. “To not just know your project so well to not just talk for days about it, but summing it up and making your point succinct and exact and precise for the judges to understand and to, you know, come up with questions and start a conversation.”
The Science Fair provided an opportunity for students to mimic what professionals in STEM do in an academic setting by allowing
them to choose their own topic and research question, provided that it fits safety regulations. Afterwards, they were to conduct their literature review by reading past studies related to their topic. From there, students designed their experiment and conducted research. Students then analyzed their data and created boards in order to present the research’s data while being able to discuss their project with a judge or peer, similar to a real-world setting. Holding Science Fair in-person also allowed students to see each other’s projects. Students could enjoy the social aspect of Science Fair by discussing with their peers about any shared experiences, as well as talk to each other about how their presentations went in between judging sessions.
Smile for the camera! A group photo with some of the Central District Science Fair participants, who now had to display their projects to the judges through a presentation instead of their boards. (Photo courtesey of John Sandvig)
Writer Arie Yamasaki
Photographer Ken Sakata Designer Averey Jim
“It’s not just judges’ feedback that means something, it’s peers as well. In the world of academia it really is about your peers,” said Science Fair coordinator and Science teacher John Sandvig. “It’s nice to have that social opportunity, you don’t get to do that very often and you get to talk to peers in an academic focused setting.”
Out of the 12 spots offered at the Central District Fair to progress to the State Fair, MHS students attained 10 of those placements. There are 11 students overall that will attend the Hawai’i State Science Fair, as one of the projects qualified was headed by a duo. The State Fair will be held at the Exhibition Hall at the Blaisdell Center on Apr. 6th. All the other school districts will participate in
the State Fair, including the private schools. However, there were 2 MHS students who received special honors to directly advance to the International Science and Engineering Fair because of their project’s quality. Both junior Cassidy Ibanez and junior Kenneth Yi had the chance to bypass the State Fair.
“What got me into research is that I realized I liked the process. I like starting off with an idea, reading up what other people are doing, gathering up that literature and building something,” said Ibanez. “Like you get to actually realize your ideas, and I think it’s really cool that you guide the process from start to finish.”
Ibanez’s project this year was a continuation from her freshman and sophomore year, where she won the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium at the state level last
year for her project. This year her project in the District Fair won her the opportunity to go directly to the international competition. Her focus this year was to build a combustion chamber to burn biomass and tune the system to adjust the amount of airflow that went in it. This year’s experience taught Ibanez how to deal with the technical aspects of her project such as engineering and coding principles. Ibanez had done competitions such as Robotics and other STEM events in the past, but Science Fair allowed her to work on an independent research project.
“To have a student after one year or two years on a project is admirable so I’m always impressed with the quality that the students bring to their projects,” said judge and Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design program manager Anna Viggiano. “It’s not just an assignment for a class, it’s something they’re really interested in and it’s long term.”
Yi took a different approach to
his project by experimenting with native Hawaiian plants in decontaminating the soil from heavy metals. His idea initially came from his interest in the Ala Wai Canal and wanting to clean its contaminated waters. The canal contains byproducts of industrialization such as heavy metals, pesticides, insecticides and all contaminants of canals and soil. Yi’s project seeks to answer the issue through environmentally healthy ways.
“I’ve just always liked science since I was a little kid. I’ve had an affinity for science. The concepts are tangible because it applies to the real world,” said Yi. “You can see how it affects the world unlike other subjects where you don’t see how it affects the world.”
In years to come, MHS hopes to raise more excitement for Science Fair and build it up to the level and attendance it was before the pandemic.
For those interested in participating next year, Mr. Sandvig can be reached in B112.
Sophomore Leesa Takara showcases her work on her project, “Determining Precision of the MuSCAT3 Instrument with Transit Photomery” which won an honorable mention at the school fair. Juniors Kaden Murakami and Kyli Murakami collaborate on their Science Fair project on hydroponics. Students were given the chance to work individually or in pairs.Swimming: a sport not only well-known to senior Shota Ferreira, who started at only nine years old, but also a sport that holds personal meaning to him. After being out of swimming for the past 3 years due to a shoulder injury, Ferreira made his return back to the Mililani High School Swim team in his junior year and ended his senior year off with winning four OIA titles and ranking at the top 3 for states as well. Ferreira also participated in all events offered in swimming, something not many swimmers have been seen doing.
“The thing that made me not want to give up was a lot of regrets because when I quit at the time, I
had no intention of joining back so I just felt like I kinda wasted my time up to that point trying so hard in a sport,” said Ferreira, “So I told myself ‘If I’m gonna quit swimming then I’m gonna quit it at a time where I’m very proud of myself and where I think I’ve accomplished enough to where I can confidently say that I’ve done a sport that I love and I’ve continued it.’”
Although Ferreira had no intention of coming back to swimming, he still gave a shot at joining club swimming and MHS’s swim team after some consideration and the support of his family and friends. Ferreria recalled his family and
Writer
Jaylenn Jay-Abe Designer Brynn Vincent
friends telling him, ‘We just want to see you back doing the sport you used to love.’
“My role in Shota’s recovery was just making sure that he doesn’t have overtrained injuries and giving him chances to get a break. Knowing the limitations of an athlete and not pushing him to where he breaks has been a nice delicate balance in the last year and a half of working with him because he really likes to work really hard, but he also needs to make sure that he doesn’t injure himself again to the point where his shoulder is gonna hurt for the rest of his life,” said MHS varsity swim coach Grant Bramer.
As a way to get back up into his swimming career, Ferreira started his training in the water for both the high school swim team, which was from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m., and club swimming, which was from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. In the water, Bramer started coaching Ferreira in butterfly, breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle, the four strokes swimmers compete with.
“My goal for OIA’s was I just went in with hopes of getting a certain time that I set for myself. It wasn’t really about placements but it was about achieving certain time standards I set for myself,” said Ferreira.
For training in the water, Bramer made sure to create a balanced approach for Ferreira’s strokes throughout the training. This was done by developing a balance-stroke that allowed Ferreira to stretch out his freestyle and backstrokes, but
also at the same time to not overtrain one stroke for another. For dry-land training, Bramer also implemented exercises in the weight training room that would ultimately help build Ferreira's shoulder muscles from the front to the back.
“I was able to offer advice to Shota when he was facing obstacles mainly because there’s been many times where I bring in examples of previous athletes that I’ve coached with similar injuries like a rotator cuff injury or a torn labrum injury… So having that knowledge and experience with other athletes have helped me say ‘hey this is what worked for them so it might work for you too,’” said Bramer.
At the Punahou Invitational meet, Ferreira chose to participate in every single event offered in swimming, which led him to being ranked top 10 in the state. In total, Ferreira ended up doing all 14 events for that meet in one day. Along with that, during the OIA championship, Ferreira participated in two individual events and two relays, all in which he was able to rank first in the OIA.
For more information on MHS’s swimming team, Coach Bramer can be contacted at grant.bramer@k12. hi.us. The team can also be found at Mililani’s athletics Instagram at @ mhstrojans.athletics.
Randen Tadaki Designer Brynn Vincent
For many high school students, the uncertainty of finding a path to pursue in life often poses a challenge. Tanner zane found his passion in editing and filming. Zane spends his time filming athletes at various school sporting events, but also specializes in filming at Oahu’s North Shore where he captures dirt biking and surfing events.
“I got into filming from dirt biking ‘cause I was taking clips of all the boys and I was like, ‘I need to make an edit’ and then I always kept making edits. Then I got a camera and then it just took off,” said Zane. “Right now since it’s winter, I mostly film on the North Shore of Oahu. I film surfing almost everyday.”
The versatility of different styles and subjects that Zane has acquired during his filming journey has led to his traction within the media industry. Some of the projects that Zane has worked on include filming the Billabong Pro Pipe surf contest as well as filming for Servco Chevrolet, where he is currently working on a commercial with surfer Seth Moniz.
Zane began creating films for his social media page in early 2021. Since then, he has gained over a thousand followers on his platforms, with each of his posts gaining hundreds of likes. However, despite all of Zane’s early success, he believes that initially beginning a career in film is the hardest part; that being noticed was the most challenging aspect of his journey to this point.
“The biggest challenge of
filming has to be getting your name out there. I feel that is the hardest thing because there are so many people filming and almost every surfer out there has a filmer already, so getting your name out there has to be the hardest thing,” said Zane.
Gaining recognition was not the only challenge for him, as Zane had also initially struggled with handheld filming. He acknowledges the challenges of handheld filming for beginner filmmakers. Zane, a swimmer for Mililani High School’s swim team, compares filming to the sport of swimming in which he endorses practice in order to become better.
“I don’t know, when I first started I sucked at it but I’ve gotten way better but for me it’s just practice, it’s just like swimming, you got to practice, practice, practice, it’s kind of the same thing just I film everyday so naturally I’ve gotten better at it,” said Zane.
Looking back, Zane attributes his success to his family while also giving credit to himself. Moving forward, Zane hopes to be able to continue filming even after high school.
“[My parents] really helped me but ultimately the person who helped me the most was me, I think I pushed myself to get where I was,” said Zane. “I see my future in the surf industry rather than like in movies and stuff. It’s kind of hard to get into that industry.”
Filming for many different people, Zane has made hundreds of films over the last year. He has shot not only surfing and dirt biking,
but various other sports such as football and karate. Zane hopes that his films can leave an impact on others with the reaction and excitement that his films bring, which is a key reason to his passion for filming.
“I do it because I truly love to see the reaction that comes when I give my clips to people. When I give them to people they become all happy and psyched out,” said Zane. “I think that a few of my films have impacted people in a positive way in that they bring happiness, or at least I sure hope so.”
There are many circumstances and skills needed to gain success in filming. For beginners, the filming industry is one that may seem
intimidating to get into. However, for aspiring filmmakers, as someone who has been in that position, Zane has a helpful message.
“Just pursue it, who cares what people think, like when you post on social media I learned to just express instead of impress,” said Zane. “That’s what you should think about.”
You can find Tanner Zane’s films and edits on his instagram page, @exploringwith_tanner and @_41productions.
Since H Building’s opening in 2011, visitors have been greeted with the sight of a plain, blank wall as they entered. However, on January 11, 2023, the wall was finally decorated with the newly unveiled mural that kick-started the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Mililani High School. After an opening oli, a hula performance and some remarks from principal Fred Murphy and the president of the Associated Students of Mililani High School senior Emma Olsson, the wall was officially revealed. Faculty and staff were able to attend, and Hawaiian food was provided for them after the ceremony.
“I think it gives me a greater appreciation of the tradition and the practices and the beliefs that we have here regarding education and the kind of experiences we provide,” said curriculum coordinator Jeni Miyahira. “And while we always think it’s important to do that, I think there’s a renewed sense of pride when you can see that it’s part of a 50 year history, that you’re following in the footsteps of people that have done this for a very long time.”
The concept for the wall was inspired by the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which has a similar display honoring Duke Kahanamoku. The mural was created with this design in mind as well as a focus on creating a timeline of MHS, honoring the years that had passed while welcoming the years that would come. From this
idea, discussion and planning for the project began as early as 2021.
“When they walk into H-Quad now and basically see that, and they can see the early years to the most recent. It gives them a kind of timeline of the past of Mililani High School,” said MHS weightlifting instructor James Millwood.
The pictures exhibted on the wall are organized by decades, with older years on the left side and the more recent years on the right. Accompanying the pictures are summaries of each time period that reflect on the ways MHS has changed throughout the years. Those who created the wall hoped people viewing it would feel a sense of pride for the school by seeing it progress through a course of 50 years. However, students were also able to gain a greater understanding of the history of the school as they reflect on its past.
“The most impressive part to me was just to see the campus itself, how it grew from basically two buildings. I think it was B and C. I forget, but just to see how it grew from such a small campus to what it is now and also the community, it kind of grew with the community itself as well,” said MHS Projects Coordinator Kara Adan. “So growing up here, because I went to school here too, I grew up in Mililani, it was almost like I was watching the community grow as we did the research and it’s kind of amazing to see how thousands of people
have gone through this school and grew up to do amazing things.”
The wall was designed by Adan, who worked on aspects such as picture placement, color choices and installation coordination, while the descriptions on the wall were written by Miyahira. Principal Murphy also had a hand in some of the decisions surrounding the wall by choosing some of the photos. Faculty like Millwood, Shellie Kato, Daniella Reyes and Shaina Kubota also contributed to the wall’s creation by providing additional photos or research to showcase MHS’s growth. Many pictures and stories on the wall came from other teachers, the library, yearbooks, alumni or the Trojan Times.
“If you’re not careful, school can be very transactional,” said Murphy. “And when you think of
the thousands of students, gosh, well over 30,000 — possibly even closer to 40,000 — well over 30,000 people have graduated from Mililani High School since it opened its doors in 1973. And I can’t even begin to guess what the number of faculty have been and staff that have come through our doors. But each person has a story. And this place is made up of people. And hopefully when you look at that wall, you get a sense of the heart and the fun that has occurred here over the years.”
Those who worked on the wall had to sort through and find photographs that captured the brightest moments of MHS throughout its 50 years. There was some difficulty in bringing together information from different sources since many of the pictures and stories came
from a variety of places. However, this allowed those working on the wall to learn more about the history of the school. From homecomings and pep rallies to bonfires and football games, those involved with the wall’s creation were able to see MHS evolve over time through the pictures and stories shared.
“I think the biggest thing that was heartwarming to see is that the support that has always come from faculty members here for our student activities, whether it was athletics or homecoming, it seems that there has always been that support here for our students,” said Miyahira. “The opportunities were always provided.”
The picture in the center of the wall was specifically chosen by principal Murphy. It displays the class officers of 2021 at their graduation, which was the last one MHS held at the Aloha stadium. Due to the emphasis placed on high school graduations in Hawaii, principal Murphy wanted to highlight this occasion by making it the focal point of the mural.
“It’s one of my favorite pictures, it just to me, it says everything about our graduation, and everybody’s jumping in some way, it’s just a very happy picture,” said Murphy. “It’s one of my favorite pictures. So we took that and made that the centerpiece. It just made sense.”
The wall is the start to the celebration of the 50th anniversary of MHS, which is planned to last throughout the entire year of 2023. Another event coordinated for this celebration is the inaugural Golden Gala Fundraiser, which will take place on Jul. 7 at the Hawaii Okinawa Center Legacy Ballroom. Entry tickets that are to be purchased by gala attendees will further aid in financially supporting a chosen student organization that has had
an impact on MHS. While the funds only go to one organization, the money ultimately goes back to the school as a whole, aiding students and faculty.
“The golden gala will definitely be something that stays,” said Miyahira. “And hopefully in conjunction with the wall, it’s something that reminds us of, you know, where we come from what we’re working towards, where we’re providing these kinds of opportunities.”
Along with updating MHS’s learning environment via art installation, other plans to continue modernizing the school include improving the gym’s entrance and interior spaces. The mural in H Building inspired principal Murphy to look back at the gym space as a possible place to improve. While it won’t be transformed in the same way the wall in H Building was, both were done with the goal of instilling a sense of pride. The creation of pride spaces around campus was important to principal Murphy, as he wanted students to feel proud of the things that were occurring around school.
“Pride is not just about being boastful. It is about you having that internal feeling that this is a place of quality, that your experiences were wonderful,” said Murphy. “And we want people outside of our school to be proud of our school, so providing these sort of spaces around campus helps people to touch in with that proud feeling that we have of our school, its accomplishments and the people who’ve been here.”
The mural is planned to remain up forever as a testament to the school’s 50th anniversary milestone. To find more information on other 50th celebrations, visit https://sites.google.com/ k12.hi.us/mhs50thanniversary/ home.
What a sight! Teachers and faculty alike became the first individuals to admire the wall in its entirety and up close, revealing both new and lived memories.
Along with principal Fred Murphy, ASMHS president Emma Olsson also gives her opening remarks about the mural. The ceremony lasted about fifteen minutes, with lunch that consisted of Hawaiian food meant to be served for attendees after.
To unveil the new edition to the Mililani High School Campus, an oli and a hula was performed by Kekoa Wong’s students to commemorate the unveiling of the wall.
Caroline Hubble
“MHS is where I solidified my love for music, science, and writing. I was inspired to become a music teacher by my experiences in band, under the baton of Mr. Nakasone.”
Edwin Tangunan
“Greatest memories of my youth and some lasting friendships. Football, editor and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Scholar Athlete of the Year, 1976-77.”
Mark (Randy) Kanter
“We were the first and only class when we started. We chose the Brown and Gold, the Trojans and the alma mater. We created a legacy for many others to proudly follow after
Brad Sakai
“A lot, met my wife there and a lot of life time friends that we still see today. Also, all of our kids are Mililani High School Alumni.”
Fay Kameyama
“My classmates are like ohana to me. Although we don’t see each other that often, it’s always a joy to get together and reminisce our times together.”
After 50 years, Mililani High School has formed at least a part of the lives of thousands of students, but it’s had a different meaning to everyone. As the school continues its 50th anniversary celebrations, alumni return to talk about what Mililani High represents to them, whether it be the school as a place where memories were made, or as a part of the com munity that served as a step ping stone to the rest of their lives.
Roy Ishii
“Good times, good friends and eating from lunch trucks.”
Amy Dean Caliboso
“MHS was a wonderful foundation for my life and career. Started dating my husband here and my first computer class was with Mr. Kawana.”
“What does Mililani High School mean to you?”
Designer Ken Sakata
“Great memories, life-long friends, teachers and staff who were very supportive and personable, good times with the band - especially marching band, fun times during pep rallies on the front lawn and school-wide activities/events.”
“This is tough to sum up in 1 or 2 sentences. A few ideas come to mind like… PRIDE, HOME, LEGACY and EXCELLENCE.”
“Teachers at Mililani challenged us to achieve academically as well as supported us as advisors and coaches in our co-curricular activities. Mililani encourages ‘School spirit, personal pride.’”
“MHS holds precious memories of my dear friends who I still treasure to this day. Now it’s especially meaningful because my chil dren attend the school as well.”
“I am a proud graduate of Mililani High School and proud to have my 3 children graduated/attend and participate in the Music Program as I did.”
“There’s a reason a lot of my friends and classmates from MHS still live in Mililani. It was a great place to grow up and Mililani was a great school.”
“School pride, fun class competitions, amazing teachers, lifelong friends, pineapple, bugs and red dirt! MHS taught me the best life lessons and motivated me to work with students to have the same experience and school pride.”
“My past and present, growing and nurturing myself and others, with decades of growing up, rearing others, and watching our community (school and outside community) grow and live together.”
“Home away from home.”
“MHS was always a positive experience for me. I have so many great memories of high school friends, teachers, and activities. Returning as a staff member feels like coming home again.”
“It is an extension of my childhood home and all the teachers, counselors, coaches and staff were my family. The students and their families were like my relatives. Even though I don’t see or talk to a lot of the people I went to school with no matter what age if we identify that we are ‘from Mililani,’ it creates a bond.”
Robert
“High school motivated me to work hard in college and find a job as soon as I could. I still communicate with the some of same people I grew up with since 1983.”
“No matter how far we all travel when someone says they grad from Mililani we are instant friends. Classmates have kept in touch over the years and the connection is always there.”
“MHS means family, not only with our graduating class, but other classes and staff too.”
Kevin Nakaoka
Kimo Villarimo
Joyce (Miyamoto) Inouye
Kristi Lee Higuchi-Delos Santos
Melinda Scaggd
Richard Suematsu
Sheryl Diamond-Yamashita
Diann Lim
Tracy Doleski
Melissa Padilla
Heather Nakahara
Stephanie Grande-Misaki “Mililani means home.”
Yokoyama
Carin Nakashima
Elizabeth Rapalee
Darin Kimoto
“MHS is home. It is where I spent most of the years that shaped me and challenged me.”
Ken Kawachi
“MHS provided me the foundation for my professional growth & development. I take pride in being a MHS graduate & from Hawaii.”
Kehau Wray
“Mililani High School means
‘home’ to me. It is located in the community I have had the pleasure and honor to live in my
Wade Yamasaki
“Mililani High School reminds me of my most memorable experiences and gives me so much pride of where I’m from.”
Brendan Ogasawara
“A place which has provided me lifelong friendship with classmates, teachers and coaches I have met when I attended school. Telling others I’m a proud alumni of Mililani High.”
Michael Petersen
“For me, MHS has created a great foundation to my life, guiding me to where I am today. My lifelong friendships created at MHS have the greatest meaning to me.”
Kim Vincent
“Mililani High School represents the pride I feel as a lifelong member of the community I continue to call home.”
Melvin Oliveros
“MHS has always been full of great stories and personalities. I reflect upon my current goals and past successes as well as the accomplishments of my peers to drive me on a daily basis. ”
Lance Machida
“A place of a lot of good memories, lots of friendships made and a school I’m proud to have graduated from.”
Kyle Aoki
“Great times with great people. There’s no other school or community that I’d rather have been a part of.”
Duke Tomimoto
“It was where my sister and I literally grew up, in the 80’s and 90’s. I’ve been around the athletic department and faculty since before I could walk. Those associated the faculty, staff, and players treated me like family and they still do. My sister and I called them uncle and aunty and they truly were. It was unreal cool.”
Kristi Molina
“It’s like that childhood tree, where you have so many memories and has been a part of your life for so long.”
Reid Nonaka
“MHS was my home away from home. There were adults here on campus that I knew I could turn to.”
Jamie Ludwig
I am thankful for this school/ community for allowing me to be a part of this TROJAN family.”
Rachel (Deveraturda) Cooksey
“A school that was filled with diverse students, surrounding a supportive family approach, that was tight knit within our community. ”
Danielle Bass
“Mililani High School means community leadership to me, as the center point for our town, the school helped us grow, strengthen relationships with friends and neighbors, and brings people together.”
While the school itself continues to educate students each year, the students that leave the school have taken their own paths in life, with some returning to the school and community, others never leaving, and furthermore, those who choose to go out into the world. Whether they return or not, Mililani High remains a uniting factor between alumni, but for the returning alumni there will be a celebration for them this year with the 50th anniversary gala in July, open to all past students of MHS. Despite the evolution MHS has undergone to transform into what its become today, the spirit of Mililani’s Trojans has remained ever-present amidst a sea of changes. The symbolism of the Trojan mascot is that of a warrior, one that the school strives to embody. For many, MHS created an idea of home, a place of transformation and the bonds forged from lasting memories. It is the hope and wish of many alumni that the same legacy continues on for years to come.
John Sandvig
“Excellence. Tradition. Pride.”
Jaydonn Arakawa
Westin Saito
“It was a great place to cultivate my education and school spirit. My time at MHS has strived me to work with Trojans even after my graduation as an educator.”
Roann Gatdula
“MHS means the world to me. It’s a place where you write your first page into finding who you really are and who you want to be.”
Geneva Esguerra
“No matter where I go, Mililani will always feel like home to me. It’s a place that holds a lot of good memories and where I get to create even more amazing ones day after day.”
Hideki Aoki
“Mililani High School made me who I am today and I am thankful for that.”
Rylee Maldonado
“MHS is my alumni and I had great memories and good academic exposures during my time there. My graphics teachers Mr. Yoshida and Mr. Fake were the best and I enjoyed doing SkillsUSA competitions with their help ”
“Mililani High School taught me the value of creating meaningful, long lasting relationships. As a teacher at MHS, I am able to impact students the same way my teachers did for me.”
Ingrid Kieffer
“It’s a place where I was able to learn how to respect Indigenous peoples & the land. It was also a place where I got to experience all different types of people and learned how to respect others no matter our differences.”
Akoni Pasoquen-Castillo
“Mililani School means a lot to me. It’s a place that I call home, a place where I have learned and grew into the person I am today. It’s a place of warmth filled with memories and experiences.”
Christopher Gouveia
“Mililani High School to me means integrity, boldness, strength, and opportunity.”
Samantha Ramiscal
“MHS is a place to comeback and relive memories and legacies. Time is continuously advancing but it stands still for our Trojan Nation to be remind of where all of our accomplishments started from.”
Tanner Aoki
“Mililani High School is a place where you can learn but still have fun with your boys.”
By itself, 50 doesn’t mean anything significant; it’s a number, a way to measure a certain quantity of something. However, 50 years of education, opportunities and memories is something that’s a testament to the quality of an institution, and is a milestone Mililani High School will reach this year. MHS, which first opened its doors in 1973, not only provides high schoolers with a quality education, but continues to welcome its alumni back to the campus as faculty and staff. In celebration of Mililani High School’s 50th anniversary, the Trojan Times reached out to alumni and students to learn more about this institution.
Two aspects that permeate throughout the school are its alma mater and mascot. Contrary to its current state, MHS wasn’t always the Home of the Trojans. Initially, the school had to choose between being brown and gold Trojans or silver and black lions. They chose brown and gold due to the fact that black and silver were thought to be too hot for football players to wear.
The alma mater was created by Teresa Kenney for an extra credit assignment. First assigned by Mrs. Fukuda for an English class, Kenney wrote it for an ongoing contest. The lines, “from the mountains to the sea” was a reference to the view from Mililani, as she could see the ocean from her classroom.
“I think now that I’m older, I
definitely appreciate (it)…when I was in high school, I didn’t care where our alma mater came from, it just was there, right? But now … I learned about the Alma Mater and the selection of our mascot and our school colors and some of those things,” said class of 1990 graduate Stephanie Grande-Misaki. Grande-Misaki is now Head of the Alumni Association and English Department Head. “...Being part of the Alumni Association, I’m able to get feedback from others…like people have been sharing stories and things that they remember. And so some of those stories are similar to what we have, what I’ve experienced, but then some are totally different. And it’s like, wow, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that. Or the things that are memorable to one person may be insignificant to another, but then it makes you see things in a new perspective and a new light, which as a teacher, then, makes me think about every interaction that you have, no matter how small, no matter how big; it can make an impact on someone else.”
Opening in 1973, Mililani High School began as a small school with little buildings. B Building and the locker room were some of the first buildings on campus, as the school didn’t have an admin building or cafeteria at first. In fact, the office had been located downstairs in B building. Students had to get their lunch from Wheeler Intermediate, which was where many of the Mil-
ilani students previously attended. As other buildings such as C building were constructed, teachers and faculty at MHS got the chance to provide contributions to the blueprints and layouts of their own classrooms. Slowly, the school began expanding. Buildings such as the cafeteria, admin building, library and gym were added, with H Building being the newest edition thus far. Mililani itself got larger as well with the addition of the town center and Mililani Mauka.
“I wouldn’t change anything for my high school time,” said Weightlifting teacher and class of 1982 graduate, James Millwood.. “I think anything that we wanted, we were offered it and we have good guidance from certain teachers that still are around.”
The school went through curriculum changes along with physical changes as the years went by too. Along with more variety of skill levels inside a particular class, the number of courses offered increased. For example, the science department used to be limited to
basic subjects like physical science, chemistry and physics. In contrast to today, MHS currently has classes in marine science, sustainability and an agriculture program, showing how this one particular department has expanded. The amount of AP classes has also dramatically increased; students now have access to many classes focusing not only on the four core subjects, but also other ones such as world languages or music, when previously only English and Calculus classes were offered.
“I feel like our students have a lot of pride. And they have a commitment to education,” said Grande-Misaki. “I feel like many of the students that I teach will put academics at the forefront versus some of the other schools I’ve worked at, you know, they’re looking more in social or athletics, but their focus I think is a little bit different than here, where I see a lot more students putting that academic first. And then students are still involved, even though they’re heavily involved with academics;
Writer Isabella Makino Arie Yamasaki Designer Shelby Seu (Photo courtesy of James Millwood)they seek opportunities to do other things like a lot of extracurricular activities.”
The clubs and institutions at MHS also increased. Previously, MHS only had many traditional clubs such as Interact Club and National Honor Society. Now, MHS allows students to form their own clubs if they have an advisor and a charter. Clubs like the Good Dogs Club and Feminist Club, ones that recently formed in the past few years, were organizations that former students of MHS didn’t have access to.
Mililani High School has created a special place for many alumni as they return to the community as teachers or as parents of present and future Trojans. The atmosphere of MHS has cultivated a sense of belonging for many of the past and present students. Lifelong bonds were formed at Mililani
High School for many graduating alumni who still make a conscious effort to keep in touch with their graduating class. Lasting memories were created on MHS’ campus from pep rallies on the lawn outside of B building to bonfires on the beach.
“I was very fortunate as I look back at my time. The guys I played with were all people that I still, maybe not as well as others, I try to keep up with. I follow along with how their lives progress,” said class of 1991 graduate Ken Kawachi. “I look back fondly at those times because I think it set the foundation for why I still love the sport. I’m fortunate to continue to work in it. Because of the people I was around, it made it fun, it made me want to be a part of it.”
Mililani had been a plantation neighborhood beforehand, leading to many memories of the campus being covered in red dirt. In the 1980s through to the 90s, students would normally find themselves
hanging out by the front lawn near B Building or the tunnel area near Recreation Center 1. By the bridge were also amenities and events offered such as manapua trucks and shave ice trucks. With a lack of mainstream internet use, MHS students found their time filled with driving around with their friends and going to the movies. Students also spent their time going to the beach or the mall with their friends. Conversations were often filled with talk on what the waves on Waimea Bay were like that day or the next time they could come over to each other’s house.
In the 80s, the Mililani Town Center hadn’t been built yet and was fully taken up by pineapple fields. After school, students would find themselves going across to the pineapple fields and picking pineapples. They would then ice them in the reservoir stream, wait until they get cold and then eat them. Mililani, being a newly
developed neighborhood, was considered a country town by many. The only prominent landmark in the Mililani community had been Kamehameha highway. For a while, people had to go to Wahiwa in order to get pizza due to the lack of businesses. However, for many, the countryside-like feel was comforting as it allowed the opportunity to get to know everyone in their community.
“But I think that country feel –everybody knew everybody,” said Millwood. “Not very many people on the road. It was a slower, slower time, much more relaxed time.”
Another big part of Mililani High School life was the highlight of sports and athletics as it had not always been a D1 school. Having to rival other schools that have been around for more years, MHS had to work in order to obtain their spot as leader in athletics. In the
(Photo courtesy of James Millwood)70s and 80s, the largest rivals for Mililani students had been those at Leilehua High School, since Wahiawa was the closest town to Mililani. In 1980, MHS’ football team finally beat them.Their coach, Hugh Yoshida, even came into MHS’ locker rooms to congratulate the 1980 football team. Memories were formed around the advent of coming together for pep rallies on the school’s lawn. Students would line up in their classes and pound on large cans of shoyu as if they were drums. They would also take empty cans, put rocks in them and shake them as noisemakers.
“Mililani High School always emphasized academics but never sacrificed the extra-curricular activities such as athletics, music,” said former Mililani Science teacher, June Asato. “They offered all sorts of different things. They were a magnet school for science, drama, and we always enjoyed working –opportunities were always offered for every student.”
The lawn had also held what
was considered the first graduation at MHS with the class of 1977. From that point on, graduation ceremonies were held at the John Kauinana Stadium on campus and soon it moved to Aloha Stadium. Graduation ceremonies are now currently held at the Stan Sheriff Center. The growth in technology has also altered the way in which classrooms operate, with a heavier usage of computers and chromebooks, with a chromebook cart in almost every classroom. Prior, classes had to rent out chromebook carts from the library where there were only 6 chromebook carts for the entire school. Overall, many older residents of Mililani agree that life has become not just wired but more fast-paced from the origins of Mililani’s country history.
“As the school grew, Mililani became a community because the whole community had something to rally around,” said Asato. “I’ve lived in the school since 1971 and the school opened in ‘73 and so in between ‘71 and ‘73, there was
nothing to rally around. Now, everyone takes pride in the high school, takes pride in a lot of the things that Mililani has produced over the years.”
Many Mililani alumni have returned or stayed in the area, sending their children and grandchildren to MHS, and participating in MHS life through events such as booster fairs and athletic games. Just living in Mililani provided an opportunity to gather around the high school with events like the carnival where both Mililani small businesses, Mililani families and MHS students were able to come together to get involved. There have been bonds deeply rooted within MHS’ community whether it be the annual reunions held for graduates, trips taken with old classmates, lasting friendships amongst staff, memories that students hold about their past teachers and more.
“There was a lot of sacrifice, dedication, commitment from people from our past that got us to this point where we are now,” said Mill-
wood. “And, we need to recognize those people and remember those people because everything that we are enjoying now came from a lot of hard work and dedication… so definitely to look back and honor those people.”
Mililani High School, along with the community it’s a part of, continues to evolve and change over the years. For the 50th celebration of the school, MHS will welcome back alumni to campus on Sept. 5, 2023. This return will include an assembly on the front lawn by B building and a campus tour. Additionally, MHS is also doing interviews on its YouTube channel, found at https://www.youtube. com/@MililaniHighTV, which goes over the history of the school and stories from its alumni. For more information about the 50th celebrations, visit https://sites. google.com/k12.hi.us/mhs50thanniversary/home.
Mililani High School is home to hundreds of Trojans. Though their legacy has lived through the welcomed additions to the student body, it also continued through the work of their alumni. A majority of the MHS faculty were once in the same shoes and, in some classes, classrooms as their students. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Grande-Misaki).
(Photo courtesy of James Millwood and Stephanie Grande-Misaki).
With
celebrating 50 years of serving its community and youth, the year 2023 becomes a time for the school and its students to reflect upon their memories within its walls. While the school’s records of enrollment, classes, achievements and photos are ways that the community may be able to understand the school’s history in its entirety, certain memories lie in its students, specifically student-run organizations like the Trojan Times, which has been serving alongside MHS since 1974.
“It’s the voice of the students,” said class of 2009 graduate Caitlin Lum, who was also the 2008 - 2009 editor in chief. “And so, the school and the community kind of gets a snapshot of that time like the events that were happening and the issues that were coming up and interests of the students, and it’s being expressed by the students.”
Throughout its issues, a series of 8 per academic school year, the Times has been highlighting achievements, voices, and the events that define the Trojan Nation. The publication also allows its community and school to view MHS through the eyes of those that experience the environment and opportunities of the school every day.
With its 49 years of service, the Times has undergone many changes as it adapted to the ever changing Mililani community. For instance, the Trojan Times was a newspaper until the period between 2017 and 2021, where it changed into a magazine while rebranding as the Mililani
Times. The newspaper also experimented with its means of delivery by the implementation of their website, YouTube channel and social media account on Instagram.
“It feels like the Trojan Times experimented with a lot of new ideas the years I was on staff. I think that was when we started the Trojan Times website and began publishing our articles online simultaneously with the hard copy deliveries,” said class of 2010 graduate Cyrus Takashi, who is currently in his third year at the Indiana University School of Medicine and took on the role of the 2009 - 2010 assistant editor. “Back then we didn’t have a pre-built website template. It was all editing little tables and style sheets on Adobe Dreamweaver. We also played around with trying to film video content for big events but a lot of that was just messing around with the new video camera we got.”
Simultaneously, the growing popularity of the technology also allowed for the process of creation and distribution to become easier as well. With the original methods to produce a paper being more hands on, the publication has shifted into utilizing more modernized techniques. The Trojan Times currently mass produces its issues via Hawaii Hochi, a locally based Japanese publication and printing service that has been serving the Japanese community since 1912, yet for the earlier generations they did not have access to such luxury.
“Believe it or not, we used to print our stories and cut them. And we use something called wax. And we would actually have these physical layouts that we would have to cut
and wax,” said MHS’s safety and security officer Kalani Takase, who is also a sports reporter for scoringlive.com, and was one of the sports writers for the Times. “That’s why we look back at some of the old Trojan times, you’ll notice the column sometimes might be a little bit crooked, or that and we would sometimes have to cut, like, into the sentences, you know, to make it fit on the next slide and all that it was, but by the end of my senior year, we’re starting to transition to digital digital designs.”
For every issue, the staff would utilize a period of 3 - 4 weeks to gather all materials necessary to produce a successful paper. Writers would first conduct meetings with a designated teacher or administrator to collect information about events or individuals they deemed to be “newsworthy.” Then, editors filtered through these suggestions to create the layout of stories for the issue. With the final line up, designers, writers and photographers received their assignments to complete for the following 1 - 2 weeks. Designers were provided stories that they had to prepare designs for, photographers needed to attend
the event given or set up in-house photoshoots with their groups or individuals and writers were required to schedule, conduct and transcribe interviews to produce their story assignments by the set deadline. For the most part, the publications staff had access to numerous forms of technology like Google Docs, design softwares via Adobe, and digital cameras. However, for earlier years of the Times, especially Takase’s years, their technology was limited with physical recorders that needed to be purchased separately and the first generation Macs.
“It’s like, the colorful back and stuff was huge. And remember that we had names for each one. But at the time, they were like state of the art,” said Takase.
The final week of an issue’s production is known as layout week. Writers would have already taken their stories through the drafting process, which consists of three reviews done by the editors; designers would have prepared some of their design templates and photographers would have submitted and edited the photos of individuals, sports or school-hosted events. Once the foundational resources were solidified,
The 2010 - 2011 Trojan Times staff poses for the yearbook. No matter what year, the staff have always carried with them the pride, reputation and legacy of the Times.
designers would begin morphing all these aspects into one page that delivered the stories in a visually-appealing way. As designers began to finalize their pages, the staff would aid in the review process of these pages, using a printed copy and red pen to make any corrections. Designers would make the necessary changes the staff suggested and would then be able to submit the finalized page when their printed drafts came back ‘clean’ or without red markings. After the long hours of constant revisions, experimentation and communication, the publication would then be given the opportunity to upload and submit their entire newspaper layout for mass production.
However, with every layout week, the team had to be ready to brave the inevitable waves of challenges that accompanied it. For instance, there were times where proofing became difficult due the conflicting schedule of their diverse staff. Class of 2020 graduate Chloe Kitsu, who is currently studying at University of Hawaii West Oahu and assumed the role of the 2019 - 2020 editor in chief, expressed that due to the different students that were on the staff, such as athletes, thespians and musicians, staff members would have to leave during after school hours to attend clubs, which eventually lead to the absence of a portion of the team. Also, as the Times began to expand its reach to the community, it too brought on its own set of problems that were rather unique and interesting.
“We did a story on how like Airbnbs in Mililani, and apparently they weren’t legal. We got complaints, like, Principal Murphy got complaints about that story, because it went out in the community issue,” said Kitsu. “And I remember I had to actually call like, I don’t think like the tourism, tourism people. And I was like ‘is it legal to have Airbnbs in Hawaii’ and the person’s like ‘yeah, it is, as long as they have the right paperwork.’ So like, we always had to issue an apology for that. But it turned out to be all cool, you know, so it’s like certain things are good.”
For a majority of the time, the publication had only distributed the issues to individuals within MHS. However, especially when the pandemic arose, the Times began to expand its audience towards the community, meaning it reached more readers. For Lum, there was something about struggling together that brought her closer to the staff around her, while for Kitsu, it was the ability to take in the view of the staff as a whole that aided in the construction of their friendship.
“Especially when we would have to distribute it to different people’s mailboxes, like seeing it go from just an idea on a whiteboard to an actual physical copy was something that always made me feel proud of not only myself, but like my staff as a whole,” said Kitsu. “And I think that’s one of my favorite things is that it was always bigger than just myself. That’s how I always saw it. It was never just one person writing but it was a collective group of people working to make one end goal all the time. And I think that’s something so unique.”
As staff members left, they took along with them the skills they’ve learned that could be used in future endeavors. For instance, Takashi was able to utilize the skills gained in softwares to write annual newsletters for the Indiana MD/PhD program, while Lum was able to utilize their refined skills in reading comprehension and writing towards accounting. However, rather than work ethics, some were able to take away the unique moments of opportunity they’ve gained with their time on the publication staff. For Takase, it was the ability to form a bond with John Kauinana, who was described as the not only a pioneer of student athletics at MHS, but of the school as a whole. Takase was also able to further excel himself into his future career as a sports reporter under the Honolulu Advertisers when he entered in the ‘Sports Writer for a Day’ competition run under the Honolulu Advertiser and sponsored by the NFL during the
Christopher Sato led the Trojan Times before retiring in 2022. He currently teaches Honors English 10 and Journalistic Writing and Publishing. He also is the advisor for the Good Dogs Club.
Hawaii Pro Bowl. It was his ability to become a finalist that introduced him and formed a connection to his current advisor, Curtis Murayama, who had saved his contact since Takase was 15 years old. As for Kitsu, it allowed her to connect with the student body around her, as it revealed the accomplishments and passions of her peers around her that she may not have realized before. Her time with the Mililani Times also pushed her to take on chances and gain the confidence needed to obtain leadership positions.
Whether it was simply eating together at the beginning of layout week to the countless after school hangouts, the Times was filled with many traditions that brought the staff closer together. For Lum, it was the memories of parenting — when an experienced staff member mentored a new one — that remained in their minds long after her years at the publication. For Kitsu, she loved the stress-relieving activities of hanging dinosaur coloring pages from the ceiling of the classroom and holding potlucks with both current and past staff. While for Takashi, it was the video games and movies he’d engage in with his fellow staff members before fulfilling their duties at homecoming. Faye Tanaka and Christopher Sato, previous advisors of the Trojan
Times, are cherished fondly by their staffers as each one expresses their gratitude for all that they’ve done as advisors. Takase expressed their appreciation for Tanaka for being the figure of support that propelled them so far into their career as a sports reporter both during and after their time with the Trojan Times. As for Lum, Takashi and Kitsu, they cherish their time under Sato, as he created a safe space for his staff members to connect with each other while doing simple mental check-ups and bringing food for his staffers to make sure they were supported.
“Like all families, we’re not all best friends,” said Kitsu. “You know, there are times when things got tense, you know, people get stressed and you don’t always see eye to eye, but that’s not what I think — that is part of a family environment where it’s like, it’s okay to, like, have disagreements, but you come together when we all need each other.”
To view previous issues and the hard work of the past MHS publication staff, please visit trojantimes.org and click on the archive tab.
Mililani High School recently participated in the 60th Annual Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art Awards where they competed against other Hawaii students regionally. The students started on September 1 and worked through December 15. All Hawai’i students from grades 7-12 (ages 13+) were eligible for the event and over 2,000 entries were submitted. The 2023 exhibit, displaying orig-
inal award-winning artwork from the competition, recently opened on March 11 at the Hawaii State Art Museum (HiSAM) and will continue to stay open until May 6, 2023.
“I consider the Scholastic Art show a great fine arts competition, it’s one of the very few [competitions] when it comes to pure fine art,” said MHS Art teacher Ruth Ravina-Koethe. “What I think is wonderful [about the
competition] is it shows the diversity of student work across the state. It’s really nice to see what other teachers may be teaching or promoting in their classes.”
Students from various schools in Hawaii participated and submitted their artwork through various mediums ranging from photography, digital art, drawings, glassblowing, illustrations and other forms of art. Once the competition was finished, all entries were considered for Gold Key, Silver Key, Honorable Mention, American Voices Nominee, and American Visions Nominee awards. These awards were presented to students along with celebration ceremonies and exhibitions in each region. Entries were selected for awards by some of the foremost leaders in the visual and literary arts, with many Scholastic Awards alumni having lent their expertise as jurors.
“I think [The Scholastic Art Awards] is good for students who are trying to pursue art for their career,” said junior Sara Tanioka, who received a Gold Key for
her watercolor painting, “The Bus Stop”. “It can benefit them greatly and can increase their confidence”.
Mililani High School was represented by 59 honorable mentions recipients this year, with 13 Silver Key recipients and 8 Gold Key recipients. On Jan. 26, 2023, the Hawaii regional awards were announced. Teachers were notified by email of which works were selected for the regional exhibition at the Hawaii State Art Museum and students were notified in their Scholastic Student Art Awards accounts.
“I was pretty surprised,” said Tanioka. “Other people worked really hard on theirs and had deeper meaning, so [I was] surprised when I got nominated.”
The 60th Annual Hawaii Regional Art Awards presented many students with a challenge. Finding inspiration from unusual occurrences and thinking outside the box made the event difficult for the artists who were hoping to stand out. Senior Isabel Barcial, who won the Gold Key
award for her pastel painting “Fruit Bowl,” explained that her painting was inspired from a New Year picture for a family event, and wanting to challenge herself because of her other assignments from other classes.
Gold Keys and Silver Keys weren’t the only awards given out to students, as opportunities were presented as well. The Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art Awards give students a chance to showcase their work at nationals if they receive a Gold Key for art they’ve produced. Gold Key entries are automatically considered for national awards, including Gold Medal, Silver Medal with Distinction, Silver Medal, and scholarship awards.
“I plan on getting into art school in the future,” said Barcial. “Originally I wasn’t planning on doing all that work, but it caressed into something a lot more than that.”
Scholastic Awards winners are
celebrated via ceremonies, exhibitions, and publications. National Medalists are eligible for scholarships of up to $10,000 and submissions are judged by luminaries in the visual and literary arts.
Since 1923, the Scholastic Awards have sparked the creative growth of many teens and continue to do so till this day. The importance of this event still remains and is relevant to the younger generation today, as teachers hope to inspire young artists.
“I wanted to show the students that their art is valued and what
we [represent] in photography. For them to be able to be recognized for that hard work is fun,” said MHS Art teacher Britney Kam. “[Students getting] recognized for their art is a really nice feeling”.
The importance of the Scholastic Art Awards also stems from wanting to uplift students to create the very best work that they can. Competing in the Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art Awards is an opportunity for students to get recognized for their artwork and view other artists’ performances in their community.
“As a teacher, I really like the variety of all the artwork and the various projects that are being done,” said Koethe. “For the individual student to have that acknowledgement that their hard
work and everything they’ve put into learning art is being accepted into the Scholastic Art show, and completing very difficult work [is great]”.
The 60th Annual Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art Awards is a great opportunity for young artists to showcase and be recognized for their talents across the islands. It is a chance for students to express themselves creatively, while also representing their community. For more details on The 60th Annual Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art Awards, contact Ms. Ravina-Koethe at ruth. ravina-koethe@k12.hi.us or visit sfca.hawaii.gov. Student artwork can be seen at HiSAM until May 6, 2023.
different experiences that will help prepare them for the future. Aside from the work experience they get in the classroom, students also get to understand the workings behind being an educator and the challenges that come with it.
Aunique program at Mililani High School is sending students back to the classroom, but as a different kind of participant. The Teaching as a Profession and Foundations of Education courses at MHS give students the opportunity to visit classes at Waena Elementary, Rainbow Preschool, and various classes at Mililani High School to take part in hands-on experiences working with students of various grade levels. Started in the second semester, students go once a week to learn about teaching, the workings behind the classroom, and to experience teaching as a career in the future.
“I wish I had this experience… being able to observe as a high school student, I might’ve changed my decision; instead of going into high school, I might’ve gone into elementary or I might’ve gone into something else like counseling. Being able to see the different positions and opportunities within the education curriculum, I think is valuable so that you know what you want,” said Education Pathway teacher Marcie Sado.
This opportunity has been available for students in past years, but this year is the first year that it has expanded to both preschool and other high school classes. At the school, they are placed in an elementary class and work as assistants to the respective teachers. They watch what the teachers do, and sometimes work with the students
themselves at the teacher’s request. Some just shadow the teacher and help with assistant tasks, while others have more hands-on experience, like reading stories and helping students with math problems.
“I think going to Waena is a really, really good opportunity… you get to really see what it’s like, you get to be in the classroom, you get to be present in a real classroom, and I think that’s so much more beneficial than reading something or watching a video because you don’t get the same experience… it’s really just a great experience that I don’t think a lot of other education programs may have,” said junior Tiffany Horimoto.
Along with the positive learning experience, students also get to learn about the challenges that come with teaching. Students got
to learn about student discipline and how to engage their students to keep them motivated. On top of that, they also keep the classroom environment safe and maintain an open mindset. Learning about the challenges in the classroom was not the only obstacle the students had to face. Many students felt as if they were in an unfamiliar place, and had to adjust to feeling more comfortable in the classroom.
“Teaching isn’t a very high paid profession, and it’s not a very popular profession, they’re very understaffed when it comes to teachers, and I’m just really grateful that they’re willing to take us students with open arms, and be honest with us when it comes to the world of teaching,” said Horimoto.
The event is important in that it allows students to have many
“Having opportunities like going to Waena, and getting this hands-on experience, I think it’s really special because now I’m just more prepared for what I’m gonna do in the future, and I think it gives me a good idea of what this career will be like,” said Horimoto. “I’m really grateful I have been in the classroom and I have been able to realize that I do want to do this.”
The teacher shortage in Hawaii rose to new highs during the Covid-19 pandemic. With this experience and other opportunities planned for the near future, Sado and fellow teacher Katie Ling hope to expand the Education Pathway course and influence others to pursue teaching, or other education based careers, later in life. Plans to expand the reach of the Education Pathway and create opportunities for the students in the program are currently in the works.
“We need more teachers, because we want teachers to come back. We’re lacking teachers, and even in substitutes and all areas, so for them to come back to teach, and that’s what we want, we want them, the MHS students, to come back to Hawaii, hopefully to Oahu, and come back to teach, even at our school,” said Sado.
For more information about the education pathway classes or the event in general, Sado can be contacted at Marcie.Waki@k12.hi.us or at N103?, and Ling can be reached at Shiuyee.Ling@k12.hi.us.
Writer Macallister Graves Designer Dannika Pila Writer Shelby Seuwhen we did not have one,” said Lee. “So they helped our school develop the way it is now throughout the years and the Lions Club has also helped the Leo Club seniors with scholarship and financial opportunities and just overall with our community they help a lot with how we’ve been running the way we’ve been running so far.”
Outside of the high school, the Lions Club aids others in the form of donating eyeglasses and hearing aids to people who can’t afford them. The profits from the
breakfast help fund projects like aforementioned. The Lions’ Club Breakfast financially supports the club’s donation drives for the community,which means that people who have purchased tickets to the breakfast have already started to give back to the community.
“The main reason for it is to give back to the community as this is a community service club, so the focus is to give back to the people and this breakfast goes back to the community in the form of eye tests for the elementary school and eyeglass and hearing donation boxes.” said Keomalu.
For many, The Lions Club Breakfast is a fun event where breakfast is served; however, for members of the Leo Club, the breakfast provides a way to continue to support an organization that has been giving back to not only the community, but Mililani High School for many years. Held on Mar. 12 from 6 to 11 a.m, students who have purchased tickets to the breakfast are invited to enjoy food served by MHS’s Leo Club.
“I went to the one in freshman year. Most of the Leos just serve and prepare food but the most important job is selling the tickets. The Lions Club gives us the tickets and you have a minimum of 10 tickets and you go around your community and sell tickets to the breakfast to other people. All those people come back to the cafeteria and the Leo Club serves breakfast. It’s a good opportunity,” said Leo
Club Vice President Elena Keomalu.
The Lions Club has been known to go beyond sponsoring projects for the MHS Leo Club as they have been serving MHS since it first opened its doors in 1973. One of their most significant contributions to the school was the creation of the New Lanai, giving students an additional lanai to sit under. Furthermore, the Lions Club has also opened many new doors in terms of future opportunities for a seniors chance scholarship aid. Yet, even though these opportunities seem to be driven towards improving the school environment, Leo Club Treasurer Alanna Lee believes that the impact from this breakfast transcends the boundaries of MHS and into the community.
“The Lions Club has been with the school for a long time which helps with the breakfast especially because they built the new lanai
Leos roll out a cart of breakfast as they get made. In previous years, the Leos set up a “drive through” in the MHS parking lot to deliver meals. People were able to pick up their breakfast while in their cars.
“They collect new or used eyeglasses and donation boxes and hearing aids which go to people who are less fortunate and cannot afford the medical coverage for either having glasses or hearing aids so it’s very important to the community as it all circles back.”
Currently, the Leo Club has sold over $3900 worth of tickets for the breakfast, providing hope to many of its participants, especially Keomalu, for a large turnout. For more info on Lions Club breakfast, one can contact the Leo Club advisor Mr. Ogi, Curtis. ogi@k12.hi.us.
Writer Randen Tadaki Designer Dannika Pila
Human history has seen countless unique cultures rise to prominence and leave their mark on the world. On Feb. 22, students and staff of Mililani High School gathered on campus to educate one another on various cultures, with some perhaps less typically recognized than others. This event known as the Culture Fair allowed both students and teachers alike to create booths and share facts and knowledge about different cultures in the BC lawn area, along with multiple food trucks present nearby and performances carried out.
“So I hope that the students who come to all the booths enjoy their time and they learn something new,” said senior Kamryn Lapinid, the Japanese National Honor Society president and the the Culture Fair supervisor. “As a club, I believe that the purpose of Culture Fair aligns with the purpose of JNHS so this event is really important to us.”
JNHS was only one of the clubs hosting a booth, with the Polynesian, Spanish, Chinese and Model UN clubs also hosting booths of their own. Each booth had information presented about their culture, as well as games and activities to play. The JNHS booth, for example, featured multiple sections revolving around both education and entertainment. In one section, JNHS members would teach students how to write their names in Japanese on bookmarkers. In another section students could play the game fukuwarai, a Japanese equivalent to the game, ‘pin the tail on the donkey.’ The club also gave out Japanese dishes such as chichi dango and miso soup. Meanwhile,
a more educational section had students answering trivia questions with a candy prize.
Another booth present was hosted by Model UN, which had students guess countries based on their flags. The Chinese booth also gave out envelopes with fortunes, candy and hong bao, a red envelope with money. The Spanish booth offered flan, a Spanish pastry, alongside flowers with information attached to them as well.
“Since there are people in Hawaii of Filipino descent. I want to encourage students to appreciate their own culture. Since people do not know Filipino culture, I wish to educate them through my booth,” said junior Alexis Molina.
Molina hosted the Filipino booth with five of her friends and social studies teacher Douglas
Muraoka as their supervisor. They, alongside the Laos, Mexican and Colombian stalls, were run solely by individual students and an accompanied teacher supervisor instead of clubs. The Filipino booth had a clothing rack with traditional clothing used for Tinikling dancing, a dance involving sticks of bamboo. They also presented a map of the Philippines, a painting of the Philippine island, Palawan, and translated recipes from Tagalog to English.
“Learning about why certain cultures have different traditions, meaning and roles leads to accepting who you are and where you came from. In Filipino, we must always respect our elders by doing pagmamano,” said Molina. Pagmamano is a gesture done commonly in Filipino culture to show
respect.
Cultural clubs at MHS often promote different cultures and can be formed by students as long as they are approved and have an advisor. For many, an event like the Culture Fair allowed individuals to display their cultures, even if there isn’t a club dedicated to it. History teacher Micah Benavitz approached Molina to see if she was interested in starting a Filipino club, showing the lasting effect the Culture Fair can have.
“I think it’s wonderful, it’s a wonderful experience; a good way to show students. [There], is more than Hawaii, more than United States,” said Spanish Teacher Xiomara Schiller. “Let’s see what is so good about it, especially when students can experience the culture and the food.”
Writer Averey Jim Designer Jullia Young Photographer Ken Sakata Dazzling the audience with a dragon dance, the Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association performs during the Culture Fair at Mililani High School. The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association is a non-profit organization including students of all grades, all of whom are taught how to dragon and lion dance.The Panama booth was the only booth not run by a club or individual students, and instead by a teacher. The student body was sent a form in January with the opportunity to create their own booths, but it didn’t limit who could create a booth. Xiomara ran her booth like many of the others there, giving out traditional food found in Panama and having a board with phrases translated into English from Spanish, the national language of Panama.
“Last year and this year, we made a Culture Fair committee with our club members, and so they were in charge of planning the activities for the booths. They worked really hard to make sure that the activities that we have are both fun and educational,” said Lapinid.
As the student body changes over the years and different circumstances arise, events like the Culture Fair are held differently. Last year, the event was hosted in the school cafeteria using the already existing tables. This year allowed for booths to go all out using the larger space and fix some issues faced last year, such as running out of food.
“And here it was just better that the students could be walking
around outside and kind of just the environment was just so much better,” said senior Spanish Honors Society president Evelyn Carrillo.
With the fair being held in the lawn area, the total amount of space was almost four times bigger than the cafeteria. More people could enjoy simply hanging out with their friends without feeling restricted. Students could easily move around to the different booths through not
just the hallways but also the center grass area.
The performances were also done at this grass area, as well as on the raised platform near the ASMHS Office in B105. The Polynesian club showed a traditional dance involving dancers in casual Hawaiian dresses. The Wah Ngai Lion Dance Association performed a standstill dragon dance, as well as a Chinese lion dance where they actively moved around the audience. This allowed members of the audience who had received a hong bao from the Chinese booth to feed it to the lions.
“Out of all the foods out of the cultures, I really liked the mangonada. Their ingredients are really good because it was so different from everyone else’s, which added a special uniqueness to it,” said senior Kamakoa Taitauguv-Laforga.
Mangonada, or chamoyada, is a sweet and spicy variation of shaved ice with an edible straw from Mexico. Sold by the 808Mangonadas truck, it was only one of the many ethnic cuisines sold at the Culture Fair. Some of the other food trucks present were Sama Sama, featuring Filipino milk tea and boba; Perefoti
Island Fixx, serving cold vaifala, a traditional Samoan drink with pineapple as well as other flavors like banana, coconut or watermelon; and Leilani’s Island Tacos and Heart to Table, which sold simple dishes like fried noodles and burgers.
“I think a lot is about the uniqueness and diversity of every culture but also the similarities. I know that us and like, Hispanic and the Philippines have a lot of similarities in the language and the food and I think that it’s really special for students to know about that,” said Carrillo.
The Culture Fair will be hosted again and MHS hopes to improve upon the fair in the years to come. Having more booths representing different cultures will allow for more activities to be held during the celebration for such a diverse array of cultures. For those interested in hosting or helping set up booths next year, contact the Mililani Inter-Club Council at 216studentactivities@k12.hi.us or Janet Ward Riehle at janet.riehle@ k12.hi.us.
At the Model UN booth, students are tested on their knowledge of flags around the world. Other booths featuring different cultures were set up around campus for the Culture Fair, offering games and food for students willing to participate. Among the various food trucks present at the Culture Fair, students were able to enjoy mangonadas from the 808Mangonadas food truck. These food trucks, along with the cultural performances and booths at the fair, helped students to connect with many different cultures.
Writer Jullia Young Designer Gianna Brown
to live with host families in Hawaii, as well as to learn more about the culture in Hawaii.
“If you have the chance to do something like the exchange program, it’s a nice opportunity to get to meet someone from somewhere else. And for this particular one, you get the chance to go to visit another country. Hopefully, there’s many more of these opportunities in the future,” said Japanese teacher Corey Zukeran.
exchange student, the process is less rigorous. Students who are willing to share a home can obtain a form from a Japanese teacher at their school or contact the HUOA. Signatures from parents, a teacher and the principal are required to turn in the application form, but there are no additional requirements needed to apply as a host.
student’s horizon and to see different points of view,” said Zukeran. “Making this sort of connection is important, and a lot of times the exchange students remain in contact for many years so that’s nice too.”
Due to COVID-19, issues in 2020 and 2021, international travel had been stalled, which in turn paused student exchange programs across the US. For three years, students from Japan were not able to come participate in the student exchange experience in Hawaii and vice versa — that is, until now. Collaborating with the Okinawan government, the non-profit organization Hawaii United Okinawa Association (HUOA) opened doors for Japanese exchange students on Feb. 12, 2023
The Hawaii-Okinawa High School Student Exchange Program was first established in 1990 by the State Legislature, the Department of Education and HUOA. Since then, high school students from Okinawa have been given the chance to learn in Hawaii, while students who host them have been given the opportunity to visit Okinawa during the summer. This year, from Miyako High School in Okinawa Prefecture, fifteen students were paired with different host families across Oahu. One exchange student, junior Hina Sugama, was paired with a student from Mililani High School, junior Jacinda Stager.
“In high school, when you participate in the exchange program, there is a lot that you can experience before becoming an adult. I think that’s really important, in the aspect of having good experiences in your life,” said Sugama.
In terms of signing up for the exchange program, the application process in Okinawa is very competitive. Interviews must be set up for each applicant, background checks must be done and only a few are selected each year. As for housing an
“It’s been nice to be able to have someone come and stay with you and learn about what your family does. I think all the exchange kids that come get a different experience when they’re in different homes because depending on where you live or what your background is, it’s different for everybody,” said Stager.
During her two week stay, Sugama was able to experience firsthand a typical day in an American high school, which differs quite significantly from schools in Japan. Unlike America, Japanese adolescents are not required to go to high school, though the majority still do. For those who choose to continue their education, an entrance exam is needed to attend high school. To add on, while American high schools end in the summer, Japanese high schools usually end during the month of March. Another major difference is the fact that most of these schools, both private and public, require students to wear uniforms. When Sugama first came to Mililani High School, she was surprised by how students were given the freedom to choose their own outfits when attending school.
“I think that student exchange programs are an opportunity to be able to interact with someone of another culture, another country. I think it helps to broaden the whole
Other than attending school, the exchange students on the island were able to enjoy excursions arranged by the HUOA. On one of these excursion days, the students went to a park in Kaneohe and the Polynesian Cultural Center to learn more about Hawaiian culture. When exploring the island, Sugama came to a realization of how similar Hawaii’s climate is to Okinawa’s. Not only was the climate similar, but so was the culture. Due to its history, Hawaii has become a hotpot of different cultures, with rich traditions and a diverse population. One of the most influential cultures that have shaped Hawaii is Japanese culture. Common food on the island include musubis, bentos and saimin; all with Japanese origins. It is also common in Hawaii to hold Japanese festivals called Obon during the summer.
“The first time in Hawaii, to go to this kind of school, to learn all these new things, to live with my host family, it’s become a good memory and a good experience,” said Sugama.
For those interested in the exchange program or want more information about HUOA, visit huoa. org or contact the organization at info@huoa.org.
Hina Sugama (left) is an exchange student from Okinawa being hosted by Mililani High School student, Jacinda Stager (right). Sugama participated in the Hawaii-Okinawa High School Student Exchange Program, a program arranged by the Okinawan Government and the Hawaii United Okinawa Association. (Photo courtesy of Jacinda Stager)In the 2023 - 2024 school year, the brand-new course, Advanced Placement (AP) African American Studies will make its debut at Mililani High School. MHS already offers twenty-six AP courses across a diverse group of academic fields, including the typical four core subjects of English, Math, Science and Social Studies as well as more specialized fields like Music Theory, Computer Science and Environmental Science. In 2022, the College Board began offering the course AP African American Studies for the 2022 - 2023 school year. Mililani High School took the opportunity to sign on as one of the 200+ schools participating in the second pilot year of the program.
“AP African-American Studies is an interdisciplinary course, which means even though it is based in history, there are lots of other academic disciplines that the student will encounter like geography, sociology, music, art [and literature,]” said Social Studies teacher Kimberly Lauzon. “It is an overview of African-American history but also experiences, achievements and challenges and I would tell them [prospective students] that it is much more in depth than what they would learn in an average U.S. or World History course.”
Lauzon, who already teaches AP World History, Modern Hawaiian History and Participation in Democracy, will be teaching the AP African American Studies course in August. In July, she will attend the AP Summer Institute training for the pilot course at Howard University in Washington D.C. Howard
University, an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), was founded in 1867 with the original mission of teaching black preachers. Since then it has become a nationally top ranked university in multiple fields, including Biology, Political Science, Communications and Psychology.
“Upon going to AP Night I was and am really excited, I think it’s really nice that our school with such a little African-American population is offering it to [a] diverse range of students,” said junior Qamara Barnett.
Barnett is one of the students enrolled in the course for the 2023-2024 school year. Mililani High School, which is the only public school from Hawaii participating in the pilot program, will have a direct influence on the future implementation of the course. According to College Board, the administrator for all AP courses and tests, students and teachers feedback will have an effect on College Board’s decisions on the final curriculum and exam in the coming years. The AP African American Studies’ curriculum was developed by multiple college faculty and staff from across the country.
“The curriculum actually begins in Africa before European contact, which is really interesting because most students don’t have exposure to that curriculum unless they were in AP World, which I’m fortunate enough to have taught that before but this goes much more in depth. The course begins in Africa and looks at the African diaspora and studies early African empires,
city states, kingdoms, traditions and practices and that is really exciting,” said Lauzon.
Quarter one of the course begins with the African diaspora before European contact during the 1500s. Quarter two starts to explore the Atlantic slave trade and its affect on the American colonies through the following centuries, leading into quarter three’s content on the Civil War, the Reconstruction Period, the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration. The year ends with contemporary discussion on the Civil Rights Movement and more recent issues people alive today may have experienced firsthand. Controversy over this period of the course and its content required for the initial exam in 2024 has appeared in various states. Schools may choose to omit the controversial material, but the resources will remain available online to students who wish to learn the content anyways.
The class focuses on aspects other than the typical history of the African-American experience. Tying in literature, music and art, the course analyzes African-American pieces of culture. Authors discussed include abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Phillis Wheatley, who is widely considered the first published African-American author of poetry; Harriet Jacobs, author of the now-American classic, “Life of a Slave Girl”; W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African-American to receive a PhD from Harvard University; and leader of the Harlem Renaissance Langston Hughes, a musician and poet. African art such as masks and carvings are explored throughout
the centuries, and jazz music and hip-hop are also featured topics.
In preparation for the new school year, Lauzon will hold a pre-summer meeting at the end of the school year for enrolled students who should check their emails for more information. For more information on the course or on enrolling next year, see Lauzon in P15 during non-instructional time or visit the official CollegeBoard page at https://apcentral. collegeboard.or g/about-ap/howap-develops-courses-and-exams/ pilot-ap-african-american-studies.
Writer: Sarah Dittle Designer: Randen Tadaki
Phillis Wheatley was an 18th century African American slave who ended up becoming prominent in America due to her intellectual writing style which allowed her to become one of the eras most revered poets (Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress)
Political and civic capabilities are on full display with the We the People program, a competition where students “testify” in front of an array of judges like politicians do at congressional hearings. The program works with students from upper elementary to high school. Mililani High School participates in these competitions, specifically the students in Advanced Placement (AP) Politics and Government and AP U.S. History classes. The students prepare 4-minute hearings for the board to listen to and assess their understanding of the American government and constitutional concepts. Afterwards, they are asked additional follow-up questions to test the students’ understanding and comprehension of our country’s government and its history. This competition takes place virtually, so students can call in from the classroom or even at home during competitions.
“It gives us the opportunity
to dive deep into our government specific topics. My group’s topic was the Bill of Rights and how that relates to other implied rights, like liberative rights,” said senior Keenan Yoshizawa.
MHS AP U.S. History and AP U.S. Government and Politics teacher Jason Duncan uses his knowledge to aid his students in their preparation for the mock hearing competitions by going indepth into America’s government history. He has been teaching and guiding his students through the We the People competition for five years now. His classes have gotten first place in the Hawaii State Competition three times out of his five years of participation.
“For me, I love to offer these opportunities because it gives students a chance to shine and to show their knowledge and understanding of our government,” said Duncan.
Preparations for this competition started multiple weeks in advance to ensure the students had
enough time for all their research. The students spent their class time working together in groups to research different topics while also balancing their normal classwork. Their research was done through reading books, independent articles, trusted online sources and studying court cases to assemble all the information they’d need for the We the People competition.
“Although the We the People competition was challenging, I have a much better understanding of the constitution, so it’s definitely worth it,” said Micah Domingo. This competition gives the students a chance to present what they have learned and studied in their AP Government and Politics and AP U.S. History classes. This competition of research, history and intellect allows students to explain their academic knowledge of America’s government to a board of experienced judges. It also helps develop leadership skills and a sense of empowerment for the students.
“I know it’s not like practical knowledge, you know, but as future citizens and as future leaders, which all these kids are, it really equips them with a level of knowledge and understanding,” said Duncan.
The We the People competition is an opportunity for students to learn about their government and its amendments. By participating in the program and learning research strategies and gaining experience comprehending politics and the way our government works. All of the research and studying led the students to competition day, which was held virtually with the students either at home or in the classroom.
There were 6 questions and 6 categories possible to win, when all the questions were answered they huddled around the computer waiting for the winners to be announced as it poured and thunder roared across the sky.
“Originally, we were tied with the other school 3 to 3, and then something must have tipped us over because we won the entire thing! When we won, that feeling of instant gratification that you feel from winning is amazing,” said Domingo.
With such knowledge of our government, students will be well prepared for America and their right to vote. From the vast amount of problems rising in our country, knowing more about our constitution will create more educated voters. For more information, visit https://www.civiced.org/we-thepeople or talk to Mr. Duncan in O103.
Designer Anela Reese
10’s
70’s
The MHS class of 2011 participate in various activities, such as cheering and dressing up during their spirit week.
80’s
The royal prom court of 1982, featuring the king, queen, prince and princess.
00’s
The MHS class of 2005 say “mahalo!” to their final highschool year at senior luau.
90’s
At the John Kauinana stadium in 1993, students cheer after winning their homecoming game.
Art teacher from 1978 is seen polishing his “masterpiece”.
the home of the mighty Trojans has undergone many improvements since the last time my father was a student walking its newly born halls. The school was originally comprised of B Building and the locker rooms, saving its older generation the longer walks their younger counterparts are forced to embark on to get from class to class. Along with the mass expansion of the school’s boundaries, MHS has gained the title as one of the largest high schools on the island, with the student body seeing a dramatic increase throughout the years.
of his classmates spent a large amount of their time at Liberty House, which used to be the company that occupied the Macy’s space at Ala Moana.
Yearbooks are one of the best ways to reflect upon one’s years as a student. They provide opportunities to spark memories and feelings as the pages are filled with the pictures of old classmates, school events and thoughtful notes friends left for the owner. However, for me, it was an opportunity to get back at my father for all the times he’s made fun of me.
Mililani High School is the alma mater of my father and all his siblings, and eventually will be my own in 2024. Though the designs and layouts of this intimate piece of history have been altered over the years, one thing remains constant –the volume numbers on the spinal cord. As I compared the number on my father’s yearbook to mine, I realized that even though we both grew up in Mililani and attended Mililani High School, we didn’t experience the same MHS.
In terms of the school itself,
Another interesting thing for me to compare was the fashion trends of our classmates. Scrunchies, baggy jeans, cardigans, oversized clothing and the idea of layering numerous pieces to create one outfit were revealed. There was especially a lot of laughter when my parents were reflecting on their past trends, including Cavarriccis and the splotchy acid washed jeans that would be folded at the ankles to resemble joggers, not to mention the usage of sweater vests, Doc Martens and high tops.
Hair was similar between our generations as the mullet and heavily layered hair cut returned with a few modern alterations, although I can gladly report that we’ve successfully left behind the trend of large, teased hairstyles that required a can of hairspray to maintain. In terms of popular hangout areas, though my generation can be seen within the first 5 minutes after school flooding the shops at the Mililani Town Center, my father said most
Worries were also a very differing subject when it comes to our two drastically different generations. My father would say that his generation was more concerned about having fun and partying during their years of high school. Though there were students that shared similar levels of anxiety when it comes to academics, the stress of acquiring straight A’s and a near-perfect score on every test seems to be more prominent in my generation, especially with the accessibility of social media. Global platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are the most common vessels when it comes to viewing society’s standards and expectations. Therefore, with millions of these posts being accessible all from one’s hand, my generation is exposed to a harmful amount of unhealthy life goals.
I think that’s what makes me so envious of my father’s generation. To me, it seems like they were able to see life as it was in front of them. They were not concerned about how many strangers liked what they were wearing or what they ate that day. They were focused on themselves and the environment around them, allowing them to live life according to their agenda and not the agenda of thousands of individuals on the other side of the globe. My father’s generation was able to learn the more valuable, intimate lessons of life as they carried
out their high school life with the experiences and people that held a significant amount of relevance to them, rather than a glamorized figure that may not even know of their existence.
So, we may laugh or roll our eyes when we hear our elders’ signature phrase “when I was your age,” but perhaps it’s best to pause and hear what they have to say. Though most of my time was spent laughing with, or at, my father as he shared his wild high school experiences, it was also a time for me to reflect on my own. Thanks to his stories and lectures, I learned the value of balance. I learned to cherish the small moments with my friends and classmates as its accumulation will allow me to keep moving forward through tougher situations.
Above all else, I learned the importance of being myself. My father was someone who never strayed away from who he truly was, no matter the circumstances, which is why I look up to him so much. Simultaneously, his stories also made me realize that one thing has never changed about MHS: Its ability to foster the diverse experiences that resonate with so many of its students as they turn into stories that will provide lessons and laughter for generations to come.
Writer Designer Ezra Burton Shelby Seu