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IPA Teachers: The Common Subject of College

 

Guest post contributed by Zara Araki (ʻ18)

 

One second, you’re in a room taking the SAT, the next second, you find yourself opening that acceptance letter into college. As the graduating senior class of 2018 are preparing for their first semester of college, the students aren’t quite ready yet for that new roommate, that massive workload, and those endless study nights. Here’s a little bit of advice and survival tips from teachers at ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY (IPA) to get these incoming college freshmen through their college experience:

Katherine Keohohou
Katherine Keohohou, Biology & Chemistry Teacher

Katherine Keohohou is the Secondary Biology and Chemistry teacher at IPA. She attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa located in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. She also attended Hawaiʻi Pacific University located in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and earned her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education.

Does having a car make a difference in college?
“So when I was in college, I did not have a car. I had to ride the bus everywhere. So on a Friday, all of my friends and I decided we wanted to go camping on the North Shore. We didn’t have a tent and we didn’t have sleeping bags. This was after this really nasty storm where it literally rained for forty days and forty nights. So we got on the bus for two hours from UH to the North Shore. We got up there, the most beautiful day, we laid on the beach, we had lunch, we had a super perfect time. Then, the sun went down and it ends up storming, torrential rains as hard as I’ve ever seen it. So we start walking and find a house that’s under construction. We laid in there until probably about four in the morning and finally we’re like “is the bus running yet?” I have never loved a two hour bus ride more. It was glorious. And we were poor so it’s not like we could afford a taxi. Then we finally made it back to UH and slept for six hours.”

 

Jason George
Jason George, Dean of College Guidance Counseling

Jason George is IPA’s Dean of College Guidance Counseling. He attended Tufts University located in the Middlesex County, Massachusetts and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.

How do you feel about “partying” during college?
“It can be a good thing. All of us like to have fun and college is definitely a time to have a lot of fun. It’s a good way to meet people and make new friends. College is not just about studying. I would say you just have to be careful not to do dangerous stuff. But otherwise most colleges have lots of safe way to party and have a great time. I think everybody should do that. Stay safe, but have fun.”

 

 

 

 

Aakash Shah
Aakash Shah, English Teacher

Aakash Shah is the Secondary English teacher at IPA. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign located in Champaign County, Illinois and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, Secondary Education, Creative Writing, and Philosophy.

How can students avoid “The Freshman 15”?
“When you go to the dorms to eat, don’t fall in love with the sweets and hot foods. I know you might think like it’s hot food, it’s fresh. It’s not necessarily fresh, it’s just reheated. So the raw foods, like salads, just try to make that a regular staple where I’m gonna have this for two of the meals a week. This is an obvious one, but don’t drink. Your body’s metabolism isn’t used to consuming that type of alcohol and it’s not good for you long term. Eating all that junk food and also drinking is just going to mess up your metabolism.”

 

 

 

Shawn Higa
Shawn Higa, Math Teacher

Shawn Higa is the Secondary Mathematics teacher at IPA. She attended the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa located in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics.

What do you wish you could have done differently?
“I don’t know. I enjoyed every moment of my soccer college career. I was planning on not going to college because I injured myself before going. My junior year in highschool, I was like “hmmm I’m not going to college.” So college was luckily like a blessing for me, I just walked on the team and I got a chance to play. I guess I’m just thankful. But if I had to do something differently, I would have not dated any boys during college. Dating is just dumb in college. I guess it is fun but don’t take it seriously. Hang out with your friends, go to concerts, just experience the full college life. Go to games, tailgating, and just hang out with your friends, and time management.”

 

 

Brandi Dul
Brandi Dul, Theatre Teacher

Brandi Dul is the Secondary Art/Theatre teacher at IPA. She attended the University of Texas located in Austin, Texas and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts.

What’s your opinion on skipping class in college?
“I was able to realize where I needed to be and when I needed to be there. There were certain classes that I didn’t need to go to because there were lecture based and they published the notes and hearing them outloud just wasn’t super important to me. They didn’t help to kind of draw a picture to what the material was or help me make connections. It was actually just going over the notes they’ve already published and so I was able to miss classes like that and manage that. But then there were other classes that if I missed one, then there was no way I was going to be able to pass the semester. So very quickly I was able to realize there are some [classes] you needed to go to and some that you didn’t.”

 

 

Mike Axelrod, Athletic Director

Mike Axelrod is the Secondary Athletic Director at IPA. He attended Illinois State University located in Normal, Illinois and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications.

Did you join a fraternity/sorority? If so, is joining a sorority or fraternity a good idea for students? Why or why not?
“I was in a fraternity. It’s kind of a personal choice. For me, I had another good friend that joined and kind of dragged me in. I wasn’t sure at the time, but it introduced me to a whole group of people that were all of a sudden my instant friends. So coming from a couple hours away and not knowing anybody, all of a sudden I had like sixty or eighty friends. It was a lot of fun. We did a lot of stuff together. We did a lot of things we shouldn’t have done. But I think that’s part of experimenting… and we survived.”

 

 

 

College is a time to make new friends, study (a lot), and have a good time. Entering the doors of a new school can be very frightening at times, but with an open mind and a kind heart, everyone will be able to live their best college life. As the senior class of 2018 is going off into the real world, IPA hopes students will take what they’ve learned along with them throughout their journey.