[intro music] HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

Aloha and welcome to this episode of HIKI NŌ  on PBS Hawai‘i.

My name is Hailey Cañete-Gómez.

And I'm Riah Sabado, and we're seniors at James   Campbell High School on O‘ahu.

We have  a packed show for you tonight.

We get   to reveal the winning entries of HIKI  NŌ's 2025 Spring Challenge competition.

Each season during the school year, HIKI NŌ  challenges student reporters to produce stories   in the span of a few days.

These contests are  called challenges.

For the 2025 HIKI NŌ on PBS   Hawai‘i Spring Challenge, the call was for  videos based on the prompt, New Beginnings.

Usually, students have weeks to work  on projects for HIKI NŌ and lots of   help from our teachers and industry mentors.

During this competition, students had just a   week to search for story ideas and people  to interview, film and edit their videos.

In these competitions, HIKI NŌ judges look  for stories produced with technical skill   and storytelling finesse.

They also have to meet  the prompt.

Now, it's our pleasure to share the   winning entries with you.

Let's start with an  honorable mention in our high school division.

In the high school division of the 2025 HIKI  NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge receiving   honorable mention is Maui High School  located in Kahului, Maui.

Congratulations.

Student reporters interviewed  members of their school men's   volleyball team to discover what is behind  their recent spring season winning streak.

I think every season is a new beginning, and  this year we're really trying to walk in and,   like, trying to get better, and like, show  that we're the best team on Maui so far.

The Maui High School volleyball team's  journey to success hasn't always been smooth,   but with resilience and teamwork, they've  managed to maintain an undefeated season.

I think definitely, volleyball is a  sport you can't get down on yourselves,   because you're gonna get new guys every  single season.

Some freshmen will come up,   or some seniors will leave.

You know, maybe a  little more experienced players are gonna come up,   so you have to put the pressure on them.

Can't go  easy on them, especially because once we leave,   they're gonna be the guys here.

So, you'll  have to figure out the new team every time,   be able to adapt to what people you have and  be able to succeed and go as far as you can go.

[cheers] The last year's season, we didn't do that  good.

We were teammates, and this year,   we're friends.

A big thing with us  was connection, and then this year,   we bonded a lot more.

We're a lot closer.

It  just allowed us to play a lot more as a team,   and if we play to the top of our ability,  we are the best, and we can beat the best.

but the team faces a tougher season.

The seniors  sadly have to start their own new beginnings.

It's definitely very sad for me.

You know,  I love all my teammates.

They're like,   close friends to me.

I do think college will be a   new beginning for me.

It's gonna be  sad to leave these guys and move on.

Let's go.

Take care of your team.

You know, they're your  family.

If you have beef between your teammates,   it's gonna create a bad atmosphere.

You're  not gonna be practicing or playing good.

Though, winning 8-0 without losing a  single set, their main goal is to - Win MIL and go to states.

We  played Baldwin last night, and   it was a tough fight, and I think a lot  of it was just because we went in there   thinking we're gonna win no matter what,  and they almost beat us.

If we get cocky,   we start thinking we're the best, we can't  lose, a team will come by, they'll sweep us,   and we won't even know it, but it's a great  feeling, and we want to stay undefeated.

Being humble, but yet being aggressive at  the same time.

Sometimes you don't know   what you don't know until you actually go  through the experience.

We have to develop   the younger underclassmen, the JV, and work  with them and get them up to speed with what   the varsity is doing.

We just got to keep  doing the same thing that we're doing now,   find out new things that they can get  better at, and then work on those things.

Once the seniors leave, the  responsibility shifts to the   juniors, and the pressure is on them to step up.

Definitely gonna them, you know, really valuable  to team, right now especially.

I definitely take a   lot of responsibility, especially the captain,  like, lead the team.

We gotta be able to not,   like, get down on ourselves even when we're  losing.

We gotta be able to keep looking for   the future and make sure that we're looking for  those wins.

Volleyball is much more mistake game.

You got to be able to keep like, succeeding  and not be able to focus on your losses,   because everyone makes mistakes.

I think  we'll have a little more seniors next year,   so we'll all need to share the responsibility,  but it's gonna be good leaders next year.

As they continue to face challenges this  season, their unity and dedication will be   tested and perhaps lead them into even greater  accomplishments, despite their senior players'   departures.

This is Kallysta Miguel from  Maui High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

In the high school division of the 2025  HIKI NŌ PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge,   receiving third place from the island of  O‘ahu is Kālaheo High School.

Congratulations.

This story provides an insightful   look at the kickoff of girls flag  football in the state of Hawai‘i.

[whistle blows] To most of the audience, that whistle  was the sound of a new game, but to the   players on the field, it was much more than  that.

It was the sound of a new beginning.

On March 25, 2025 the OIA flag  football season started.

This   meant that girls from across the state  could now participate in flag football.

So, I joined flag football because I thought it  would be such a cool opportunity.

I'd previously   done cheerleading at Kālaheo before, and a lot of  my cheer friends were going to do flag football.

So, it was mainly just a big group of friends  deciding, hey, this is a cool new sport that the   school is introducing, and it might be a  really cool opportunity.

So, flag football   has impacted my life by basically just helping  me become a better person.

I made our Coach Lee,   he's awesome.

He's not only teaching  us the fundamentals of flag football,   but he's also teaching us, like life skills and  how the real world is going to impact us.

So,   not only is it helping me become  more athletic in like my athletic   abilities, but it's definitely helping  me become a better, well-rounded person.

I think that, because it's the first season,  and nobody has really ever played before,   that everyone is a little more uplifting  towards each other.

Everyone cares more,   and there's just a bigger sense of community  within the team and within the entire state.

Like, all of the schools, I noticed that compared  to other sports, all of the schools have just   been a lot kinder to each other.

There's  been a lot less arguments on the field,   fighting, like and just everyone knows that it's  everyone's first time, so they're being patient.

Flag football really, like, we do a lot of  conditioning, so it's really been testing my   endurance and making me realize that I'm a lot  stronger than I think, and that when I'm tired,   I just gotta keep pushing myself and always  do my best.

It's kind of a new sport,   so it's definitely had some challenges.

But  I just give it my all.

My teammates give it   their all.

I am really excited to continue  next year, because I'm determined to,   like, make a name for Kālaheo flag football,  and I really enjoy the girls doing it,   and the coaches, and just how I can come  out here and work hard and feel the support.

I'm gonna do the sport next year 110%  just because the community is amazing,   the people are amazing, the coaches  are amazing, and it's so much fun.

To most of the audience, that same whistle marks  the end of the game.

To the players on the field,   it meant more than that.

It marked a chance to try  something new, a chance to meet different people,   a chance to become a part of a rapidly growing  community.

And above all, it marked the start   of a new beginning.

This is Emma Wittig from  Kālaheo High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

Taking second place in the middle  school division in the 2025 HIKI NŌ   Spring Challenge is Moanalua Middle  School on O‘ahu.

Congratulations.

These students interviewed the new coach of  the Moanalua High School boy's baseball team,   who has some history with the team himself.

Moanalua High School's baseball team has a new  beginning with a familiar face.

Todd Takabuki,   a former pitcher and infielder, made  his way home as this year's head coach.

In 2011, we were able to win the  first OIA championship for the school,   and that's something that's still very vivid  in my mind.

Playing baseball in high school,   we want to make memories, right.

Wins  and losses happen.

We want them to be   able to talk about and have lifelong  relationships, right, with each other.

[chants] So, after college, I got a job as a teacher  Kailua High School.

The coach here asked me,   like, "Hey, do you want to coach  here?"

And I was like, "Oh, you know,   it's keeps me around the game."

So, I was like,  oh, that's kind of something I wanted to do.

All right, find the way on.

Find the way on.

This is the start of Todd's  new position in the field,   working under Kailua veteran  Head Coach Corey Ishigo.

I've been there for nine years, so I was a JV head  coach there for four.

So, that's been something   that's been really good experience-wise.

So, a lot  of the things that I learned that I want our kids   to know he's never going to take credit for them  doing well, right?

He's going to take the blame.

In 2023 Todd applied to be the new  head coach of Moanalua High School,   but he'd have to wait one more  season before he got his chance.

Don't give up on that.

Just stay  with him and make sure, right.

If I got that job when I did apply for  it two years ago, maybe I wasn't ready,   and then maybe I wouldn't be as prepared as I am   now.

I think that's something that  is like, the blessing in disguise.

Giving up is not a part of Coach Todd's playbook,   and it's this mentality that he  wants to instill in his new team.

We talk about it a lot, about getting 1% better  every day.

I think if they have that mindset,   then that's something that we're gonna  grow as a team and individually.

From   whatever they've done in the past,  it doesn't matter.

Whatever I've done   in the past doesn't matter, right?

For  both of us, it's gonna be a fresh start.

It's still kind of new to me and new to  him, but just so far, he's been a really   good coach.

I feel like we have a better  connection with each other compared to   previous years.

And I'd say so far, we've just  been playing overall, like better as a team.

He's gotten really close to the team, and I feel  like the program's in really good hands now.

Over my time here, right, I want this to become  more of a family, and I think that's something   that we're working towards, right?

I have to  gain their trust, right, not as a coach, but   as a person as well.

And I think over time, this  family idea is going to get better and better.

[cheers] This is Maile Liu from Moanalua Middle  School reporting for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

In the high school division of the 2025  HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge,   receiving second place is H.P.

Baldwin  High School on Maui.

Congratulations.

These student reporters share  the story behind a program that   encourages the next generation  of filmmakers.

They even scored   an interview with a celebrity Hollywood  director who was born and raised on Maui.

I think everybody has creativity,   and sometimes I think you just need a reason  and somebody telling you to make something,   and I think in large part that's what we're  offering this whole kind of support system.

Located on Maui, a new, up  and coming organization,   is helping young creatives turn their ideas  into powerful stories, one film at a time.

Hisako Film Lab is a brand-new organization,  which started with our summer lab program.

We've   been able to replicate that into seasonal programs  where we go through the entire process of making   a short film, from pitching ideas to writing  it, to casting and filming all over the island,   and then editing it and then finally  premiering it.

First and foremost,   when we started, we wanted to find just kind  of like, the best way to support filmmakers.

There's a lot of really cool  things happening in the schools,   and we also wanted to kind of fill in the  gaps where we could offer something unique.

Founded by Maui Director Destin  Cretton, Hisako Film Lab was   created to inspire the next generation of  storytellers through hands-on filmmaking.

Our goal is to really nurture the students  that are right in front of us, and to give   the young people on Maui specifically an  opportunity that didn't exist otherwise.

Teach me how to craft a story and enjoy the  process of making a film.

I think that has   pushed me to want to do it more and giving me  a better foundation to start something new.

It's helping me find a new journey,  discover something different,   and pave a path that I wasn't  sure if I ever wanted to complete.

At the Lab, each film starts as  a fresh idea, and for students,   it's the beginning of something bigger:  confidence, connection and creativity.

Every time you finish a project, there's this  huge kind of push to exert yourself to finish   something and get through to the finish  line, and then as soon as you're done,   you're always starting back at the  blank page, and always kind of like,   taking what you learned on the last  thing and applying it to the next one.

The Hisako Film Lab is based on that  early experience of creativity for me,   and my hope is, by giving that experience to  other students on Maui, be able to point to that,   that moment entering that lab as  their beginning for their creative   process of their life.

That is the real  beating heart of the Hisako Film Lab.

This is Miya Suzuki from H.P.

Baldwin  High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

Coming in first place of the middle  school division of the 2025 HIKI NŌ   on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge is Maui Waena  Intermediate School on Maui.

Congratulations.

Students take us behind the scenes of a local Maui   shop that has a unique purpose to  employ people with disabilities.

This is a place where we all can just be us.

Though the community often overlooks the  abilities of people with special needs,   behind these doors, they find new beginnings.

We are a gift and retail store called Depo  market that employs adults with disabilities.

So,   I have an autistic brother.

His name is Chris,  and we started this business because Chris really   wanted a job but wasn't able to apply for the jobs  that he would actually want to work at.

And so,   we started doing pop ups for three years, selling  his jewelry on Maui.

And then we eventually   opened this store to help other adults in our  community that are experiencing the same thing,   so that they can have a job and earn money  doing something that they want to do.

For these, I designed these.

In addition to helping her brother,   Depo Market has opened new pathways in  life for others with similar challenges.

Yeah, whenever I would go look for jobs,  they said that I couldn't work there.

It was challenging to find  jobs that would suit or fit me.

Although Jules, who was born with Williams  Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which   impacts ability to learn and behave, had  previously struggled with getting a job,   she was granted an opportunity at  depo market to showcase her abilities.

Yeah, it's hard to find employers like Tiffany  who will let you work in places because of your   special needs.

It helps them find a suitable  job for them to feel happy and feel at home.

So, opening the store has created new beginnings  I think for everybody involved.

It's created new   beginnings for me; I've never had employees  before or managed a retail store.

So,   that's been really empowering, and I've learned  a lot.

It's been a new beginning for my brother,   who's has never had work experience  before, especially in a professional   setting.

And same with all of our employees.

everyone's been able to meet new people.

[paper bag crunches] Most importantly, it's a really good  new beginning for our community overall,   so that they aren't confused or scared when they  meet people like Chris; so that they can come here   and interact with people that are different,  that they might not normally interact with.

You want us to do another strand, Kayla?

Yeah, this feels like home.

Depo Market, a store that started from  an experiment and ended with success,   will continue to give these people with  different abilities a fresh new start.

This is Layla Magsayo from Maui Waena  Intermediate for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

Receiving first place in the high  school division of the 2025 HIKI NŌ on   PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge is Kapa‘a  High School on Kaua‘i.

Congratulations.

These students produced an outstanding story  about their school's auto mechanics class   and the successful program they've  launched to refurbish golf carts.

People want to get rid of these  golf carts that they think, "Oh,   it's garbage already.

It's no worth in fixing."

We take them in, we soup them up like this,   painting on them, give them wheels,  rims, tires, lift light, sounds.

The Automotive Technology Pathway at Kapa‘a High  School is now giving old golf carts new life.

We wanted to have some kind of a project that  was a small scale of working on a vehicle,   something that the students could stretch their  skills on, something that they could work on,   something we could, you know,  modify and tune without having   problems on the road.

We decided, and  we had this idea of using golf carts.

Having older carts already on  campus provided a starting point.

And the head custodian, he offered his golf cart  as the prototype for us to go.

It was bone stock,   and we took it apart down to the  frame, cleaned it up.

You know,   we did a whole bunch of things, from rust  treatment, body work, paint, suspension,   tires.

It was a lot of fun, and that  was kind of breaking the ice for us.

So, these are more delicate and  more fragile.

They'll break into   about five pieces before you can even get  another tool to it.

If you try one tool,   the bolts strip, and you gotta go through  a hassle of undoing the strip bolts.

Fixing any older machine  requires problem solving skills.

When you work in the shop or working on a vehicle,  they have to find answers that are not in, like,   the obvious places.

They have to ask around.

Things break and they kind of go wrong.

That   causes the students to kind of make a choice  where, like, are we going to give up?

Are we   going to get it done?

There's a group  of us that works on these challenges,   and I learned do it right the first  time, or read the instructions better,   because you read the instructions good  the first time, you can go farther.

Refurbishing the carts is only the first  step in providing a full-scale service.

And what I had the students do is I had  them write a business plan and kind of   lay out the steps needed to get to the  end goal, as well as the material and   the costs involved.

We're pretty much  flipping these carts.

We fix them up,   we sell them, and then whatever money we get  from the carts, we put back into the shop,   like tools, consumables, and  other parts for future golf carts.

And I'm proud to say, maybe just last year,  we were able to create a vehicle for auction   that went as a fundraiser.

So, we're kind  of trying to tie the circle back in and   just keep it rolling.

I'd say one of the  neatest things about it is when we see the   golf carts driving around, security is using  it, maintenance using them, there's a sense   of pride the students have because they're  providing something that wasn't there before.

This is Hailey Hadley from Kapa‘a High  School for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

It's amazing that these students took the  challenge to discover stories, conduct interviews,   and edit professional pieces to the best of  their ability during these whirlwind contests.

They couldn't do it without the guidance  of their teachers.

Let's meet one of the   dedicated HIKI NŌ teachers behind the Kapa‘a  High School's winning student production team.

Our media production teacher and HIKI NŌ advisor  is Mr. Chris Sanderl.

This is his third year   teaching at Kapa‘a High School, and before  that, he was the HIKI NŌ advisor at Kapa‘a   Middle School.

He always ensures our projects have  the highest possible production value to keep our   audience engaged.

This keeps us pushing toward  perfection.

Mr. Sanderl and his wife just welcomed   their first child into the world only a few  weeks ago.

They are enjoying this time together   as a family and look forward to their first  trip to the beach with their new little girl.

Congratulations to all of the student teams  who worked so hard under the pressure of a   professional deadline.

They really stepped  up to the challenge.

Stay tuned for an extra   segment after the credits to get to know  HIKI NŌ teacher Chris Sanderl even more.

We hope you've enjoyed the work of Hawai‘i's New  Wave of Storytellers.

Don't forget to subscribe   to PBS Hawai‘i on YouTube, Instagram, and  TikTok.

You can find this HIKI NŌ episode   and more at pbsHawai‘i.org.

Tune in next week for  more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.

[outro music] My name is Chris Sanderl.

I teach at Kapa‘a High  School on Kaua‘i, and I'm currently teaching film   and media production.

My favorite thing about  participating with HIKI NŌ is giving students   a real-world opportunity with film and media  production.

Yeah, I surf, I do CrossFit.

I'm   always outdoors at the beach, getting outside  as much as I can.

I gotta say my house.

I think   living on Kaua‘i, the thing I love most about it  is the community.

Hardest thing about living on   Kaua‘i for me is being at a distance from my  family on the mainland.

Breathing underwater.

Malasadas.

Saimin is my favorite local snack, if  you call it a snack.

I call it a meal.

Obviously,   my wife and kid.

Watching my daughter smile  is my favorite thing about being a dad,   making her laugh.

But I guess I could also  say the ability to take photographs.

Early   Bird.

Being a dad too, early bird, night owl  no longer exists.

Anything sweet, chocolate,   donuts and ice cream.

Staying up late, although I  am an early bird, or I need to be.

Love to laugh.

[cricket chirps] I'm pretty good at the yoyo and I can  juggle.

My mom kind of helped train me as a   street entertainer from a very young  age, so I always had a backup plan.