Aug 15, 2012 | Education, Stemworks
Three months into the job and already Maui Electric Co. (MECO) President Sharon Suzuki has thrown her and her company’s support behind Science, Technology, Engineering and Math or STEM education projects. “Empowering our future leaders with strong skill sets in STEM-related disciplines is crucial to realizing our clean energy goals,” Suzuki said. “MECO strongly supports STEM-driven programs that engage and encourage Hawaii’s youth to achieve academic excellence.”
Suzuki’s remarks back MECO’s role as a principle sponsor at the upcoming Maui Economic Development Board Ke Alahele Education dinner. The event raises thousands of dollars to support MEDB’s STEM education initiatives. Suzuki said she and her staff merge science and technology, engineering and math to get their jobs done and provide the island its energy resources. “At the heart of our company is innovation in STEM applications that are foundational as we transition from oil to clean sources of energy,” Suzuki said. A graduate of Castle High School on Oahu, Suzuki is a certified energy manager with a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from California State University at Fullerton and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Japanese from the University of Michigan. Prior to becoming president, Suzuki served as MECO’s manager of renewable energy services and worked as its manager of customer service. At Hawaiian Electric Co., Suzuki was employed as the director of customer account services and manager of their energy efficiency program.
Hundreds of STEM supporters have already reserved seats at the annual Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner and auction on August 18 at the Grand Wailea Resort. Reception begins at 4:30 p.m. with dinner following at 6:30 p.m. For more information on the event, go to www.medb.org or call 875-2300. “The economic vitality of our Maui, Lana‘i and Moloka‘i communities determine the resiliency of our people. We believe in MEDB’s programs because they have proven results through young adults whose success is due in part to the opportunities provided by this organization,” Suzuki said.
Aug 8, 2012 | Education
Tom Norton inspires students intrigued by robots and colored plastic toy bricks to get them interested in the field of technology and creative learning. “You get ‘em hooked somehow,” said Norton, Lahaina Intermediate School’s technology coordinator. Norton exchanged his job as a math teacher a few years ago for his current role, taking charge of the campus’ technological needs and its teams of students competing in both robotics and the First Lego League competition. “It is something I enjoy,” he said. He said enrollment and interest in the elective technology class has increased from a dozen last year to about 17 students in just the first three days of this school year.
Norton said he’s received professional training and support through workshops sponsored by Maui Economic Development Board. Because of the MEDB training, Norton said he’s found confidence in his role as coach for the robotics and Lego League teams who have earned spots in state level competition. Norton has also been effective in providing technical assistance and guidance whenever his 6th, 7th and 8th graders find roadblocks in tasks such as building robots or competing with Lego pieces. “I think you’d have a greater dropout from the adults,” Norton said, had the technical support from MEDB been unavailable. He said Lahaina Intermediate also received money from MEDB to order the school’s first set of robotic equipment about five years ago, as well as funds to offset travel expenses for offisland competitions.
In his role as coach and teacher, Norton said he subscribes to the philosophy “to let the kids do the work.” He steps in whenever students need guidance or get stuck on a technical problem. “I give them a lot of leeway to succeed — and also make mistakes,” Norton said. He said while students gain a lot of skills in technology, they also learn how to work together and how to be creative on projects from designing contest T-shirts to outlining presentations for judges. “This is a perfect opportunity for them to explore.” Tickets for MEDB’s annual Ke Alahele Education Fund dinner are available by calling 875-2300 or go to: www.medb.org. The benefit dinner is set for August 18 at the Grand Wailea Resort.
May 16, 2012 | Education
Quintin Galiza has endured homelessness, the death of both parents and undue influence from troublesome friends to get to where he is today. He graduates with a high school equivalency diploma at this year’s Maui Community School for Adults commencement exercises. The 20-year-old from Kihei was homeless with his dad, going between stints in the family truck and friends’ homes last March when Galiza’s dad suffered a stroke and died. He lost his mother two years earlier following complications from abdominal surgery. “It’s been hard,” Galiza said. “I’ve had to figure things out on my own and I didn’t have a parent figure I could depend on.”
Galiza sought government assistance to support him and his younger sister, Alyssa, a 17-year-old at the time. Alyssa has since been placed in foster care but Galiza maintains contact with her. She’s been his motivation to fend off an unhealthy lifestyle with troublesome friends. “I’m trying to be a good role model for my sister,” he said. In one year’s time, Galiza has taken classes that helped him pass tests required for a General Education Development diploma or GED. He’s also completed a semester of studies at the University of Hawaii Maui College and landed a job as a part-time cashier’s associate for a local pharmacy. Alyssa is following her brother’s footsteps with plans to enroll at the Maui Community School for Adults this summer so she can get the help she needs to earn her own GED. Galiza said he intends on pursuing a college degree.
Galiza’s scheduled to speak at the Maui Community School for Adults 45th commencement exercises set for 6 p.m., May 23, at the Baldwin High School Auditorium. More than 220 students have completed requirements for a GED and the Competency Based High School Diploma Program. Galiza said he expects to be filled with emotion on graduation day. “When I think back, there were days I would break down and cry. I just wanted to stay home… I never gave up. No matter what adversity, I never gave up.”
May 9, 2012 | Education
Students Brittany Nakagawa, Chaz Cabrero, Howard Andrade with mentor, Bob Brem.
Boeing Company‘s Senior Software Engineer Bob Brem has given as many as 200 hours of expertise this year as a mentor for the award-winning Baldwin High School robotics team. “I get a lot of satisfaction from it,” he said. “I think that we function as role models for students who see that there are rewarding careers available.” As a mentor in robotics, Brem helps with the configuration and setup of a robotics computer and software the Baldwin high schoolers put together for competition. He explains programming concepts and provides engineering guidance. In his three-year stint as a volunteer, Brem has obtained up to $15,000 in grants from Boeing to help the team with its expenses.
Baldwin High School industrial arts teacher and robotics lead advisor Gary Suter said Brem’s assistance is invaluable. “He keeps the kids engaged and gives them a good insight on what kind of future they could have.” This year the Baldwin High School robotics team was part of a three-team alliance that captured the first-place title at the FIRST Hawaii Regional Robotics Competition. Brem traveled with the students to the Mainland to represent Hawaii at a national competition. “Without his expertise, we’d really be hurting,” Suter said. The Baldwin team, nicknamed “Bearbotics,” was sponsored this year by the Maui Economic Development Board, Maui Electric Co., Boeing, BAE Systems, Textron, Warren S. Unemori Engineering, ROC Hawaii and the Monsanto Fund.
Brem said students (and their parents) show a lot of interest in learning more about science, technology, engineering and math. “These robotic programs generate enthusiasm and provide a start along the path toward a engineering/technical career, but in my opinion, they are not enough.” Brem said more support is needed to integrate engineering into the school curriculum. In addition, more mentors are needed for students engaged in science and engineering programs. Asked to give advice, Brem said: “When you find something you think you like, dive deeper and work hard at it. Nothing comes without effort. Work is not ‘work’ if you are doing something that you enjoy.”
Apr 11, 2012 | Education, Stemworks
The third annual Hawaii STEM Conference drew 200-plus teachers and students to Maui and kicked off the state’s first Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Week. King Kekaulike High School teacher Emily Haines Swatek was grateful for the opportunity, bringing 10 students to the event held in Wailea in late March. “It’s so great to be exposed to all these different options in technology,” she said. This year’s conference brought students in from more than a dozen intermediate and high schools, teachers, parents, community and business members together with innovative companies including Google, National Geographic and Apple.
For many of the Hawaii STEM Conference attendees, this was their first experience at a regional technology conference complete with STEM breakout sessions, software competitions, an on-site 3C’s Digital Media competition and exhibits. Haines Swatek said the conference provided her a chance to learn more about what she can bring to the classroom. Amongst the things she’s prepared to use almost immediately from the conference are online Web design resources, ideas for 3-D modeling with the use of Google Earth, and online book publishing. “It’s amazing, there are so many things we can do,” she said. Her student, Lotus Chen, also found the conference beneficial. “I feel like it’s broadened my horizons,” Chen said. “There certainly was a lot to explore here.”
The 2012 Hawaii STEM Conference was sponsored by MEDB’s Women in Technology project in partnership with the County of Maui, and the Office of the State Director for Career and Technical Education. Haines Swatek said she expects to have “more inspired, more engaged” students now that they’ve been able to learn with other students from around Maui County and the state. “They’re fired up when they come back from something like this,” she said. Emily Schell of National Geographic also praised the event, “Hawaii educators and students have it going on! The stars are truly bright.”
Mar 28, 2012 | Education
Retired teacher Ed Ginoza left the classroom 12 years ago, but continues to learn as a volunteer mentor and coach for high school students competing in math and science competitions. Ginoza served for nearly 30 years as a teacher, mostly at Maui High School where he taught math and science. Following his retirement, he stepped up to coach high-achiever science students in competitions such as the Science Bowl and the Ocean Bowl. He’s developed relationships with students he never really had when he was working in the classroom. “If you want to influence kids’ lives, you don’t get to know them in the classroom. You get to know them outside of it,” Ginoza said.
Motivated by the drive in advanced students at Maui High School, Ginoza said he uses all kinds of tools to prepare for contests including the Internet, videos and high-tech web sites. He and his students have been successful, not only in placing high or winning titles, but also in ensuring that Maui’s brightest are enrolling at the best colleges in the country. For example, Ginoza regularly writes recommendations and assists students applying to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He said at least one student has been accepted by MIT in all but one of the 29 years he’s helped out. He said students are earning good grades and getting into good colleges because they take advantage of the technology offered to them while also studying hard. “Three hours of studying per night to them is the norm,” Ginoza said.
Aside from helping students, Ginoza works part-time as a resource teacher, helping schools with administrative reports and math improvement programs. “In some ways, teaching has come a long way,” he said. “The good part of it is that technology has come along and teachers have a lot of resources to draw on. They can actually take kids places or observe things we couldn’t do in the past,” he said, referring to videos and Internet resources. “The students are as good, if not better in some respects…Learning is never boring.”
Dec 1, 2011 | Education, Stemworks
Eleventh-grader Cheska Liwag never dreamed of a career in engineering until she enrolled in the Maui High School robotics program. Robotics has been at the heart of many opportunities for Cheska, one of 45 students at Maui High immersed in robotics and in competitions across the county and in the state. “Robotics has helped me to grow and make new friends. I’ve learned a lot about team work and what it takes to compete,” Liwag said. The Maui High School Robotics Program is one of a dozen recipients receiving grants totaling more than $51,000 in the final quarter of 2011. Funding comes from the Maui Economic Development Board’s Ke Alahele Education Fund.
The latest distribution of funds has gone to support a variety of programs that encourage hands-on experiences and learning in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. The money enables students to compete in state robotics tournaments, provides professional development for teachers and helps to procure needed equipment for various projects in science and technology. For Maui High, the grant money has been the means to compete at the upcoming Pan Pacific tournament on Oahu. Liwag serves as captain on a team of six students from her school. “We’re excited,” she said.
Among others receiving grants this past quarter are:
Molokai Robotics (FIRST Lego League), $4,991; to support three teams from Kaunakakai Elementary and Kualapu’u Elementary schools to compete in a Maui tournament, as well as robotics equipment and supplies.
Kalama Intermediate School PLUG-INN project (Problem- Based Learning Using Geodatabases: Innovative Native Network), $5,000; for STEM collaboration between Kalama students and schools in Alaska, including shoreline field trips, use of GIS wireless technologies, and shared collaborative data analysis.
Maui Navigators (FIRST Lego League), $3,655; for robotics equipment and supplies for Central Maui robotics club for 9-14 year olds.
Hawaii State Science Olympiad, $5,000; for participation by approximately 200 students from 10 Maui County schools in statewide hands-on, team-based science competition and program.
Iao School VEX Robotics program, $3,989; for competition by middle school team at VEX competition at the Maui Fair and regional tournament on Oahu.
Oct 27, 2011 | Education
Retired educators Pat and Richard Endsley of Lahaina have built an after-school tutoring project that serves more than 300 children a year in West Maui. They say they could not have achieved success without the generosity of some 100 adult tutors and 70 high school students. They also give credit to their major sponsors — the County of Maui, Susan Bendon and her family in Paia, Debbie and Stuart Katz and their nonprofit Beyond the Rainbow and Aina Nalu. The Rotary Clubs in West Maui have also chipped in money and the Old Lahaina Luau and the Ritz-Carlton have provided volunteer tutors.
“You have to have a whole gamut of people who will help you,” Pat Endsley said. “Without them we could not do this.” The tutoring itself is free. In addition to being tutors, the Endsleys oversee other duties including tutor recruitment and training, ordering of books and supplies and maintaining a budget. The tutoring project costs approximately $26,000 to operate but none of the money is used for salaries. Expenses covered by a County grant and donations from businesses and residents include bus transportation, snacks, books and other tutoring supplies for the students.
Pat and Richard Endsley welcome volunteers from the Kaunoa Senior Service Volunteer Program while also being participants themselves. They say the majority of their tutors are retirees, of which only a handful are experienced in education. In addition, Lahainaluna High School students also help 4th-graders with math assignments. While the tutoring program focuses on skills in math and reading, the Endsleys were able to fulfill Pat’s dream to add extracurricular activities including lessons in history, ukulele and other creative arts. “To me the program’s perfect now,” Pat Endsley said. The Endsleys started ‘Wednesday Is Tutoring Day’ at one school in the year 2000 and have expanded it to three days of the week at all four public schools on the West Side.
Oct 13, 2011 | Education
Science teacher Maggie Prevenas working on location at Portage Glacier, AK
Award-winning science teacher Margaret “Maggie” Prevenas shares her passion for learning by escorting her students outside the classroom. “As a teacher, I need to bring my students outside and into their environment so they can really see how it works,” she said. Over the course of one school year, the Kalama Intermediate School teacher and a colleague took 7th graders to the Waihee coastline and a protected reserve to see and study first-hand the richness and resources of the land and ocean in the area. This particular exercise was made possible through a Ke Alahele Fund grant administered by Maui Economic Development Board. Prevenas deemed the project “wildly successful,” particularly with “rascal” pupils who turn into engaging students. “Outside in the environment, they are wizards, they are leaders,” she said. “Not all kids are going to be scientists but science is going to play an active role in their future on Maui and they can learn how to be good stewards of their environment.”
Prevenas continues to improve her eight-year teaching career by learning more about how she can best serve her students. Earlier this year, she was awarded an Endeavor Fellowship with NASA. The project provides live, online training for K-12 educators who are working to earn a certificate in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York. “I’m trying to understand how my students learn so I can light their fire and get them to take over stewardship of the Earth and the environment they live in,” she said. Her lessons in Waihee have focused on global climate and ocean acidification. Prevenas’ mantra has been “let no child be left inside” which represents her stance that students learn best by engaging and connecting with the world they live in. “They all get to see how unspoiled, how beautiful Maui truly is and then they can become aware of this when global climate changes happen.”
