HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i’s new wave of storytellers.

Aloha, and welcome to this week’s episode of HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i’s new wave of storytellers.

I’m Kaila Foster, an eighth grader at Kamehameha Schools Maui Middle School, speaking to you from my home in Kīhei.

In this edition of HIKI NŌ, we’ll see how Hawaiʻi students are dealing with life and school during the pandemic, through our continuing series of Student Reflections.

We’ll visit a local company that is adding a new eco-friendly twist to shave ice.

We’ll continue celebrating HIKI NŌ’s tenth anniversary by looking back at some of the top stories from the program’s early years, and we’ll meet a highly successful digital media entrepreneur who was among the very first HIKI NŌ graduates.

But first, here is my Student Reflection on life during the first new school year in the COVID-19 era.

I recorded it on October 20th, 2020.

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 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’ve found that distance learning isn’t that bad after all, it’s just what you make of it.

Now, from Waiākea High School on Hawaiʻi Island, here’s a story about a new eco-friendly twist to a long-time favorite island refreshment.

When they’re presented with something that has artificial colors in it, they see, they don't feel, they don’t feel good after they eat it.

And then, so next time they’re presented with it, they’re like, dad, this has artificial colors, we don’t want to eat this.

Located in central downtown Hilo, a small family-based business does its best to promote healthy and happy living.

After being introduced to shave ice by a family friend, Luke Golden decided to try his hand at this island favorite.

Every day I’d try and feed myself healthy and feed my kids healthy stuff, because you are what you eat, and you don’t want to build a body out of poison.

So, most places you go to will just use a sugar syrup just off the shelf, which is not even really made from sugar, and it’s made from a lot of coloring, artificial dyes, flavorings, preservatives, all the stuff’s bad for you.

So we wanted to give something back to the community and to the keiki.

We have local farmers we source a lot of our fruit from.

We use all organic fruit, all organic sugar, and we make everything from scratch.

With business booming, Kula Shave Ice is expanding its focus on how they can help generations to come.

The owners, Luke and Tiffany Golden, really try their hardest to minimize how much, like, trash we’re producing as a company, like how much waste we’re producing.

They really try to go out of their way to, um, kind of get everyone in the community involved.

The state of the world, I think everyone should be on board with this, you know?

There’s too much plastic, too much everything going into the ocean.

Yeah, we compost everything that we use, all our scraps and then we have compostable bowls, cups, spoons.

Although their eco-friendly efforts are appreciated by the community, doing the right thing isn’t always easy.

The cost of doing business this way is way higher.

So, we’re actually going to have to raise our prices this year, a dollar, pretty much everything’s gonna go up a dollar.

It’s just how it is, like gotta stay afloat.

While keeping the tight budget in mind, Kula stays true to its family-oriented roots by using all tips.

For my children’s college fund, and for the college fund for...there’s one girl that works for us, is paying off her student loans and one girl’s going to college to be a nurse, so that’s for that.

I would say that it’s definitely one of the best jobs I’ve ever had where I actually feel like a part of a company, as opposed to just like a replaceable piece.

The sustainable wisdom Luke is passing on to his family and community is helping build a healthier and cleaner future for the youth, their parents and everyone in between.

This is Katy McClary from Waiakea High School for HIKI NŌ.

Shortly after this story was shot, the coronavirus pandemic was announced.

Most local businesses in Hilo, including Kula Shave Ice, were forced to shut down indefinitely.

Obviously the shut down at the end of March affected the family business and income, but owners Luke and Tiffany Golden used the time away from work to improve their business and sustainability efforts.

Since the re-opening on June 1st, the business has been trying its best to stay alive and support fellow local businesses.

Hi, this is Sora Cheng, a senior at Kalāheo High School on the island of Oʻahu.

I’m recording this at my home on October 20th, 2020.

Due to COVID, a shutdown is enforced to reduce the spread of the disease.

This in turn means that students have been forced to stay at home and continue our education online.

During a typical school day, you just sit there watching lecture after lecture on a screen, which makes it very easy to lose motivation.

In addition, handwriting things or engaging in interactive classes helped me retain the information I was learning in class, yet distance learning doesn’t utilize any of these key components.

Recently, I signed a petition specific to Kalāheo for students to have a voice in the way we receive our education.

Some solutions that correspond with COVID laws would be to have in-person student assistance by appointment only, which would limit the amount of people in a room.

Despite these hard times, I know we are all searching for solutions to help all of us.

Hopefully change will occur and we can move forward to have an amazing senior year.

And now, commemorating the tenth anniversary of HIKI NŌ, coming up in February of 2021, here’s the second video in a series of profiles on outstanding HIKI NŌ alumni.

When we were in the story-finding process for our first HIKI NŌ package, we didn’t know what we...all we knew was, there were so many stories done on athletes or, you know, the school, and you know, it was oversaturated.

We wanted to try and like expand and do something different, so when we were story finding, we had a lot of great stories and different ideas, but when we heard of Jacob’s story, it really stood out because it’s something that not everyone experiences but I think on a certain level people connect to that.

It was a real-life story, which we thought was very impactful because it...we were to tell the story of a teenage father and how he manages the situation.

The biggest struggle in my life was probably adapting to, you know, being a new father and having someone depend on me, you know, being, you know, a senior in high school and having to break away from my friends so I could get a full-time job to pay for my son and everything I need and to live here on my own.

When we were working with HIKI NŌ it was like taking it to the next level.

We were able to connect with industry professionals, and we were able to get notes from them and, you know, it was a lot of revisions.

It was more than I was used to, just getting back and forth comments on, you know, fix this, adjust this...and then, I think I even had to go back and re-shoot.

Do I want to quit my job?

Every day.

Every day.

But, do I want to quit being a father and a provider?

No.

It’s a great feeling.

It’s probably the best feeling I’ve ever had, you know?

The happiest day of my life was the day Sean was born, as my son, you know, so, it’s...it’s an amazing thing.

So, that was probably...that was actually definitely the greatest day of my life.

Growing up, I was always around media, my dad did commercial work and a lot of news stories for the Vietnamese community, so I was always around, you know, cameras and editing and all of that, so, I fell in love with media.

And then throughout the years, I also developed a passion for medicine, so, even in high school and through college, I studied to be a doctor, but at the same time, I still continue my craft in media and, you know, at one point, it was really hard to juggle both the media side of things and trying to like study for med school and all that.

So, I kind of had an epiphany moment and was like, hey, you know, you can’t do two things.

You just gotta pick one and focus on it.

So, in 2016, I did a show and we won an Emmy and I think after that I was just like, hey, this is what I’m gonna do.

This is what I’m in love with, and this is what I want to continue for the rest of my life.

So I, 2016, I went full on committed to owning my own business and, um, doing filmmaking and creative services fulltime.

So I don’t regret anything and it’s been amazing since.

You know, after we started the company, our work was noticed by a lot of people, so we were able to work with Hawaiian Airlines, First Hawaiian Bank, Servco, um, just to name a few.

So, I mean like, broken down to, like the most basic thing, I’m a storyteller at heart and being able to, you know, start in high school, broadcast journalism, I found my passion for storytelling and through, you know, these stories and these packages, and it’s nice to be able to do that at a, you know, as a career.

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

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’ve 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.

Continuing our celebration of 10 years of HIKI NŌ, here’s a story from my school, Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle, that aired in the very first episode on February 28th, 2011, and set the bar for balanced reporting.

For as long as anyone can remember, high school football games on Kauaʻi have been played at night.

So, it’s unusual to be playing a game under the sun, rather than under the lights.

But as of the 2010 KIF football season, the county of Kauaʻi has decided that the traditional Friday night football games be moved to Saturday afternoon, but why?

It’s because of this little guy, the Newell shearwater, an endangered species found only on Kauaʻi.

These birds are unique and they’re very special to Kaua‘i and that comes with a responsibility, so we need to work together to protect them and make sure that they’re here for future generations to come.

The bright football lights can confuse the birds when they’re on their first flight out to sea and they can crash into the ground and sometimes they’ll die.

Because their population is declining so rapidly, we need to do everything we can to prevent this from happening.

But others may not agree.

They look forward to their senior season in the lights with a full crowd of fans, band playing, you know, the fans behind them, and that was all taken away.

And we have day games, which is in the hot sun, our fans are half here, half gone.

In my opinion, I like the nighttime games better, only because it’s more comfortable to watch the game.

I have to ask off from my workplace and that’s income that I need to take care of my family here.

Although it would be easy to point fingers, Mayor Bernard Carvalho can’t do much about it.

We have various amounts of night activity.

So, the biggest issue is coming up with a plan to address the lighting at night, which means that, number one, for some facilities we’d have to actually turn off the lights.

And in this case, the price to pay is Friday night football.

If we choose to continue the Friday night games, the county has to pay a different kind of price.

Otherwise, we could be, um, charged with paying for each bird that is injured or falls from the sky due to the lights, at 10,000 dollars per bird.

Hopefully, it’s not permanent.

We want to make sure that we offer for every opportunity for our families and our players to play at night.

I know it’s so exciting at night, but we need to be very responsible and we’re trying our best to make it sure that we are following the laws that are before us.

Well, it’s not really a black and white issue.

It’s not really, can we have football, or can we have birds.

I think we all need to work together and find a solution to the problem.

Currently, the county of Kauaʻi is searching for that solution, but until they find it, the lights will remain off for football on Kauaʻi.

This is Lorinda Sasan from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School for HIKI NŌ.

I’m Kai Tsugawa, a fifth grader at Waiākea Elementary School on the island of Hawaiʻi.

I’m recording this at my home on October 7th, 2020.

Due to COVID-19, there have been many changes.

Our kūpuna are affected because they need someone to take care of them.

As my grandparents get older, they have a harder time taking care of themselves, especially when you toss in the COVID-19 pandemic.

This change affects many of our kūpuna.

Is it a good change?

Or a bad change?

The hardest part of my life is to not know if my grandparents are doing OK. How can I take care of my grandparents if I have a hard time seeing them or visiting them?

It makes me worried not to know if my grandparents are doing OK. It’s hard to take of someone when you can’t really see them, because that’s not taking care of them at all.

I don’t want my grandparents to be infected, so we try to avoid going to the supermarket and going back to their house.

One day, I hope I can visit them, so that I know that they are safe.

I hope in the future, a vaccine comes so that this pandemic can end and I don’t have to worry about my grandparents being in danger.

As we continue a look back at 10 years of HIKI NŌ, here’s a story from the first season, by students at Kapolei High School on O‘ahu about a football player who inspired his team after he was no longer able to play.

Playing on the Kapolei High School varsity football team was his life.

Six-two, two hundred and forty-five pound defensive end freshman Papu Uti, was living his dream.

Until one day, after school, while playing a game of pick-up football, his dreams were shattered.

My name is Papu Uti, I’m a junior attending Kapolei High School.

On the day of March 19, 2009, my freshman year, I got into what you call a freak accident.

During a game of pick-up football, Papu suffered a devastating blow to his left leg.

The left foot that he planted in the mud was injured when he was tackled.

The extent of the injury caused that leg to become amputated.

He’s an inspirational player to many of the students here, not only student athletes, but just students in general because of his ability to overcome adversity.

He’s been in an accident and he lost his lower left leg.

It was amputated and for a whole year, he was on crutches and now he has a prosthetic leg and he has not allowed that to stop him.

He has really shown a lot of character in his ability to come back and work hard.

[INDISTINCT] under right now is basically football training, getting better, trying to strengthen myself, not only in sports but in school as well.

He’s very committed to what he does on the football field.

This past year he was not able to play but he was still able to contribute just in the way that he carried himself being a vocal leader and that was very important to our team.

In all my years of football, I’ve never had a kid with more heart and more, who was more inspirational than Papu Uti.

It has been a big change.

It made a huge impact in my life.

Papu has undergone physical therapy and training to prepare for his future.

He vows to be playing football in the upcoming season with a prosthetic leg.

This is Joshua Saludez from Kapolei High School reporting for HIKI NŌ.

Aloha, I’m Kailani Ibanez and I’m a sophomore at H.P.

Baldwin High School on Maui, and I’m recording this from my home on October 8th, 2020 When we first started quarantine, I was excited.

My first year of high school had been extremely stressful for me, especially towards the end of third quarter, and being able to finish my freshman year from the comforts of home was a huge relief to me.

When quarantine first began, I mainly just did the virtual homework I got from school and relaxed in my room.

But as the months went by and distance learning for the new school year began, I realized that during quarantine, I actually hadn’t tried any of the things I’d always wanted to do.

It’s stuff like trying to learn the ‘ukulele, practicing painting, drawing or even embroidery, which is something I wanted to learn for years.

But as my responsibilities towards school grow, I know that I’m running out of free time.

However, I know that if I set aside at least a little bit of time each week to work on these hobbies, I can start a habit of consistently doing something that makes me happier and helps to cultivate the skills I want to.

And like everyone else who’s had to adjust to staying at home, I just have to keep trying, one day at a time.

Now as a part of our celebration of the upcoming tenth anniversary of HIKI NŌ, let’s take a look at a story from Kamehameha Schools’ Kapālama, which aired in the very first episode and proved that student journalists could explore their schools’ past controversies with balance and objectivity.

When faced with adversity, do you run for cover or weather the storm?

Inspired by the book, Wayfinding Through the Storm: Speaking Truth to Power, a new course at Kamehameha Schools delves into the trustee controversy of the 1990s, focusing on the impact to the school and its students.

When trustee misconduct jeopardized Bishop Estate’s non-profit status, the controversy erupted into a huge blowout that made national headlines and resulted in the resignations of all five trustees.

I’d say that from the time that the old trustees left until now, we’ve been doing very well in trying to control our actions for the good.

Part of the healing process for some of the teachers and staff was to share their experiences in the book which was released in 2009.

The Wayfinding Through the Storm book was one of our summer reading books and so, after kind of getting engaged in the, like, the text, and just the people and the voices and then, kind of thinking about my schedule for my senior year, you know, I thought, being here for 12 years and making this my 13th, I should really know my school better.

And reading the book was one step, but taking the class was like a whole new adventure.

The class offers a unique learning experience.

Rather than just recounting events, guest speakers who experienced the controversy first hand give insight and context into the tumultuous times.

The class serves as a living lesson about the power of standing up for one’s beliefs and taking action.

We’ve created this course and it’s a course that we think is going to change things.

You don’t just, you know, stand up, stand out, become a little rebellious for what you believe in, but it has to go somewhere.

At the end of the semester, students were compelled to take action and decided to create a petition for student rights to present to the administration.

I signed the petition because I wanted the administration to hear our viewpoints and opinions and to take what we had to say into consideration when making important decisions for the school.

I think the class really gave me a voice and it really taught me how to stand up for what I believe in.

The powerful lesson learned by students in this course has led to an unexpected demand to offer it again this semester.

This unique opportunity allows students to learn about their past in order to pave a way for a brighter future for Kamehameha.

This is Shay Kauwe from Kamehameha Schools Kapālama for HIKI NŌ.

Thank you for watching this episode of HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i’s new wave of storytellers.

Be sure to join us next week for more Student Reflections on school and life as we persevere through the year 2020.

Plus, we’ll continue our look back at 10 years of HIKI NŌ.

Can do!