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

[speaks Hawaiian] Aloha and welcome to this episode of HIKI NŌ on PBS Hawai‘i.

My name is Ka‘olino DeKneef and I am a senior at ‘O Hina I Ka Malama, The Hawaiian Language Immersion Program based at Moloka‘i High School.

We have a packed show for you today.

I get to share with you some of the most memorable stories from this Spring round of HIKI NŌ shows.

One of the first stories we’d like to share was produced in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i, so I’d like to introduce it in that way too.

[speaks Hawaiian] [ocean wave] Mahalo piha, Charlotte.

Now, let's travel to the Island of Maui to watch this profile story produced by students at H.P.

Baldwin High School.

We’ll meet a teacher who defied gender stereotypes in the car mechanics industry and now passes on what she's learned to her haumana.

I don't have really one reason as to why I became an automotive mechanic.

It kind of just happened.

A lot of it had to do with my high school years.

I kind of took automotive because it was suggested that it was the easy class.

But when I took it, I ended up actually learning and absorbing a lot of content.

The so-called easy class turned out to be a lifelong passion and career for Alexis Kahue, who works as the automotive mechanics teacher at H.P.

Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Maui.

When it was time to graduate, I decided, hey, what better thing to take in college than what I've already been practicing.

So, I used to work in the field.

Back in 2019, COVID happened, and so COVID pushed me to change sort of my career path.

I wanted to stay in my industry as an automotive technician, but I needed to make some changes to work with my children's schedule.

So, I ended up teaching.

My supervisor mentioned that Baldwin High School was searching for an automotive teacher for quite some time, and he suggested that I come to teach here as a full-time position.

This is good stuff.

I like this.

Mrs. Kahue says she is aware that it is rare to be a female teacher of auto mechanics.

According to datausa.io, the national U.S. workforce of automotive service technicians and mechanics was made up of only 2% of women and 98% men in 2021.

It is still labeled a man's industry, and I've had to work hard to gain acceptance in this field.

I've had to hear comments, sexist comments about, “You’re girl.

You can't fix cars.” And this one looks not too bad.

To counteract that, Mrs. Kahue hopes more of her female students consider careers like hers.

Inspiring females, most definitely, not just to be an automotive mechanic, but to go and venture out into those ‘men’ industries like construction, engineering, electricians, you know what I mean?

It's vast, and females do belong there.

Everybody has a place.

It may not conform to what the traditional list is, if that makes sense.

But us as teachers, especially for me as a CTE teacher, I'm trying to get them into a career.

I don't want them to just have a job.

I want them to have a career that builds skill sets that they can take no matter where they go into the world.

This is Laulea Kalehuawehe for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

[ocean wave] This next piece is a beautiful and touching HIKI NŌ personal narrative that showcases a one of a kind father son relationship.

It was produced by students at H.P.

Baldwin High School on Maui.

In it, Subaru Thompson reads a letter to his late father.

You might want to grab some tissues for this one.

Dear Dad, I wish I could talk to you in person, but I wanted to thank you for everything you have done for me.

You've taught me many things, and you were the best role model for me.

A lot has happened while you were gone.

You got me into soccer from when I was five, and it's still a big part of my life.

Oh yeah, I also wear a number for Baldwin.

I made a pass to Tsubasa and we scored in the last minute.

Pretty cool, right?

Both of your sons, making goals on the same team.

But a couple of weeks later,   I fell off a cliff doing dumb stuff with my friends, like you always used to do.

But the friends I have are the best friends I could ever ask for.

I can really consider them my brothers.

I can be myself when I'm with them, and I don't need drugs or alcohol to have fun with them.

Of course I love spending time with the family as well.

It's really fun, especially when Tsubasa and Sakura don't argue all the time.

Me and Tsubasa have been going to the gym together, which is good.

We push each other to become stronger, and overall, it's just really fun.

[Weights clink] Kahili has been looking cute as always.

I   love taking him on walks or the valley like you used to.

We miss you a lot, and I know Kahili does as well.

I have a girlfriend now who I wish you could meet.

She's really amazing, and I love spending time with her.

The truck looks the same as always.

I've been taking care of it as best as I can.

Once in a while I'll have fun with it, of course.

I'm about to graduate high school soon, and I'm planning to go to college to play soccer.

I have many goals for my future.

One of the big ones being that I want to be as good as a father, husband, friend, coworker, and person as you were.

There's many more things I want to tell you, but I'll just tell you when I see you.

Thank you.

I love you.

And I miss you.

[ocean wave] Mahalo Subaru for sharing that beautiful tribute to your father.

[speaks Hawaiian] Let's travel to Hawai‘i Island to meet Lehua Norris.

She's graduating this year from Konawaena High School.

She produced this   next piece about making friends with people who have different opinions.

When I was in middle school, I experienced firsthand just how divisive politics could be.

Speaking with a friend about the appointment of pro-life Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the conversation turned sour when I said I agreed with his views.

My friend said that hopefully one day I changed my mind and never spoke to me again.

Since the ending of that friendship, I have changed my opinion on that issue.

But I can't have that conversation with her since she's blocked me on all social media platforms.

Lately, I admit that I've been in more heated discussions with topics ranging from reproductive rights to universal health care.

I was frustrated because I couldn't figure out why my peers wouldn't hear me out.

Why should I listen to what they had to say if they weren't planning on listening to me?

Then I got involved in Student Council and my perspective changed entirely.

After serving in various leadership positions at Konawaena High School and at the state level, I got to represent Hawai‘i at the United States Senate Youth Program in Washington DC.

In March of 2024, I joined 103 other student delegates from every state, the District of Columbia, and two military bases.

Before my trip, I admit, I was apprehensive.

I held preconceived notions about people across the political aisle, and I didn't want them to tear apart or ridicule my beliefs.

Then on the second day of the weeklong program, I found myself standing in front of the portraits of former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama.

There I engaged in a conversation with gun violence with students who opposed gun control.

Turns out they were just as nervous as I was.

They were scared I was going to attack the belief system they grew up with.

As we talked, we found out that both of our families owned guns, and that we both prioritize safety.

I learned that they valued guns for their livelihoods, and they saw it as a method of defense.

We ended up coming to a middle ground where we agree that our government should revisit gun regulations, and our culture should establish more respect around handling guns.

I will never forget the moment that we all shook hands and my new friend said, “You are the first person I've met from your side of the political spectrum that's been willing to hear me out.” It reminded me of something my Student Activities Coordinator, Mrs. Hayashida, always said, to attack the idea, not the person.

That's when I realized that I was part of the problem, blaming everyone else for what was going wrong in our country.

How can I help solve this problem if I'm not even willing to talk about it?

Leaving high school and entering university as a Political Science major, I will be collaborating with peers of different political ideologies.

My trip to D.C. has taught me what I need to do to overcome my own prejudices.

As an aspiring leader, my goal is to unite us all and to share the values that I've learned growing up in Hawai‘i.

But in order to do that, I need to take the first step.

This is Lehua Norris from Konawaena High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

[ocean wave] Now, for a story from one of our younger contributors, let's go back to O‘ahu to watch a Student Reflection written and produced by Lily Lawrence, a student at Waikīkī Elementary School.

Her message is to not be afraid to take a leap of faith when making new friends.

It sure is difficult when you work so hard to create something special and it all gets taken from you in the blink of an eye.

My name is Lily Lawrence, and I'm a fourth grader at Waikīkī Elementary School.

This is a story about me learning to take risks.

I really like a game called Gods of Gravity.

It's a virtual reality game where you try to build your own civilization and protect it from the enemy.

At the same time, you need to send your ships out to destroy the enemy planets.

The catch is those same ships also served as your planet's protection.

So, you have to take a risk.

Putting your ships out there leaves you vulnerable.

In some ways, it's like the risk you take when you make friends.

You have to put yourself out there.

That can make you feel anxious and vulnerable.

And you know what?

Sometimes it doesn't work out.

In second grade, I had a friend.

We were super close.

But at the start of third grade, she started to ignore me.

The problem was, I still really wanted to be her friend.

I did not understand what had changed.

This left me feeling confused and alone.

I felt like our time together and memories with her had become meaningless.

It actually took the entire school year to recover.

And when I think about it, one thing that helped me start making new friends was playing Gods of Gravity.

Gods of Gravity allows you to connect with other people who are playing online at the same time.

I decided to put myself out there and make new friends virtually, just by being a good sport and having a fun time.

It was my first time making friends from all over the world.

Now I have made new lasting friends from New Zealand to Australia and Canada.

Playing online has also made me more open to reaching out to make new friends at school.

If you take a big risk, it can be a big change, but it does not have to be a big loss.

I've learned that even if you lose the game or a friend or if things change, that doesn't have to make the experience less valuable.

As a matter of fact, it makes it more valuable.

I now believe that taking a risk is always worth it.

All experiences, both good and bad, help us see who we really are.

[ocean wave] Time for another memorable piece from one of our youngest students yet.

His name is Eli Yasuda and he's a second grader at Waikīkī Elementary School on O‘ahu.

He'll take us on a visit to the Hawaiian Humane Society to meet some animals.

Do you know what it takes to be a volunteer at the Hawaiian Humane Society?

According to their website, the Hawaiian Humane Society started in 1883.

King Kalākaua and a group of citizens organized the group to protect animals.

The first office was actually located in ‘Iolani Palace.

Recently, I volunteered at the Mo‘ili‘ili Humane Society for the first time.

Going to the Humane Society is a great way to help the animals.

I went to the Humane Society on O‘ahu three times for this project.

So, I can tell you all about what it takes to be a volunteer.

First, I went to read stories with the animals.

Reading with the animals is good for them, and it also helps us practice our reading too.

Then I went to visit and play with them.

When I went to the Humane Society for the third time, we went to see cats.

When we went inside, there were two rooms.

There could only be one cat out at a time.

A volunteer told me that when people come to play with the animals, they get more socialized so when they get taken home, it's easier for them to adjust.

There were playful ones, friendly ones, and there was a new one that was shy.

It only wanted to stay in its box.

Playing with it made it more comfortable.

I had a lot of fun volunteering and playing with the cats.

When I gave them love and spread kindness, the cats felt more comfortable in their search for a new home.

Even though I am only eight, I want to go back to the Humane Society and help cats find their forever homes.

This is Eli Yasuda from Waikīkī Elementary School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

[ocean wave] On Hawai‘i Island, a group of students at Kea‘au High School decided to investigate the origins of their schools uniform policy.

It's the only remaining public high school on the Big Island that requires one.

Here's what they discovered.

[school bell rings] Kea‘au High School is currently the only public high school on the Island of Hawai‘i that still requires a uniform.

Even so, many Kea‘au students feel that the policy is restrictive and makes students feel less like themselves.

Like, I don't feel very confident in it.

I don't feel like my best self.

Just, it's constricting, the shirts itself and, you know, the designs that it falls under, and just being forced to wear something.

I feel like it's doing a grave injustice on the culture of our youth.

But why do we have the uniform policy in the first place?

We interviewed both Principal Dean Cevallos and Vice Principal Ronald   Jarvis who were both present during the initiation of the uniform policy.

We did it because there was a huge need to increase safety for Kea‘au because of the reputation Kea‘au had.

So, we really wanted to start with identifying who belonged so that we can keep those that don't belong off the campus.

A lot of the reasons why they have the uniform in place are due to reasons that were caused years ago, compared to present day where we don't have a lot of the issues that they had back then.

Over the years, the safety focus has been a bit less because we don't have the same issues that we had before.

In 2023, Kea‘au updated its dress code policy   to allow more school colors and options to its required T-shirt.

So, at first it was that we were the supplier.

You could only get them through the school.

And then we started going with as long as they were one of the sports things we could do it, and then we went with if you were going to get a shirt that was our school color, gray, red, blue or white.

And then the letters would have to have Kea‘au High on up to identify as a student here that that was what you could then create or any of our sports shirts.

Despite the T-shirt uniform, many Kea‘au students still find ways to express themselves.

I like to wear cardigans.

Wear my favorite pants, shoes.

I’ll wear jewelry.

I also sometimes alter the uniform myself by cutting the uniform into a crop shape or I'll tie it behind to make my figure a bit more shaped.

You’ve got hats, you've got the zip up coats,   you've got whatever they want to wear as far as pants or shorts or shoes or hair color.

It is a step in the right direction, but it's a very small step.

A lot more needs to be done to rectify the issue.

People won't be happy until it's gone.

Although students don't really agree and enjoy the uniform policy, Principal Cevallo says it's crucial to understand the reasoning behind it, and it's important to recognize how far the policy has gone and how pivotal it is for the safety of our school.

This is Sophia Leutticke-Archbell from Kea‘au High School for HIKI NŌ, on PBS Hawai‘i.

[ocean wave] [speaks Hawaiian] Mahalo for watching the work of Hawai‘i's New Wave of Storytellers.

You can find this HIKI NŌ episode and more at pbshawaii.org.

Keep up with us at PBS Hawai‘i on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

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

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