Aloha.

I am Mina Suzuki, a HIKI NŌ journalist and a senior at H.P.

Baldwin High School on Maui.

Welcome back for part two of our five-part HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i series, “This Changed Everything: HIKI NŌ in the Age of COVID.” I'm honored to guide you on this journey as we take stock of our student experience over the course of the historic global COVID-19 pandemic.

We HIKI NŌ students have a unique platform to share our COVID impacted lives as we live it, recording the first draft of history and creating a rich archive documenting this unprecedented time.

Last week, we looked at the start of the pandemic in the spring of 2020 and the shock of having our lives and learning uprooted as our schools closed and communities went into lockdown.

On this episode, we wrap up that school year and move on to the fall of 2020, an academic year with a new experience we would come to know as distance learning.

COVID-19 forced me to rethink my lifestyle and establish a new routine.

I'm here to talk about how distance learning has been affecting me, personally.

Now that we're home learning all day, there's many distractions, and it's super noisy around my house.

Since I'm in online school, you would think, "Wow, this is much easier since I'm at home."

But now I barely know the difference between work and rest at my own house.

Before we delve deeper into our remote learning experience, let's pick up where we left off last time, when the class of 2020 finds out they would not return from spring break, and that traditional rites of passage, like prom and Commencement, would be canceled, since it wasn't safe to gather in person.

HIKI NŌ asked some of our outstanding 2020 seniors to reflect on how it felt to have the rug pulled out from under them.

Being asked to give a reflection and to talk about, like, what it was really like being a senior, I didn't really want to hold back.

I wanted to say, like, “Hey, reach out to a senior in your life because they may be like, really struggling with this.” It was hard to do to like, go through that process, um, but it's so important that HIKI NŌ is giving students these voices, especially in times of crisis, because this is when student voices are going to matter the most.

Here are some of the innovative ways Hawai‘i schools and communities devised to celebrate graduation and send off the 2020 seniors.

When, um, lockdown happened, it was one of those things where you're like, shocked.

And then prom was canceled.

I've never been to prom, so I was waiting for my senior year to be like, the year, you know?

But yeah, after that was canceled, it was pretty heartbreaking.

There was like, so many like, parts of my life that I didn't realize were entirely based at school, like, I took part in a lot of clubs and a lot of after school activities, and then all of a sudden all of those things just kind of dropped.

Graduation was such a bittersweet time, especially for Waimea, because, um, we're such a small community, and so for us, it's a big thing.

Instead of a drive through graduation or a virtual graduation, they did a drive-in graduation, and it really reflected of how the community of Waimea really cares about the school community.

Once our group was announced, we would line up six feet apart, and then we'd be able to take off our mask once we're right next to the stage, take it off, go up the stage, get our diploma, wave at the cameras and our parents.

It was emotional, it was a lot of emotion, and then we got to walk back to our parents, and that's when a lot of honking started.

But yeah, it was definitely an experience to remember, and I think our class will definitely tell great stories about it.

I'm attending Pitzer College in the fall, and when they announced that we wouldn’t be going back to campus and that the first semester would be online, I considered deferring, but they actually sent out an email that kind of changed my mind that basically said the best time to go to a social justice-based school is now.

This is going to be the most important time that you ever spend at a college that's so focused on environmental sustainability, but also, um, equity and access to care, um, to care across the board.

In the fall I will be going to Northern Arizona University.

I will be dorming.

They have a poll if you want to study online or do you want to be on, in class.

I'm hands on, so I'm going to be in class.

But it definitely affects, um, the school life because you're not going to see as many people out, and it'll be hectic for the few, like, first few weeks, but we got to adapt.

The decision to go to, um, UND was, um, very last minute actually.

I was originally supposed to go to, um, the Ohio State University, um, with a, naval, um, with the Naval ROTC, and I decided not to take it.

I realized, you know, from this quarantine, how much life, your family and everything, everything that you hold dear to is very important.

And you could lose that in a, in a heartbeat.

I'll be attending the University of North Dakota and Grand Forks, and, um, I'll be majoring in commercial aviation.

Adapting would also be key for high school students like me, and for younger students like my little brother, as well as my parents, who are both teachers.

On August 7, ten days from the start of the school year, we learned that fall semester 2020 would start online, and we would all begin to develop a new vocabulary, picking up the subtle differences between remote, hybrid, and blended learning.

At first, virtual school was only supposed to last for weeks.

But as COVID cases surged, schools would stay closed longer than we expected or hoped.

This past year like no other has been extremely hard on many.

The first semester of our school year has been all online.

I have tried to look at this with a positive attitude and use this time to help out in my community.

My parents and I were nervous about sending me to in-person learning, so we decided I would do 100% online school.

When the pandemic began to send students home, I was excited, like many of my peers, to have a break.

I was excited to watch movies, listen to music, and sleep in on weekdays.

I am feeling torn.

I am tired of staying at home all the time.

I miss seeing my friends in person.

Ever since the Coronavirus pandemic started, I've been restricted from many activities.

Juggling my school life and home life during the pandemic has proven to be a struggle.

This is Ayanna Brenner, and I am a senior at Hawai‘i Technology Academy.

I'm coming to you from my home in Makiki on October 23, 2020.

I'm struggling with distance learning because of the lack of supervision and motivation.

When I am at school, teachers are there to redirect me.

At home, my parents are doing their own thing.

My lack of motivation is due to having so much free time and only being in the house.

I feel like I do the same thing every day, and it's very unsettling and unmotivating.

When I really need to get stuff done, I tried to put my phone away and go to a quiet place in the house and force myself to do work.

I sit down at the dining room table and tell myself I can't mess around and I need to get my work done.

I don't have a table in my room, which means I would have to work on my bed.

My bed is my biggest distraction because I am not a morning person, and if I stay on my bed, I would fall back to sleep.

Instead of staying in my room and staying distracted, I have made the dining room table my designated workspace.

I have been pretty successful with getting my work done.

Hi, this is Capriana Nozaki, a sixth grader at Maui Waena Intermediate School on the Island of Maui.

I'm recording this at my home in Waiehu on October 9, 2020.

When school started again in August, Maui had more cases.

My parents and I were nervous about sending me to in-person learning, so we decided I will do 100% online school.

The online program at my school is Acellus and had no social interaction.

All the lessons are given on the computer by video.

There are no people to talk to you at all, plus the lessons were getting way too easy.

I didn't even need to listen to the video because I already knew the answers.

It was also getting really lonely.

I started reading my assignments in a British accent, speaking to my computer and became a talking machine, driving my dad nuts.

Now that's when you know you've reached rock bottom.

To replace my loneliness, I joined the afterschool STEM club.

It's online, too, but we learned how to use After Effects and Final Cut Pro.

And instead of bothering my dad, I can bother my mentors and teacher.

In fact, I'm the last student to leave.

I really am desperate to have a face-to-face conversation, but for now, screen to screen will have to do.

Aloha.

My name is Lawson Makaneole from Roosevelt High School, and I'm speaking to you from home.

As a result of distance learning and senior year laziness, also known as senioritis, I have felt little to no motivation to do my schoolwork or anything school related.

Distance learning has been interesting to say the least.

With it comes its fair share of problems, like canceling school events, including homecoming and spirit week, which I was really looking forward to.

Also, all of your teachers throw homework at you like it's a competition to see who can stress you out more.

And worst of it all is struggling with preparation for college.

All of that can start to feel overwhelming to deal with and has ultimately made me feel like giving up on school completely.

To counteract this, I've started to do things I normally wouldn’t.

I’ve practiced card shuffling, learned more songs on my ukulele, and have been cleaning and trying to be more organized.

I believe that if I'm able to find motivation, doing the trivial things then maybe I'll be able to find my motivation for school again and finish my high school career strong.

Until then, I'll keep trying.

As a senior this year, I truly feel for Lawson and all the seniors from 2020 and 2021, and admire their strength and perseverance.

Beyond motivation, many students have to take on extra responsibility at home, such as housework and helping younger siblings manage online lessons, which further blurs the line between home and school.

Other students find a sense of purpose volunteering to help out in their communities.

Hi, this is David Braman, a seventh grader from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School on Kaua‘i.

I'm speaking to you from our campus as our media class competes in a virtual contest.

We're making sure to stay safe and socially distanced.

The first semester of our school year has been all online.

I have tried to look at this with a positive attitude and use this time to help out in my community.

One thing I like to do is make masks for people who need them.

I iron fabric that's been donated, my mom cuts it, then we send it to another person who sews it into a mask.

I also distribute food with several organizations.

I've done a variety of jobs like packing bags, organizing donations, and handing out food.

Once a week I volunteer at a local food pantry.

I bring our families extra food and help out by scooping rice into little bags for people to pick up.

I encourage everyone to help in their communities and stay safe.

If we all pitch in and treat each other with aloha, we will get through this together.

Hi, my name is Nalea Udac, an eighth grader from Kealakehe Intermediate School on the Island of Hawai‘i, coming to you from my home on November 2, 2020.

I've been attending online school from home with a class of six, or with all my siblings.

All of us ranging from the ages five to 14, which is me, the oldest.

Then there's the youngest one who is Leili‘a, then there’s Walehua, Na‘oli, Le‘ani, and Nahana, who had recently just turned 11.

It can be great at some point, all six of us learning in a classroom, but chaotic, at best.

In order for you to get the spot you want, you have to fight for it, and if you don’t get your way, then you have a bunch of arguing going on.

We tend to get in each other's way to figure out whose turn it is to speak or not, or to attend a meeting, and when we do the room sounds like a bunch of annoying parrots all talking at once.

But despite all of that chaos, the bonding has caused me to learn things that I didn't expect, like fixing a truck, learning to cook, and even teaching my siblings how to shoot and film broadcast and other short films.

It's pushing me to go above and beyond, to be like a second mom.

As children, we think parents are supposed to know everything and have all the answers all the time, but not always.

It makes me proud to know that we don't always have to turn to our parents to figure things out.

We can figure them out on our own, too, and we get to teach them a thing or two, like learning how to use new applications and technologies.

I begin my day with a morning routine.

In short, I wake up, I get ready for the day, I get my school supplies ready, I take my dog on a walk, get a nice glass of water ready for myself.

After that, the last thing I do before I head to my Zoom and Google Meet classes, I like to play with my kittens.

One thing that is working well for me is being in the comfort of my own home.

Uh, one thing that's not working well for me is being in the comfort of my own home.

With a family and with your siblings, you get interrupted frequently.

Um, sometimes you have to help out your younger siblings, because they're on their own Zoom calls and they don't know how to write the letter H. So, that's something that's disrupting.

As far as teachers, I feel like our relationship has become more direct, and that's because we're communicating and learning between a computer screen, so we're not having the same conversations or the same moments in the classroom like we did before.

Although we are having a few glitches along the way, I feel like we're all just learning together.

And that's okay.

This situation calls for creative ways to cope, learn and thrive.

In my case, I found motivation by joining forces with a friend who lives nearby.

We did virtual school together in a bubble, which kept us both accountable and on top of our work.

Some HIKI NŌ students produced stories to share their own personal solutions for finding motivation and meaning in this confusing new world.

Before the lockdown, I was as busy as can be, whether it be dance, school, club activities, work, or hanging out with friends and family.

Then COVID-19 hit, and ever since then, I've been stuck at a computer all day doing virtual schooling.

I'm the type of person who constantly needs to do something, whether it be for school, the community, or for myself, I tend to spread myself way too thin.

When COVID hit, I thought, "Wow, I’ll finally get a break," but the pandemic was here for much longer than expected.

Since I'm in online school, you would think, “Wow, this is much easier since I'm at home.” But now I barely know the difference between work and rest at my own house.

I used to associate my house as a place to unwind and relax.

But now I feel like there's no place to escape.

Sometimes I get so anxious and restless because I feel like there's more work to do or there's something I forgot to do, and I haven't seen my friends or heard from them.

So, I feel lost and trapped.

With no dance studio to go to, no friends to see, I had to pick myself up and take the initiative to do something rather than just staying on the computer all day.

I coped through physical activity, especially outside, whether it be dance, walking, jogging.

As long as I was outside and moving, I felt a sense of freedom.

I felt refreshed.

I took the extra step to help myself from feeling so stuck.

For me, distance learning has been a little stressful because I don't like to stare at a screen all day, but that's all we've been doing.

I would much rather learn in person, especially because teachers provide a quiet place to study, and I get to see my friends.

Now that we're home learning all day, there's many distractions and it's super noisy around my house.

My mom has gotten super overwhelmed and doesn't exactly know how to help us.

All in all, it's been a bad situation.

Because of how hard it was to focus at home, my dad came home from work one day and had the brilliant idea to get each of me and my siblings our own hotspots.

My mom took us to different places around Maui and all we do is turn it on and work.

Because of this, distance learning has been much more peaceful and more relaxing, but not only that, we also get to learn about different areas around our island.

Some of the places that we've studied at are Kula, Lahaina, and Wailea, and I definitely look forward to studying around more areas.

Though distance learning was stressful at first, I thank my parents for coming up with a creative solution.

Through my experience, I found that distance learning isn't that bad after all.

It's just what you make of it.

One Maui student got exceptionally creative, pivoting to distance learning and designing lessons from the teacher side of the screen.

Um, so if you want to pursue medicine, I think there's some, um, middle school opportunities as well.

Kahului resident, Jadynne Zane, is a 5.0 GPA senior at Maui High School with dreams of becoming a doctor.

But for now, she is focused on sharing her passion by teaching an after-school program to middle school and elementary students.

Well previously, I've taught, um, classes at Maui Waena Intermediate School over the summer, and I've taught a wide variety of subjects.

And I believe I decided to do this to encourage students to explore the curiosity within them, discover what subjects best fit them, or what they want to do in the future.

While teaching at a 2019 summer exploration camp, she had an idea to teach her own after school medical exploration course for summer 2020 for her senior project.

However, what she did not plan for was the pandemic that stopped all in-person learning.

COVID-19 kind of brought that uncertainty of is the class going to happen, is it not going to happen?

With a little creativity and persistence, Jadynne was able to teach a four-week basic virtual science and health class, which she designed from scratch, persisting through doubtful times by reworking lessons, creating at-home activity kits and sending out the materials.

In the medical classes, something that will really stick with me in my medical journey would be to really persevere in the medical field; it's very difficult.

Not only did Joshua learn new lessons, because of this experience, Jadynne realized she could bring joy to herself and others, just from the simple click of a button.

- model to kind of represent what DNA looks like.

Through the class, seeing the students kind of explore the realm that they didn't necessarily know was right for them, and letting themself get involved into this new realm really sparks a moment of joy in me, especially in this unexpected time.

Little did she know, her joy and passion heavily reflected on her teaching.

This class really taught me like, what specifically they are and what you have to do and what sacrifices you need to do or make, and this really taught me how much I need to work for what I want.

Especially with COVID-19 and everything, this whole project in itself really is something that is surprising, and in the end just really brings that happiness.

COVID-19 was a big surprise to all of us.

But Jadynne proved to herself and her students that she can adapt and make the best out of any situation, even when it's unexpected.

This is Noelle Lo from Maui High School for HIKI NŌ.

Bye, thank you!

Hi, my name is Christian Aragon and I'm a senior at Konawaena High School here on the Big Island of Hawai‘i, and I'm recording this in my house on October 25, 2020.

I have two goals this year.

One, I want to graduate high school.

That's it.

Two, I also want to improve my performing arts skills, so I can study acting in a university or community college.

COVID-19 has forced me to find new and unexpected ways of achieving these goals.

For school, I'm really working on my time management so I can fit different activities into my schedule.

Even though I'm at home, I'm still working with my community theater group over the computer.

It's challenging because we can't meet on a physical stage, and I can't share my energy with the cast.

So, we make those connections through improv exercises instead.

I was also invited to promote some of my previous theater shows on the radio, where I voiced different characters, and right now I'm reading scary stories.

Anyways, I'm grateful that persevering through high school and theater has opened these doors for me.

All these challenges have shown me that my goals are stepping stones for something much greater, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

For our student storytellers, HIKI NŌ fills a gap when most everything else is on hold and gives us a voice at a time when many of us are feeling alone and unheard.

This is a great opportunity.

I think, especially during this time, we were really getting like the perspectives of, you know, health officials and, you know, the general public, but not really the, the young person perspective, the adolescent perspective.

You know, this is a very, this is a big growing time for us, you know, not only academically, professionally and physically, and, um, in the end, this, that's what the program is really about, is to make our voices heard.

As fall semester and calendar year 2020 come to a close, our voices are even more relevant, as it is becoming apparent that the COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to more than just our physical health.

My mental health has been declining during this pandemic.

I really miss being able to physically hang out with my friends and family.

I feel unmotivated and uninspired to do what I used to be so passionate about.

Right now, I'm just hanging on as best as I can until I can finally reunite with my friends and family.

Our student storytellers will share the next chapter of their pandemic roller coaster ride in Part Three of “This Changed Everything: HIKI NŌ in the Age of COVID.” I’m Mina Suzuki.

Mahalo for joining me on this journey and see you next time for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.