HIKI NŌ, Hawaii’s new wave of storytellers.

Aloha and welcome to this special edition of HIKI NŌ.

I’m Monica Schmidt, a proud 2011 HIKI NŌ grad from Baldwin High School on Maui.

I’m coming to you from my home in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Over the next half hour, I’ll present the winning stories from the 2020 HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge.

I’m so excited and a little nervous to be making the first public announcements of these Challenge results.

I’m also very honored to be presenting these awards because they hold a special meaning for me.

In 2011, one of my best friends, Katie Arita-Chang, and I produced a story that took first place in the Newswriting category of the very first HIKI NŌ Awards.

Ten years later, I’m now an executive producer for FOX5 in Las Vegas.

The impact of producing that award-winning HIKI NŌ story with Katie has stayed with me all these years.

Of course, back in the day of the first HIKI NŌ Awards, the nominated stories took about two months to produce.

We worked closely with mentors and teachers.

With the HIKI NŌ Challenge, student teams had only four days to complete their stories with no outside help.

The stories had to reflect a theme given at the start of the four-day production window.

The stories are scored based on how well the team conveyed the theme, how well they met the HIKI NŌ story criteria, and production values.

The theme for this HIKI NŌ Challenge was: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

Our first story did not receive an award, but the judges were so impressed with it and thought it should be shown because of its depth of emotion.

We’ll take a look at the Fall Challenge entry from Saint Louis High School in a minute.

But first, let’s see how they decided to tackle the theme of a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

Aloha mai kākou, my name is Makana Viloria and I’m currently a senior attending Saint Louis school and I’m also one of the producers of the Saint Louis High School’s HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge Story.

When my teammates and I found out that the story prompt was: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected, we decided to address the struggling families, especially during this pandemic.

We decided to highlight the fact that through the pain and darkness, there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now, this is our interpretation of: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

So, my mom and dad, the story between that is, when I was young, when I was first born, I, of course, was loved by my family.

I never had a hard life, exactly, so I would never say that my life was difficult or, like traumatic because I know so many people with so much worse situations that I can’t say that I lived a hard life.

But by the time I was two years old, my dad got cancer, uh, I forget the type.

It’s the type of cancer that lives in your calf and he had stage three.

So, what he had to do is he had to go to Texas and have like an experimental surgery, which thankfully worked out.

But during that time my mom and dad were in Texas they fought a lot, they didn’t get along, and their relationship was breaking, so by the time I was four years old, they split.

So, I don’t really remember my parents ever having a good relationship.

It was just very difficult trying to, uh, you know, manage that separation and always at each other’s throat.

My parents got divorced like four years later when I was eight years old, because my dad got remarried.

And I pretty much, like really early, early on in my life, my grandmother raised me.

It was just really, uh, difficult, um, splitting my time between my dad and my mom and then sometimes I’ll get the question like, oh, who do you love more, all that stuff, and I was like, uh, I love you both equally, you know?

And, I told this before, that in the divorce, like when they went to court, something was said that actually made me feel really blessed and happy to be, you know, in the situation that I am, even though it may be a little difficult.

It was still very, uh, I guess, uplifting, because my mom’s told me that in the divorce court, that the judge said, many people through this and we fight to whoever gets to keep the child.

One person cannot take him, one person doesn’t want the child, and we have to fight on someone to take care of the child.

But for me, there’s so many people that are willing to take me in, to take care of me, to love me that, it made the judge so in awe and I was so blessed to have so many people that loved me.

And it was just, you know, it was amazing.

For as many times I go through like the tropes of being a kid, growing up, you know, oh, I hate you dad, or oh, I hate you mom, all that stuff, I know deep in my heart that I still am so thankful and blessed that I have so many people that love me and want to take care of me.

Even though that they might not like each other, I know they still love me and that makes it all great in my opinion.

Our next Fall Challenge story received an Honorable Mention from the judges and comes to us from Kalāheo High School on the Windward side of Oʻahu.

Congratulations.

Let’s hear how they approached the theme.

When I read this year’s HIKI NŌ prompt, I had to really sit and think about what we could film.

With COVID-19 closing down our state, we were stumped.

There hasn’t been a specific moment that has brought me pure joy during this quarantine.

I started to think of what did make me happy during quarantine, and I started to think about my brother, Bon Jovi.

The more I started to think of him and his situation, I could vividly remember him talking about the skate parks and when they re-opened, and how he hasn’t felt excitement and joy over something he lost interest in after graduating high school in so long.

In the global pandemic that we’re living in, making the most of even small things, make everyday living that much more exciting.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rates in Hawaiʻi rose to 15.1 percent leaving 92,550 people unemployed.

Because of this, many of them struggle to find ways to stay afloat after losing their jobs.

Among those that were laid off, a large number of people came from the tourism industry, which experienced a sharp decline due to the shutdown.

I run a small tour company, there’s no tourists here in Hawai‘i, so, there was no work.

I work for another...I work for a few other tour companies that basically shut down during the, this COVID experience.

Tourism is experiencing a loss of 99.5 percent of travelers, dropping from about 30,000 to between 600 and 800 per day.

Many others, like Bon Jovi, had no choice but to turn to government benefits like EBT or Electronic Benefit Transfer.

Hawaiʻi residents on EBT increased by 18,000 in April to total more than 170,000 people.

On average, 500 EBT applications are submitted to the Department of Health and Safety every day.

If I sit there in my own thoughts, it creeps up like demons.

I have to, I have to focus, and I have to try as hard as I possibly can to stop thinking about all the negative things that have happened to me.

I recently started skateboarding again, I took 10 years off.

I started skateboarding again.

The first day the skate parks opened up, that was pure joy.

I had both...I went to two skate parks, one in Keolu Hills, the other one in Hawai‘i Kai, and I had both parks to myself.

I brought a broom, I swept it out, and I had the whole park to myself for hours.

It was amazing.

Even though this moment didn’t help Bon Jovi out of his current situation, he was able to find just a little bit of light in the darkness, which came as a sign that things were taking a turn for the better.

This is Hope Kanoa from Kalāheo High School for HIKI NŌ.

Now, to a story from Kaiser High School in East Oʻahu.

This story also received an Honorable Mention from the judges.

Congratulations.

Let’s hear how they took on the prompt: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

I’m Emily Jackson and I was the writer slash videographer for the HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge story for Kaiser High School.

So, when my teammates and I heard the prompt: a moment of pure joy, we decided it was really important to reflect on moments of hardship, strife and dread that might happen before a moment of peace and happiness.

And we felt it was really reflective of all the strife that we’re facing during 2020.

So, with that said, please enjoy our interpretation of a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

Do you ever feel like you’re wandering?

It’s not relaxing, it’s almost numbing.

Like your head is outside of yourself, an infinite scene capsulates your mind.

For as soon as you wander, you drift, and then you’re lost, and its salty body seems endless.

What is this?

To breathe but not to live.

Every time I try to speak about it, the ocean fills my lungs once more with melancholic tsunamis.

Moreover, if I feel like this, what does it mean to live otherwise, before all this, before this home became a shelter, and my mental pool didn’t seem so suffocating.

I’m wandering and I do not know how to stop.

But maybe wandering’s OK. Maybe it’s OK to feel apart from yourself, like you’re a character of an unknown book and you have no idea what the author’s intentions are.

Because when you’re lost, when you feel like you have nothing except for memories of normalcy, what you've already found while you were onshore, becomes so much more colorful, so much more crisp, and so much more full of life.

Because what is treasure without rarity?

What’s privilege without suffering?

That is why the sea will teach you a new way.

More colorful than ever before, all you have to do is be willing to listen to it.

Note to myself: I think in this moment, I should breathe.

Listen.

Feel.

And never hide.

For when you wash up the shore once again, you will never forget what something has taught you.

And now, our third-place finisher in the High School Division of the 2020 HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge is, Maui High School, go Sabers.

But before we watch their award-winning story, let’s find out what they did to take on the prompt.

My name is Samantha Della, and I was the producer and production assistant from Maui High School’s HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge story.

When my teammates and I first heard the story prompt: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected, we thought about Jadynne Zane, a senior from Maui High School.

Before COVID-19, she sparked the idea to teach an in-person medical exploration class to middle school students and immediately started planning.

However, what she didn’t plan for was COVID-19 and the events following.

So, here is our interpretation of: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

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.

So purposefully, I’ve taught 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 kinda 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.

What drove me to overcome the challenges COVID-19 brought is the growing passion to further encourage students to explore things that they want to do and it also kind of is just that feeling that moment of joy.

Through the class, seeing the students, kind of, explore the realm that they didn’t necessarily know was right for them and letting themselves 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 that 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 could 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.

And now, the second-place award in the High School Division of the HIKI NŌ 2020 Fall Challenge goes to Waiākea High School on the Big Island, way to go Warriors.

First, let’s hear how they interpreted the theme: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

Hi, I’m Kathryn McClary, and I was the producer, filmer, and scriptwriter for Waiākea High School’s Fall Challenge HIKI NŌ story.

When we first heard the prompt: a moment of pure bliss that came when least expected, I immediately thought of my neighbor Lorraine and her battle with cancer.

There’s been many joys throughout her life, like her family, but the main one that has stuck with her has always been her faith.

I wanted to give a huge thank you to Lorraine, for letting us tell her story, and another thank you to my teammates for helping me tell her story.

All along this time, you know, it’s been like you alone, but I’m not really alone because Heavenly Father was always there with me.

Lorraine Cummings, a woman in her 70s, has had benign tumors for most of her life, until a few years ago when they turned malignant.

And it started when I was a senior in high school, in fact, the day before graduation I got out of the hospital from my first surgery.

A few years ago, they sent me to O‘ahu to have further studies done and found out that I did have, uh, beginning stages of breast cancer.

So, then oncologist came down and he said he’s gonna put me on this cancer pill, and I remember asking him, what does the cancer pill, what will it do for me?

And he said, it’ll kill your hormones, so I left it at that, and I went on a trip with my elderly companion.

All the time, those months, I was so weak, and I was convinced this pill was killing me.

A once active individual, Lorraine now experienced extreme weight loss while undergoing chemotherapy and taking hormone-killing pills.

It killed my appetite, it’s draining all my energy, so I prayed about it and I decided to go off of the pill.

Months later, Lorraine returned home and shared her decision with her doctors who recommended she get her blood tested to assess the damage she’d done in the recent months off her meds.

And when the results came, everything was excellent and that was a very special moment, because I knew Heavenly Father had blessed me.

I was already been healed.

In Lorraine’s case, it was ultimately her faith that saved her.

But Heavenly Father was always there, and He made me the person that I am now.

He strengthened me and I’m not afraid of anything.

This is Lichen Forster from Waiākea High School for HIKI NŌ.

Now, I’m going to announce the only award given in the Middle School Division of the 2020 HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge.

It’s for first place in that division and it goes to Waiākea Elementary School on Hawaiʻi Island, congratulations.

Because there’s no Elementary School Division, elementary schools compete in the Middle School Division and this time it’s an elementary school that won.

Let’s hear how they approached the theme.

This is Kailani Kawamoto.

Kayako Kobayashi.

Rylie Ng.

And Terrance Wong.

Together, we make the production team for Waiākea Elementary School’s HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge story.

When my teammates and I heard that the story prompt was: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected, we decided to focus on something positive that resulted from the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Distance learning and staying at home has been a challenge for all of us.

But when the team heard about my family’s farm, we knew that there was a story to share.

So, here’s our interpretation of a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

In order to use this... Robert Kobayashi is a superhero.

By day, he is a high school teacher on the island of Hawaiʻi who is having to teach automotive and welding virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But when school is not in session, he transforms into a farmer.

My farm is located in Keaʻau, right below Kurtistown, and I have about 34 acres here, but I take care of about 50 acres all around the borders and stuff like that, so, I’m pretty busy.

Together with his partner, Rachelle, and their two children, their family raises chickens, a horse, guppies, sheep, cows, dogs, kittens and ducks.

One thing about nature, it does its thing 24/7, it grows and grows and grows and goes and goes and goes.

When COVID-19 was another attack from Mother Nature, it affected the farm in a positive way.

It was actually good for us because the children were able to, oh, even us, we were able to do a lot more projects that we weren’t able to -- normally we’re so busy and we’re going here and there every weekend and we get home after dark -- but COVID allowed us to be home a lot more.

Although the pandemic rages on, and people are still quarantined at home, the farm has brought unexpected joy to the family and even a sense of realization to our hero.

It reminds me that I’m alive, and I’m living, and I’m pushing myself.

This is Rylie Ng from Waiākea Elementary School for HIKI NŌ.

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the first-place award in the High School Division of the HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge goes to Kapaʻa High School on Kauaʻi.

Congratulations, that’s so awesome.

Before we see their winning story, let’s find out how they responded to a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

This is Ian Raquel and I was the production assistant for the Kapaʻa High School HIKI NŌ Fall Challenge story.

When my teammates and I heard the prompt would be: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected, we decided to create a story revolving around a creative family project that my friend Ella always wanted and now won’t stop talking about.

So, here’s our interpretation of a moment of pure joy that came when least expected.

We’ve dreamt of this for so long.

I can’t believe it’s finally happening.

My brother, Otis, and I have always wanted a treehouse and one day, our parents brought that fantasy to life.

They’ve been talking about it for years, and it seemed like, well, if we don’t do it now, the children are going to be too old to really want to take time and enjoy it and be with it.

No one was expecting COVID to happen, but suddenly, in the middle of lockdown on Kauaʻi, we found that time was a blessing in disguise.

It gave us the ability to find a carpenter and gather the resources to work together as a family.

So, my impression was, given sort of free reign, so it was like having a creative process that I could start from scratch, right?

With the input of the clients and in this case, it was both adults and children.

My favorite part of the treehouse is the trap door.

It’s like a secret entrance to the treehouse.

It adds mystery.

My favorite part of the treehouse has gotta be the front window, looking out over the land, because it just really feels good to know that we worked hard to get that beautiful site.

I didn’t have a treehouse as a kid and so, that’s something I’ve gotten to do and have for my family now.

So, what I’ve noticed is dealing with clients that are of many different ages, they all have the same issues, it’s just they communicate them differently.

So, like, children, when they have a creative process, they’re one idea right after the other, they can let it go.

Adults seem to have an idea and want to stay connected with that idea once they get it.

Thankfully, our carpenter is flexible with our decision-making process.

But there’s still lots to do and many more obstacles to jump over.

Well, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

It wasn’t.

Our main conflict was windows.

Otis didn’t want any, and I wanted a lot.

So, to overcome that, we had us have separate stories.

All of this is going to be boarded.

When I first walked into the treehouse, it was like I was already there, like I’ve already been there, like when I first saw it, I just knew it was mine.

Before I stepped into the treehouse, I was afraid I would be a little underwhelmed.

But once I did step in, it exceeded all of my expectations.

The feeling is hard to describe, but I was just filled with such happiness.

This is Ella Anderson from Kapaʻa High School for HIKI NŌ.

Thank you for watching this special 2020 Fall Challenge edition of HIKI NŌ.

I hope you’ve enjoyed watching these amazing expressions of the theme: a moment of pure joy that came when least expected, as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing them with you.

Congratulations to all the winners, the participants, and to the thousands of students who have contributed to HIKI NŌ during the first 10 years.

You’ve all proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Hawaiʻi students HIKI NŌ, can do.

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