Seven ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY students had an opportunity to participate in Hawaiʻi Business Magazine’s CHANGE Event Series on February 25, 2021. The CHANGE Event Series is a six-part virtual series in which community leaders and changemakers from across the islands discuss problems and solutions centered around six issues that make up the CHANGE framework put forth by the Hawai’i Community Foundation: Community & Economy, Health & Wellness, Arts & Culture, Natural Environment, Government & Civics, and Education. At each event, community leaders will address the major challenges in one of these areas and discuss ways to bring the community together to solve these issues. ISLAND PACIFIC ACADEMY was proud to be a Student Sponsor of the event.
As part of the school’s sponsorship, seven IPA students were invited to participate in a pre-event virtual discussion with several of the event panelists, students from the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, and members of Hawaiʻi Business Magazine. The students were asked to consider the obstacles Hawai’i is now facing in improving our local community and economy – specifically the topics of housing shortage, pandemic recovery, and worker development. After small group discussions in individual breakout rooms, the students came up with questions addressing their concerns to be shared with the panelists.
Following the pre-event discussion, the students joined more than 200 participants at the virtual main event where they heard from a panel of community leaders, including Jeffrey Shonka, President & COO, First Insurance Company of Hawaiʻi; Leslie Wilkins, President & CEO, Maui Economic Development Board; Toby Taniguchi, President & COO, KTA Super Stores; Diana Singh, Business Innovation Coordinator Kauaʻi County; and Tammi Chun, Interim Associate VP for Academic Affairs, UH Office of the VP for Community Colleges. The event was moderated by Steve Petranik, Editor, Hawaiʻi Business Magazine.
During the event, questions raised by the student participants during their breakout sessions were shared with the panelists for their input. One question about reducing Hawaiʻi’s reliance on imported food started an interesting conversation about different ways communities can address this. Taniguchi of KTA Super Stores emphasized the obvious importance of buying and supporting local, but also presented ideas about supporting 4H programs in schools and providing and encouraging young students to consider pathways towards careers in farming, ranching, and agriculture in the islands.
The experience was a valuable one for the students and was inspiring to many of IPA’s future changemakers.
“It was very hopeful to see how many businesses in my community try to give back to the community they serve,” shared Aubrey Ramsbottom ‘22. “I think we students can make a difference in our community by finding something that matters to us and going out in the community to see who is willing to help; chances are there are other people who care about the same things as you.”
The idea of making a difference also resonated with Elijah Esmeralda ‘21. “Students should realize that they do not need to organize a massive service project, or even commit all of their free time to helping with a charity or volunteering organization, to make a big difference in their community,” he explained. “I believe it is important to see the problems – no matter how big or small – that are right in front of you; and if you can do something to help solve that problem, you should! Even though we cannot have big service projects with hundreds of people all in one place helping out, we can still do small things to help everyone in need.”
Victoria Chau ‘22 took away a similar message. “Learning to recognize the issues and doing small things to help share ideas and such are important steps in furthering our future. I think that students today can make a difference in our community by expanding their knowledge on local matters and doing small things such as sharing their thoughts and ideas to going out and planning events to spread awareness and provide their service,” Chau said.
“I was inspired by the panelist’s discussion about success and that in order to reach the goals you place on yourself, you have to be okay with stumbling along the way but more importantly get back up again,” explained Kristin Chun ‘22. “As students and as young adults heading into the “real world”, it doesn’t feel like we have the option to mess up or make mistakes but knowing that in the end failing can lead to success, and hearing those words from professionals is very relieving.”
Nate Turman ‘21 found inspiration from other student participants. “Something important I took out of the experience was how passionate a lot of the students were about their interests,” Turman shared. “Specifically, one student in my group had so much passion for the sustainability of our island and in all honesty I really found it a great experience to get to hear from unfamiliar faces and adults who would actually be able to put thoughts and ideas like these into motion.”
Participating in the event were Meta Bradley ‘22, Victoria Chau ‘22, Kristin Chun ‘22, Elijah Esmeralda ‘21, Preeya Prasad ‘21, Aubrey Ramsbottom ‘22, and Nate Turman ‘21. Also taking part from IPA were Gerald Teramae, Dr. Brandy Sato, Dr. Nicholas Hall, and Be-Jay Kodama. There will be five more events in the coming months, with the opportunity for more IPA students to participate.
