Sep 11, 2013 | Environment, Events, Small Business
Physical scientist Stacie Williams thrives on learning the latest developments in her field at the annual Advanced Maui Optical and Space Surveillance (AMOS) Technologies Conference presented by Maui Economic Development Board. She especially enjoys a conference feature that offers a day of hands-on science activities for youngsters. “Their engagement is our motivation,” said Williams, a program manager who oversees educational outreach projects for the Air Force Research Laboratory. The lab is actively participating in this week’s AMOS conference at the Wailea Beach Marriott. An international assembly of space situational awareness experts has gathered for events that provide technical interchange on a variety of space-related technologies. In addition to technical sessions, participants are attending a special Space Policy Forum to hear current issues and trends in national and international policies that have impacts on their work.
For Williams, one of the highlights of the conference is welcoming hundreds of Maui youngsters to the conference venue. The students are given an opportunity to learn about space situational awareness topics by engaging in varied activities from viewing celestial bodies through a telescope to maneuvering hand-held spectrometers to determine characteristics of objects in space. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s partners with MEDB in association with the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, the Maui High Performance Center, Pacific Defense Solutions, and the Boeing Company for the student day activities. “Every year our student activities get more complex and more engaging,” said Williams, who has helped to coordinate the activities for the last four years. “Everybody has embraced this and I think we just get better every year.”
Williams said she’s received overwhelming, positive feedback from scientists and other space situational awareness experts about including students at AMOS. “Bringing in the youth education element provides a wonderful synergy, a rare opportunity that more technical conferences should exploit since we are losing leadership in scientists and engineers to the rest of the world,” a senior project engineer wrote. Williams hopes that the student activities will inspire some of them to consider a career in science and technology. “We really need to get more young people interested.”
Sep 4, 2013 | Education
“STEM career paths are the most lucrative out there.” — Ryan Churchill, MEDB Education Committee Chair
When he’s not hard at work at his job as president of Maui Land & Pineapple Co., Ryan Churchill serves as Education Committee chairman for Maui Economic Development Board. The committee oversees the Ke Alahele Education Fund and approves grants for educational projects in STEM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Churchill said he’s been involved with Ke Alahele for six years and during that time, more than $750,000 has been granted. “STEM initiatives are making a big difference in our schools,” he said.
Students have been inspired not only to excel in school but also to pursue STEM careers, and that provides Maui County with a skilled workforce for its burgeoning high-technology industry. “STEM career paths are the most lucrative out there,” Churchill said. It’s important to expose students early to the opportunities provided by such careers, he said. Churchill shared he has two children, ages 8 and 10, and they’re about the age when they can start exploring robotics and other science and math-related activities. “If you can start educating them at a young level about the fun of engineering, the fun of science, and then as they get older and pick their career paths or their majors in college I think you can help guide them and then after college you have great opportunities out there,” he said.
The 2013 Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner and Auction at the Grand Wailea Resort exceeded the goal and assured MEDB’s ability to sustain its level of granting. This year’s event featured student STEM project displays, robotics challenges and a tribute to the legacy of the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, a staunch MEDB and Ke Alahele supporter. Also, the crowd of more than 600 attending the dinner enjoyed Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife, Ann, hosting a game show called “Who’s Smarter than a STEM 5th Grader?”
For more information about Ke Alahele, visit medb.org or call 875-2300.
Aug 21, 2013 | Education, Stemworks
Jasmine & Janelle Feliciano
With her eyes set on a future in engineering, 17-year-old Jasmine Feliciano worked on advancing her computer aided design (CAD) skills during a six-week summer internship. Her twin sister, Janelle, completed a separate internship at a radio station where she edited videos and designed graphics. Both said they gained valuable lifelong lessons during the STEMworks™ summer internships coordinated by the Maui Economic Development Board’s Women in Technology project and funded in part by the Universities Space Research Association.
“This internship will help me pursue my future goals because it has already helped me achieve real working experience in the digital media field,” said Janelle, a Maui High School senior who plans to major in either graphics or journalism in college. “It pushes me to work harder because you never know where opportunities such as this internship may take you.” Janelle worked for the Pacific Media Group in Kahului where she was challenged with creating their new Real Estate Maui Now Magazine videos. “I learned that you cannot always have the video the way you pictured it because there will always be changes that need to be made,” she said. Meanwhile, Jasmine worked at Goodfellow Brothers in the Kihei baseyard where she was assigned to work on modeling the Airport Access Road and the Lanai Airport in a CAD format. She said she’s gained a better appreciation for civil engineering and that the internship has peaked her interests in mechanical and electrical engineering.
The twins said they would recommend the internship to other students interested in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. “I would encourage STEMworks™ student to apply for an internship because they will gain more experience and knowledge in the field they will be working in,” Jasmine said. “More importantly, they will figure out whether they like it and want to pursue it, or try something else.” Internships were also supported by the Maui County Farm Bureau, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company, Ardent Management Consulting, Esri, the Institute for Astronomy, Waipoli Farm, Hawaii P-20, and US Department of Labor.
*STEMworks is a project-based course developed and administered by MEDB applying technology tools to service-learning
Aug 14, 2013 | Education
Maui teachers in hands-on video production workshop
Sixteen Maui teachers brushed up on their writing, video shooting and editing skills this summer at a hands-on workshop coordinated by PBS Hawaii, the producers of HIKI NO. Now in its third year, HIKI NO is the first statewide student video news network in the nation. A $5,000 grant from the Maui Economic Development Board Ke Alahele Education Fund helped to pay for the two-day workshop. Maui High School digital media teacher Clint Gima said he found the workshop fun and informative. His students have enjoyed creating pieces for HIKI NO. “They get to show their work to a statewide audience and that’s very attractive to them,” Gima said.
HIKI NO provides Hawaii students in middle and high school an opportunity to create half-hour episodes aired during primetime. The students also get an opportunity to practice their Science Technology Education and Math (STEM) skills in producing video news stories. There are 13 schools on Maui participating in the program. Hana School teacher Ramona Moeai said she learned a lot about video story development during the workshop as teachers worked in teams to shoot, write and edit their own interview-based stories. “Since the beginning of HIKI NO I never understood what shooting a sequence was all about. … By being forced to do it, I finally figure it out for myself.”
Robert Pennybacker, PBS Hawaii
Workshop presenters included PBS Hawaii Learning Initiatives Executive Producer Robert Pennybacker, HIKI NO Online Editor/Associate Producer Lawrence Pacheco and HIKI NO Managing Editor Sue Yim. Pennybacker said the MEDB Ke Alahele grant helped to ensure more individualized training for Maui teachers. “There’s no better way to learn digital storytelling than by actually doing it,” Pennybacker said. The annual Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner and Auction is set for Aug. 24 at the Grand Wailea Resort. For more information, call 875-2300, or visit: medb.org
Aug 7, 2013 | Education
“We want to be ready when the community is ready for a charter school.” — Sommer “Kehau” Kimokeo, Keanae parent
Keanae mom Sommer “Kehau” Kimokeo says she and the nonprofit she founded aren’t giving up on a dream to build a charter school in their remote East Maui community. Ka Waianu o Haloa’s application to open a charter school for children living in East Maui is currently on hold at the state Department of Education, Kimokeo said. “We believe there’s still a need for a charter school,” said Kimokeo, the president and founder of Ka Waianu o Haloa. She’s also the mother of three children, ages 11, 10 and 4.
Ka Waianu o Haloa’s members include parents and grandparents of Keanae and Waialua schoolchildren who endure a one-hour bus ride on the narrow and winding Hana Highway to attend Hana High and Elementary School. The nonprofit’s name refers to the cold water of Haloa, a source that helps the community grow and prosper. Keanae School was officially closed by the state Board of Education the same year Ka Waianu o Haloa formed and entered into a lease agreement to use the campus facilities to run health programs and community activities for all ages. “Our goal ultimately is to open a charter school on the campus,” Kimokeo said. “Right now we’re focusing our energy on educational programs for families.” Kimokeo said there are 24 school-aged children in her community who could attend the charter school if it opened today.
Kimokeo said approximately 1,000 people attended the group’s fundraiser in July on the school grounds. “It was nice. A lot of people showed up and supported us,” she said. With the new school year opening, Kimokeo said she’s preparing to start up another round of educational weekend programs that offer lessons in fishing, coconut palm weaving and kapa making. “We’re still pursuing all the educational aspects of our nonprofit,” she said. For more information, contact Kimokeo at 248-7403; or visit keanaecharterschool.org.
