[intro music] HIKI NŌ, Hawai‘i's new wave of storytellers.

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

My name is Dillon Catlett and I'm a junior at Wai‘anae High School.

We have a packed show for you tonight.

I get to reveal the winning entries of HIKI NŌ's 2023 Spring Challenge competition.

Before we dive in, we have a special segment for you.

Each season, HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i invites students from across the state to give them a chance to represent their school and take on the challenge of hosting the show.

And like many, I said, “HIKI NŌ, can do.” HIKI NŌ hosts experience what it's like to be a professional host of a real television production, and that's everything from sitting in the hair and makeup chair, to reviewing the stories we present, to standing under the bright studio lights and reading from a teleprompter.

It's also a chance for us to visit the studio here at PBS Hawai‘i headquarters in Sand Island on O‘ahu, where we witness the technical work that goes into making a show like this.

And we take a peek at what our future careers could hold in the television and film industry.

Our student hosts this season came from middle and high schools on Maui, Kaua‘i, and O‘ahu.

Let's meet some of our stellar hosts of this season.

[slow orchestral music] Yeah.

Okay.

We'll have you look to different cameras.

This one will come up.

Okay.

Like, number three or number two?

Which one do you - okay.

I’m not used to being on this many cameras.

You want my hands at my side the whole time, or do you want me - okay.

All right.

And then would you like me to use my hands?

Okay, let’s see.

All right.

Hi, I'm Cadence Wisniewski.

I'm a junior at Kalāheo High School on the Island of O‘ahu.

My name is Kailani Ibanez.

I go to H. P. Baldwin High School on Maui.

My name is Dillon Catlett, and I am a junior at Wai‘anae High School.

Hi, my name is Emi Sado.

I go to Maui High School and I'm a junior Isabella Seaman.

I'm an eighth grader at Highlands Intermediate.

Hi, my name is Ella Anderson.

I'm a senior at Kapa‘a High School on the island of Kaua‘i.

I'm Kainoa Battad, an eighth grader at Honouliuli Middle School.

I'm Skye Gussenhoven, an eighth grader at Āliamanu Middle School on O‘ahu.

Okay.

Here we go.

Nice and loose, big energy, smile.

Aloha.

Aloha and welcome to the – okay, sorry, can I restart that one?

Aloha.

Aloha.

Aloha.

Aloha.

Aloha, and welcome to this week's episode of HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

Now I'm getting too excited.

Am I still talking really fast?

I feel like I'm talking really fast.

Sorry, I can't read that.

I don't want to like, add too much energy because it's like, a sad story.

Are we okay with me finger-gunning at the camera?

Is that okay?

Okay.

That's a really cool story.

Yeah, I am.

I just like, I'm trying to like, watch my pace and stuff, but - This is so fun.

Do you want me to say it again?

Or no?

Yeah, that was a good one.

No, I’m good.

Let's move on.

Can I do another take of that?

Cool.

I got this.

I can do it.

Was that too fast again?

Oh, my goodness.

Okay.

Student reflection.

Instagram, question mark?

I'm thinking, okay, here we go.

Oh, my gosh, I cannot - okay.

On campus, right.

Okay.

On campus for years to come.

I love improvement.

Here we go.

No, no, no.

Okay, here we go.

Okay, here we go.

I'll see you next week for more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.

Can I do one more take of that?

That concludes our show.

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

I'll see you next week for more proof that Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, HIKI NŌ, HIKI NŌ, HIKI NŌ, HIKI NŌ, can do.

We good?

We good?

All right.

All right.

I like that one, too.

Yeah, I felt really good on that one.

Yeah, I know, I don't know where that came from.

But okay.

Participating HIKI NŌ such a surreal experience that other people are seeing it and they're like actually like, hearing the messages I have to say.

So, that's one of the most exciting things about it.

I never imagined myself like, being a host.

I thought like, “Oh, these are just high schoolers probably getting chosen,” but I didn't know as like, a middle schooler I could be asked, so it's really exciting.

You guys wanted me on your guys's studio and hosting.

I thought it was like, the most amazing opportunity ever, literally a childhood dream come true.

[cheers and clapping] I hope that gave you a taste of the work we do behind the scenes to put on this great show.

Now it's time to share some of our students' most recent reporting.

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 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge, the call was for videos based on the prompt “A Blessing in Disguise.” Usually students have weeks to work on projects for HIKI NŌ and lots of help from our teachers and industry mentors.

During these challenges, students search for story ideas and people to interview, film, and edit all within five days.

HIKI NŌ judges look for stories produced with technical skill and storytelling finesse that also fit the prompt.

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

And now in the middle school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge, coming in third place is E.B.

deSilva Elementary School on Hawai‘i Island.

These elementary school students took home an award in the middle school division with this profile story about a local entrepreneur and the origins of her family business, titled Sweet Success.

Personally, um, I've been dealing with a lot of serious health issues for the last seven years, and it was starting to take a toll.

It just felt really like, stressed and anxious, and this move was kind of to help just kind of regroup as a family, and Hilo just gave off the vibe of kind of mellow and, um, it's just exactly what we were looking for.

And it's been really, a nice place for us to reset.

Well, when we moved here, we really didn't have a plan, and we wanted to just be open to new opportunities.

And we have a friend that runs a successful freeze-dried business on O‘ahu, so the idea was always in the back of our head.

And when we came here, I kind of realized that it wasn't very popular here, so I thought it was an opportunity.

This move to Hilo inspired Andrews and her family to start Maiau Munchies.

The nice thing about freeze drying is it's about, you know, maybe 30 minutes of work.

And then you can press the start button and walk away, and go have a nice day with your family.

Go watch your kid play soccer.

Um, come back after a long day, the machines beeping, it's ready.

Take everything out, package it up, put in the next thing that will run overnight, go to bed, wake up the next morning, and then the next batch will be ready.

And it's just a little bit of a cycle like that.

This business distracted Andrews from her medical challenges.

I think the business in general has been a blessing in disguise, from being brand new to the Big Island and not really knowing anybody here, not having friends or family.

Um, this business kind of put us right into the community.

We started doing, um, vending events, and we just met a lot of friends through it, other vendors, um, and Maiau has just been having a blast with candy, and all of her friends have been loving it, so it's just been a really fun, um, experience that's made our family closer, and we've met just a lot of really nice people.

Despite the many challenges, Andrews unmasked Sweet Success.

This is Elle Mochida from E.B.

deSilva Elementary School, for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

And now in the high school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge, receiving an honorable mention is Hawai‘i Technology Academy on O‘ahu.

This story from the students of Hawai‘i Technology Academy received an honorable mention for its powerful and moving interview with a young man who hopes his story will encourage others to reach out for help when they need it.

[siren] It was on New Year’s Day and, um, I ran off.

Um, I was with my girlfriend's family.

I ran off, um, then I went across the street.

As I went across the street, I lied down in the road.

January 1 serves as a fresh start for many, but for 17-year-old Dallas Ahana, it was the beginning of a different kind of journey.

So, on January 1, um, I had an accident.

A hit and run.

But during the accident, I wasn't supposed to be just an accident.

It was kind of on purpose, you know, I was dealing with emotions or whatever pain I had inside of me.

And so, I tried to go about it the wrong way.

At the last second, I tried to hesitate and try to lift my head up.

But before I could lift my head up, um, the car was already over me.

So, I lift my head up and hit the bottom of the frame of the car.

On January 1st, I didn't wake up till 11, and then, but they told me what happened.

And I was, I was confused.

I was like there’s no way I did that.

Better as time came by, and I started to remember what happened, and I just thought to myself, ‘That was dumb, that was stupid.’ And even three months after the accident, he's still dealing with some long-term effects.

I cannot eat right now.

I have a tube in my stomach.

Um, I can eat certain stuff here and there, but only like soft food, yeah, or I can drink stuff.

I wish someone, like, I mean, of course, I wish somebody, um, like, could have grabbed me and just hold me down.

But no, um, but I always had to stop whatever I was doing this.

Despite the negatives, Dallas sees a bright side to his recovery.

Now I'm starting to be more grateful about things, you know.

Whatever I have in front of me, I'm more grateful for it.

You know, we live, we live and we learn, you know.

As long as I'm still here, I'm still standing.

You know, being able to walk this earth.

I realized what I was not – that was not the way to go.

In light of the accident, Dallas has some advice for anyone going through hard times.

Everybody's going through something.

That's why, yeah.

So, whatever you guys are going through – sorry.

Think, you know, you got plans ahead of you, you know, people, people love you.

God has, God has a plan for you.

You know, you got a purpose in life, you know.

You may not think it, you may think, "Ah, no.

I'm not, not worth being here.

People don't love me."

That's not true, and you got people who love you.

Keep pushing, you know.

Just keep persevering, whatever you want to do and keep going on with it.

You know, because the easy way out is not it.

Whatever you guys have in front of you, take it all in and you know, be grateful for it.

This is Mia Bella Platkin and Hawai‘i Technology Academy, for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide or other forms of self-harm, call or text 988 for help.

And now in the middle school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge coming in second place is Maui Waena Intermediate School on the Valley Isle.

In this story, the students of Maui Waena Intermediate share a story of two men who design their businesses to help newly released inmates find their footing.

[sirens] Prison saved my life.

My life was messed up.

You know, I was living a very immoral life.

I used to deliver packages for Federal Express.

And I used to, and that's what happened.

I got, I got busted, um, having drugs there.

After being locked up, he realized that his life lacked meaning.

He turned to the Bible for a sense of comfort.

While in there I was able to like, reprogram my mind.

And one way I was reading the Bible every day.

You know, when I, um, at the time - there's a, there's a scripture called Romans 828 where I'm gonna say is all things work out good for those who love God, and are called, and called according to His purpose.

You know, like I said, I’ve never had - Delving into the Word of God gave his life a direction.

And when he was released, he found his purpose.

I also have a nonprofit organization called Inmate Initiative, which was created to help inmates with reentry.

Because I know being locked up, you know, a lot of people don't have the support that they need to come out.

And we do, we help them find housing and jobs.

And so, I can use that same resources that I had, turn it around.

And that's what we're hoping with Inmate Initiative, we can become the support that, that we all need, and build on it.

And that's what we've done so far.

A 10-year study of 24 states, published by National Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2018, found that there was an 82% rate of recidivism, or inmates returning to jail, within 10 years of their first arrest.

And this statistic was more than Vince could take.

He enlisted the help of a friend and former inmate, Juanito Dudoit, the director of operations at HFA, the largest foodservice distribution company in the state, who felt the same way.

Whenever a new inmate would come into the cells, into the prison system, all the inmates in there would greet them like it was a family reunion.

They would cheer for them and then they would greet them in and give them snacks and everything that they can, and was like, it was a reunion to them.

They were so comfortable doing that because they kept coming back and forth in these walls.

That broke my heart when I seen that with my own eyes.

I hire them every single chance I have.

Our success rate at HFA, Hawai‘i Foodservice Alliance, I basically hired over 30 employees from the prison system and our success rate, I'm glad to say, right now it's about 80%.

This type of support is the key to success for those who are willing to work for their freedom.

But both Vince and Juanito agree that the real secret to staying on the right side of the bars is to find support.

Things that God could do with me, either take my life because I would overdose, or He could strip me of everything that I had in my life, and put me behind bars to regroom myself, and I'm so glad that he gave me that blessing to put me in jail, send me to prison, and make me right.

Although for most people, prison seems like a curse.

But for them, it really was – A blessing in disguise.

This is Sarah Rosete from Maui Waena Intermediate School, for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

And now in the high school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge coming in second place is Waiākea High School on Hawai‘i Island.

Let's meet a Big Island man who shares his personal health and fitness journey in this story from students at Waiākea High School.

From afar, online fitness coach Nadi Leonard looks like he got it all.

He works tirelessly to train his best, eat his best, and help others become their best selves.

But the weights he lifts now are nothing compared to the weight he had to carry in the past.

In that time, because all, what was going on in my life was pretty bad.

You know, I put on a lot of weight, I just ate whatever junk food I wanted, drank alcohol every day, you know, I, I was depressed, anxiety.

I didn't go to the gym, you know, even though I knew I should have.

And, um, so I blew up to like 330-something pounds.

And I was in the hospital, like almost every month.

During this dark point in his life, Nadi was living in his little sister's laundry room.

To realize that hypertension and diabetes weight had taken over a large part of him, you could see the impact on him mentally.

The doctor said I, I should be dead.

I didn't care.

But I knew that wasn't meant for me.

You know, I'm like, "This can't be my situation.

I, I don't want to settle for this.

I gotta, I have to make a change, nobody's gonna change for me.

I have to make a change."

So, I just got up and started working out.

In a few years, I've watched my brother go through two challenges.

The first challenge was to regain who he was.

And that started by him in the gym, working on his body, working on his diet, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.

You know, when I first met him, I had a feeling that he wasn't able to be who he wanted to be.

And he was always, um, held back from that.

So, I just thought, “Just let him be who he wants to be, let him do what he wants to do.

Stop, you know, holding him back.” Deep inside, I knew I'm supposed to affect the world in some, some way.

Where I was at, even, even today, you know, what I'm doing today is great.

I love it.

But I believe there's still more.

I have to do more.

My blessing, um, I'd have to say would be my wife, you know.

She's given me grace, a lot of patience.

Um, she, she let me be me, you know, good and bad.

She doesn't think she is, and I, I guess I need to tell her more often but she is my blessing because I, without her, like I said, I'd probably be dead today.

This is Kaylee Nagata from Waiākea High School, for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

[cheers] And now in the middle school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge coming in first place is Highlands Intermediate School on O‘ahu.

The students of Highlands Intermediate School impressed the judges with this story in which a HIKI NŌ student reporter decided to investigate her own family history, resulting in this moving historical portrait.

Just being able to spend time with my granddaughter and, and the rest, yeah, and all my family.

That's for me, that's the most important lesson that I've learned from my mom.

My name is Jeanette Yamane.

Pauline Tengan is my mom.

She was born in Germany, Augsburg, Germany in 1927, July 4.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland and France, started World War II for Europe.

Many times, this war took a toll on family life.

So, her mom really was afraid about the war coming, you know, the war happening.

So, she wanted to get away, away from the city because they lived in the city.

Augsburg was in the city.

So, she wanted to get away from Augsburg.

She wanted to go to the country.

So, she took my mom's sister, because my mom had to work, and everybody else in our family worked.

So, she took my mom sister, went on the train, and she went on the train to the country.

The sad part is on the way to the country, they bombed the train.

The whole train that, all the people who were on the train, nobody survived.

They couldn't even identify anybody.

My mom identified her mom by the jewelry she had.

These events shaped Pauline and her outlook on life.

Now, in Kalihi Valley, the Tengan family still values togetherness because of Pauline’s teachings.

She was a very, um, strong woman, she had very strong will, and I think a lot of compassion for other people.

She would do almost anything for anybody and friendship to her meant a lot, and family.

Of course, she brought - everything that went to do with family, we got family, always.

Every Sunday, we'd come to her house, the family, the brothers, the sisters, and all of us, she'd have all of us at the house, and she cooked dinner for us because, because of all that she went through, she prioritizes family.

And I think that makes everything, I think that's why she did all these things to keep our family together, because she knew what it was like not to have family, to have lost her family early.

Though tragedy happened, the Tengan family learned the important lesson of togetherness through her experiences.

I think it's very important for families to get together, you know, once, to get out of all this computers and stuff, and just get together and have dinners together and have occasions together where you just get together and talk to each other.

I think it's very important.

Had Pauline gotten on that train instead of working in the factory, she would have ended up another victim of the war.

She wouldn’t have gone on to know the joy of having a family all her own.

Pauline died in 2007 at the age of 80.

She is succeeded by four children, eight grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren, me being one of them.

This is Reagan Chang from Highlands intermediate on the island of O‘ahu, reporting for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

And now in the high school division of the 2023 HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i Spring Challenge coming in first place is Moanalua High School on O‘ahu.

Students from Moanalua High School focus their lens on a community-oriented family man who shares how he overcame a drug addiction and prison time.

Andre Pulido, father of four, does what he can to help out the community.

Ever since Andre and his family moved right across the street from our house, I found a little more comfort in the area.

Andre is probably one of the hardest workers I know and he's a great father.

He has a heart for his community.

For Andre, his focus wasn't always on his family.

A huge explosion at the old Hard Rock Cafe after police say a man tries to steal copper.

33-year-old man is in critical condition with severe burns tonight, after police say he tried to steal copper wire from a transformer vault.

Well, it started, um, 12 years ago, I was on drugs and trying to get money for my meth habit.

So, I, I got electrocuted when I was cutting the copper wire.

I didn't think I was gonna make it.

So, I just cried out to God asking God to save my life, and as soon as I cried out, the transformer machine I was in exploded.

You can see that in this photo here, where they took the skin from my, my thighs and, uh, grafted even parts of my legs, my arms, and even my whole right side of my face is mostly grafted, all this eye area as well.

With his life on the line, Andre knew it was time for a change.

When I woke up from the hospital, I, I remember Him saving my life.

So, at that moment on, I was like, you know what?

I'm done with the drugs.

I'm done going out partying, having fun.

I'm just going to live my life for my family now.

This realization helped to move towards a better life.

Since then, I've been able to graduate from college.

You know, I graduated with a 3.7 GPA.

Um, I've been able to take care of my kids.

You know, I've been a great daddy.

I've learned to cook.

So, I've been through dozens of schools, and I talked to thousands of students about not using drugs because the pain I went through was tremendous.

With his newfound faith, Andre can continue to be the man he never thought he could be.

Because if you just look at what happened, how can you call that a blessing?

Think about that.

A drug addict, a heavy-duty drug addict, now has turned his life around because of what God did in his life.

You know, it's just been such a big blessing to, uh, go through that and to get to where I am now.

And it wasn't easy, definitely wasn't easy.

But if I was still on drugs right now, I can guarantee me and my wife would have been divorced.

My kids would have been without a father and my, you know, wouldn't have my family.

So, I'm so thankful for that day because it helped me to break that drug habit.

It was, it was, um, keeping me a slave for so long.

This is Misty Griffith from Moanalua High School, for HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

What an incredible mix of stories.

The students really stepped up to the challenge.

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 the Hawai‘i students HIKI NŌ, can do.

[outro music]