May 22, 2013 | Education, Innovation
Baldwin High School Robotics Club members achieved their best season in six years, through hard work and community support, according to adviser Gary Suter. “We have a lot to improve on, but we learned that we can hold our own at the national level,” Suter said. As Hawaii’s representative to the FIRST Robotics Competition held in St. Louis, Mo., Baldwin was seeded 12th out of 100 teams in its pool, a spot that took them to the verge of competing at the highest national level.
Competitors in FIRST Robotics were given six weeks to design, build and program robots that weigh up to 120 pounds. The robots perform various tasks to earn points. In this year’s game, robots scored points for shooting Frisbees in or on various goals. They climbed rungs on a pyramid-shaped structure. Suter served as the adviser for Baldwin’s 22-member club. Eight students traveled to compete in the national contest. Senior Software Engineer Bob Brem of Boeing Company assisted with mentoring the students. Looking ahead to the 2014 contest, Suter said his students could use the expertise of a mechanical engineer as well.
Suter said he’s grateful to have Brem and Boeing, for their support, as well as Maui Economic Development Board, which helped make up a cash shortfall for team travel expenses. Family, friends and other individuals chipped in as well. “The community really stepped up for us. We could not have competed nationally without support,” Suter said. “MEDB made a huge difference.” MEDB provided more than $5,000 in support from the Ke Alahele Education Fund. Suter said the purpose of competing in robotics is to promote and advance high-technology skills. “The students get to apply science, math and engineering in robotics. It’s a real pressure cooker, but it’s also a very, very real world experience for them,” he said.
May 15, 2013 | Education
Shannon Rowe, a 1996 state auto mechanic champion and national runner-up, pours his time and energy into creating a new line of skilled students. “The ones who succeed are the ones who work hard and put a lot of time into it,” Rowe said. He and his Maui High School seniors Mitchell Borge and Lawrence Paet are heading this summer to the 2013 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition in Dearborn, Michigan. The competition fosters young people’s interest in the automotive industry through a nationwide contest that provides scholarships, tools and awards along with an experience that could help shape their future careers.
After 12 years as an auto mechanic at Valley Isle Motors, Rowe followed his retired teacher and mentor Dennis Ishii to teach auto mechanics at Maui High School. Through a county grant administered by Maui Economic Development Board, Rowe — who holds top level industry certifications — teaches and then coaches with the support of Ishii, who serves as a mentor partner. “It’s a unique situation. If we didn’t have the grant, the Maui High program would not have continued at this level today or it would have been severely diminished,” Rowe said. Under Rowe and Ishii’s mentorship, they’ve produced four state champions in the last five-and-a-half-years. The student auto skills contest is “a small portion” of what Rowe does. “Really it is more about producing skilled students. Hopefully they go on and make a career out of it and if they don’t, at least they know something about fixing cars,” Rowe said.
May 8, 2013 | Education
A Hana School project is helping students get in touch with ancient Native Hawaiian navigational practices while cutting their teeth on cutting-edge technology. The “Never Lost” project’s first phase is a blog-based curriculum in which students use the Internet to track the voyaging canoe Hikianalia, the sister ship of Hokule`a, as it makes the second leg of its maiden voyage from Tahiti to Hawai`i. The Polynesian Voyaging Society’s website will host the blog and data exchange. Supported by the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund, students will develop science, technology, engineering and math skills as they take astronomical observations and use Hawaiian techniques for marine navigation.
Teacher Paulo Burns said he used the $5,000 Ke Alahele grant to purchase 10 Nexus tablets. “The students are using the tablets and really enjoy the ease of searching on the Internet and using some of the apps such as Google Sky,” he said. With the technology in place, students next year will monitor the Hikianalia’s voyage. “We will be monitoring their blogs as they travel and communicating with them via the tablets,” Burns said. “We will ask questions and analyze the data that they will be pumping out.” That data is expected to include waypoints, water temperature, wind direction and water salinity. With more than 80 percent of Hana school’s enrollment having either Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian descent, the project will teach students the navigational practices of their ancestors.
Paulo Burns, teacher at Hana School
Burns said he is “very grateful for MEDB supporting our students in Hana and the technology is currently being used to better their education as 21st century learners.” The 2013 MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund Dinner & Auction will be held Saturday, Aug. 24 at the Grand Wailea Resort. For more information, call 875-2300, or visit www.medb.org.
May 1, 2013 | Education
Geanell Bernardo
Students in the Focus Maui Nui Youth Alliance got a taste of government at work as they testified at budget hearings before the Maui County Council. “It was an amazing experience,” said Baldwin High School freshman Chelsea Kau. “It went pretty fast, just a few minutes but I felt good, like I was doing my part to make a difference in my community.” Senior Geanell Bernardo said she learned a lot about what it takes to advocate for funds. “The County Council members were really nice. At first, I found it nerve wracking, but then I got comfortable testifying in front of them,” Bernardo said.
Both girls asked for continued program funding. Youth Alliance members attend monthly events during the school year to explore and gain a greater understanding of key components in the Maui community. They also complete service projects, all coordinated by Maui Economic Development Board. “It’s both educational and enjoyable,” Bernardo told County Council members about the Youth Alliance. “In a way, this program has changed me. Without this experience, I wouldn’t feel like I could be a leader and make a difference in our community.”
Chelsea Kau
Youth Alliance Coordinator Willow Krause said the program is dedicated to promoting leadership and community awareness. “I am proud to see the students confidently express the positive effects that the Youth Alliance has had on their lives such as building self-esteem, meeting students from all over Maui Nui and learning to look at our island community in a whole new way,” Krause said. Kau added that aside from the Youth Alliance, she would like to see the County allocate more funding for programs that overcome drug addiction, educate high school dropouts, and support families in job and educational training opportunities. “It was really interesting to hear what’s going on in the county and to see what our community needs,” she said.
Apr 24, 2013 | Community
Mandy Woulfe
When news broke that Hawaii ranked as best for work environments in the country, Human Resources Manager Mandy Woulfe expressed excitement. “It all goes back to doing the work you enjoy doing,” Woulfe said about why our state may have scored an overall 71.1 in a recent Gallup Poll. “People here look for the positive side. … They’re happy to have a job. They feel blessed and they want to do the best they can at their job,” said Woulfe, a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources and president of the Society for Human Resource Management Maui Chapter.
Gallup Poll announced this spring that Hawaii had earned No. 1 for highest overall well-being in the nation. The state also scored the highest for emotional health with a positive score of 83.6, life evaluation with a score of 57.2 and work environment with a score of 54.1. Woulfe, who works at Honua Kai Resort & Spa and has 15 years in the field of human resources, said she believes Hawaiian values and overall positive attitudes by Maui employees contribute significantly to positive work environment ratings. Managers, in return, share and value their employees’ attitudes and efforts, and together the two take pride in their work. She said employee turnover, which is low in many Hawaii companies, affects job stability and security and results in an overall pleasant atmosphere at the workplace. “When you’re in an organization that doesn’t have a lot of turnover, you tend to really like where you work and it shows in what you do.”
The Society for Human Resource Management is the world’s largest association devoted to human resources. SHRM Maui represents more than 100 HR professionals on island. The group’s next program, which is open to the public, is set for 9-11:30 a.m. April 30 at the Kahili Golf Course Nahele Ballroom. For more information, go to www.shrmhawaii.org or contact Woulfe at mwoulfe@honuakai.com
