Aug 9, 2017 | Innovation, Stemworks
This summer, middle-school girls statewide had the opportunity to attend Excite Camp, a Women in Technology (WIT) program sponsored by the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB). The mission of WIT is to encourage women and girls to pursue education and careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in the state of Hawaii. Excite Camp focuses on today’s most in-demand career fields, combining lectures, hands-on activities, geospatial technologies and on-site tours.
“The last 17 years, Excite Camp has been held on Maui and open to all Maui County middle-school girls,” said Mapu Quitazol, WIT Program Manager. “Three years ago we went statewide, hosting camps on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Molokai, and this year on Kauai. The camp builds confidence and motivates our young ladies with STEM activities, teaching them that they can do anything they set their hearts on. Each island has the same agenda but very different activities and cultural site visits. For example, on Maui we visited Pacific Biodiesel Technologies which produces fuel from sunflowers, Hawaii’s largest biofuel crop project.”
The camp attendance has been kept to 24-30 girls to create a small, intimate group. Each participant joins a group of four and is led by a female mentor. The mentor, who acts as a role model, explains the activities and works with students, helping them feel comfortable in their surroundings. “At the end of the four-day program the girls are no longer strangers, but colleagues and friends,” said Excite Camp mentor Dominie Miyasato. “In addition to getting excited about STEM, they learn the value of teamwork, communication and honoring their island heritage.”
Gracie May Gomes, Lokelani Intermediate School 7th grader, said, “Excite Camp offered so many hands-on activities that forced me to be creative and problem-solve by thinking outside the box. I was so inspired to invent and create new things.” Gomes’ mom, Annie, agreed. “I can’t thank MEDB enough! Excite Camp provided a wonderful opportunity for my daughter and the other girls by revealing the STEM career opportunities available to them right here in Hawaii.”
Excite Camp is successful due to our great community partners who are willing to share their knowledge, time, and resources to come and teach our girls fun, hands-on STEM experiments.
Mapu Quitazol, MEDB WIT Program Manager
Jun 28, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), celebrating their 35th Anniversary, will hold the Annual Benefit Dinner and Auction, Pathways to Our Future, on Saturday August 26 at the Fairmont Kea Lani Maui. Thanks to donors of MEDB’s Ke Alahele Education Fund, STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education is empowering students and teachers throughout Maui County.
“MEDB envisions lives fulfilled in a vibrant economy within the very special culture of Hawaii,” said Graham DeVey, MEDB Program Manager. “An example is Alana Yurkanin, Assistant Marine Coordinator at The Nature Conservancy. Years ago, Yurkanin came to Baldwin High School with a variety of talents and interests, and joined one of MEDB’s after-school STEM programs, Future Scientists and Engineers of America (FSEA). By senior year she’d become FSEA chapter co-president and led a team to victory at UH Engineering Expo, winning international praise for her multi-year science fair project working with sharks.”
“Something about choosing to sit with a group of friends after school in this club opened me up to my own exploration of science,” said Yurkanin. “I felt empowered to ask my own questions and look at my life through a scientific lens. Our time at FSEA allowed us to create electric circuits, simulate the technology used to map the surface of Mars, build and test trebuchets, and parachute eggs from a three-story building. I got to thinking, maybe science wasn’t so scary – it was actually fun and approachable.
“Most of the funding for FSEA came from an organization that especially wanted to engage girls in the sciences, MEDB’s Women In Technology (WIT) Project,” Yurkanin recalled. “I remember WIT staffers visiting our class. I felt so inspired to see women as leaders in this technical field and so appreciative for their encouragement. WIT created incentives for kids to get involved in after-school STEM programs by providing funding for travel and lab materials. I feel that because of this experience, I can now give back to Hawai‘i in meaningful ways!”
MEDB’s STEM programs teach students to pitch in to improve our island environment, working mauka or makai.
Alana Yurkanin, The Nature Conservancy Assistant Marine Coordinator
Jun 7, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
MacKelan Mitchell, a King Kekaulike High School senior, wants to be an aerospace engineer. Luckily, he also happens to be a student in Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women in Technology (WIT) STEMworks™ Laboratory. “WIT’s program helps students gain real world experience in a career they are pursuing,” said Mapu Quitazol, MEDB Project Manager. “Mitchell wanted to learn from experts about what they do in their career and what college courses got them where they are. We are fortunate to have a handful of specialists at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) like Senior Aerospace Engineer, Dr. Kim Luu.”
Dr. Luu, who works at AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate, has been honored by the Air Force for her leadership and management of critical Department of Defense Space Situational Awareness research programs. Dr. Luu has over 20 years experience and is internationally recognized for her technical expertise in satellite characterization, astrodynamics, and space debris.
“It was really great to be able to job-shadow Dr. Luu for a day,” said Mitchell. “She explained about the different aspects of a career in aerospace engineering and what courses will help prepare me in the field. To be honest, I didn’t actually know that there were so many different branches to the space side of engineering.”
Additionally, Mitchell accompanied Dr. Luu to Wailuku to help set up the AFRL portable planetarium for a STEMworks™ outreach event for elementary and middle school students. “The digital planetarium teaches students how to understand astronomical coordinate systems, and how to use significant points to find stars, planets, and even satellites,” said Mitchell. “I learned the importance of ground-based astronomy across the world. After we looked at the night sky in the planetarium, we played a short film about the Curiosity Mars Rover landing and one about going back to the Moon.”
“My day of job-shadowing was very enlightening,” said Mitchell. “I’m thankful to MEDB and WIT for the hands-on opportunities they offer students in the most current technologies.”
Students in STEMworks™ labs are afforded the opportunity to work with local industry partners and gain skills ranging from animation to computer-aided design to engineering design and more.
Mapu Quitazol, MEDB Project Manager
Mar 22, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) 2017 Ke Alahele Education Fund Benefit & Auction, to be held on August 26 at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, raises money to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) projects in Maui County and throughout the state. The Ke Alahele ‘Pathways to Our Future’ event celebrates the Fund’s impressive giving to enhance education and training in our community as well as the notable Daniel K. Inouye (DKI) Innovation Award. The DKI award honors the late Senator who did so much to inspire our youth and provide STEM opportunities in Hawaii.
“The DKI awards are presented to a Maui County student or team that demonstrates the most innovative use of STEM tools and capabilities to serve and improve our community,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB Vice President and Women in Technology (WIT) Director. “Students select a societal issue and then, by using sophisticated technology and possibly inventing their own tools, they create a real solution to address the community challenge.”
The 2016 second-place Daniel K. Inouye award winner, Evelyn Haase, currently a junior at Molokai High School, has participated in MEDB’s WIT STEMworks™ program since she was a middle school Excite Camper. Recently, Haase was awarded first place overall at the 58th Maui County Regional Science & Engineering Fair. She invented a pH sensor that can measure very small changes in the ocean pH due to environmental fluctuations. Not only does it improve accuracy, but it offers a huge cost savings compared to the current systems available to marine scientists.
“After winning the DKI Innovation Award, I had a bit more confidence going into my second year of research and the deployment stage of the project,” said Haase. “We are all blessed by MEDB and the technological tools they give us to pursue our interest in science. Through the Ke Alahele Education Fund, they give students the opportunity to see and discover the whole world out there.”
MEDB and WIT congratulate Haase for her impressive Maui County Regional Science & Engineering Fair performance. She took first place overall, first place for environmental engineering, an award from MECO, and the Stockholm Water Project certificate of excellence.
Leslie Wilkins, MEDB Vice President and WIT Director
Feb 15, 2017 | Education, Innovation, Stemworks
The Maui League VEX IQ Robotics finals took place on Saturday January 28th at Lokelani Intermediate School in Kihei. The Teamwork Champion Award went to Pukalani Elementary School team 10704B and Maui Preparatory Academy team 10528B. Both teams, along with Pomaikai Elementary School, qualified for the State/Regional VEX IQ Challenge on February 20, 2017 at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. These Maui students continue to spend countless hours designing, building, programming and testing their robots with hopes of advancing to the 10th VEX Robotics World Championship on April 19-25, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky.
The VEX IQ Challenge is played on a 4’x8’ rectangular field. Two robots compete in the Teamwork Challenge as an alliance in 60-second teamwork matches, working collaboratively to score points. Teams also compete in two additional challenges. The Robot Skills Challenge requires each robot to take the field under driver control. The Programming Skills Challenge requires each robot to score points without any driver inputs. The object of the game is to attain the highest score by accumulating Hexballs in their color-coded zones and goals and by parking and balancing robots on the bridge.
For over a decade, the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund of Maui Economic Development Board, fueled with the generous support from numerous community businesses and individuals, has been empowering Maui County students to compete in the VEX IQ Challenge and First® Robotics Competitions. “MEDB is thrilled to see the excitement of our Maui County students as they experience the Maui League competitions,” said Isla Young, WIT K-12 STEM Director. “As we continue to engage our students in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education, robotics is one example that brings together critical thinking, teamwork, and research.”
“If it weren’t for MEDB, Pukalani Elementary School would not have this incredible Robotics program,” said Jasmine Domingo, Pukalani Robotics Coach. “Alongside their STEM education, the students are building leadership and problem-solving skills. I’m so proud of them!”
I love that there are always new things to learn at the competitions, such as how to improve programming of robots. Also, I enjoy working with my teammates and students from other schools.
Josie Vierra, Pukalani Elementary School 4th Grader
Jan 4, 2017 | Education, Stemworks
Jonathan Olsten, former STEMworks™ intern
Jonathan Olsten, once a student in Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) STEMworks™ Summer Internship Program, speaks of the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in his life. “I interned with MEDB while I was in college,” explained Olsten, a Foreign Spacecraft Analyst at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC). “Through MEDB I worked at the University of New Mexico’s Maui Scientific Research Center doing data analysis of solar intensity. I took what I learned from that experience and applied it to my current job at NASIC, analyzing large amounts of data.”
Olsten first realized he wanted to pursue a degree in engineering while he was taking high school physics. Understanding the way things work in theory and applying that knowledge in practice, was the kind of academic experience that he found most interesting and enjoyable. “It was nice to be good in math, but math for math’s sake was not as interesting to me,” Olsten noted. “It was learning how to apply the mathematical concepts to solve real-world problems that made math interesting.”
After Olsten decided to pursue engineering, it wasn’t difficult to choose his major. Inspired by a couple of pilots in his family, and a child’s dream to be an astronaut, aerospace engineering seemed like a great career choice. “In fact, one of the first toys I can remember having was a space shuttle,” Olsten said. “My advice for kids still in school is to make sure they end up in a position where they have the tools they need to find the job they will enjoy. That is almost synonymous with STEM. Take electives in high school to decide what kinds of STEM careers interest you most.”
Olsten praises MEDB for the extraordinary job they do in the community. “MEDB’s assistance to teachers and students provides education in cutting-edge technologies,” he said. “MEDB’s programs provide STEM thinking skills that solve real problems in the community and beyond.”
MEDB continues to offer extraordinary STEM programs and internships throughout the year.
Jonathan Olsten, Foreign Spacecraft Analyst, NASIC
Nov 30, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
Maui High School freshman, Christine Alonzo was invited by President Obama to attend the first-ever White House South by South Lawn (SXSL) event. The Women in Technology (WIT) Project of the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) sponsored the Washington D.C. trip for Alonzo and her former Maui Waena STEMworks™ AFTERschool teacher, Jennifer Suzuki. The two-day festival, celebrating the spirit of innovation, brought together creators, organizers, and entrepreneurs who work to improve the lives of people in their communities and in the world. Keynote speakers and panels discussed how to solve the country’s most pressing problems while exhibits depicted a future that is full of opportunity for everyone.
In June 2016, while still at Maui Waena Intermediate School, Alonzo attended the PBS Student Reporting Labs’ All-Star Camp in D.C. While attending the camp, she and her group, made up of students from Colorado, California and Virginia, produced a story about a Georgetown graduate who created an interactive website (socialgirlz.com) for African American girls to network and support each other. After Alonzo completed the video, it was submitted to the White House Student Film Festival for this year’s theme, The World I Want to Live In. Although the film was not chosen as a finalist, it was selected as an honorable mention along with an invitation to Alonzo and her group to attend the White House film festival and the inaugural SXSL event.
“It was so amazing to have my video honored like that,” said Alonzo. “Attending the film festival was one of the highlights of my life and really inspired me to continue telling stories and creating videos. The SXSL experience was even more inspirational because I got to meet so many people who are fostering innovation and doing wonderful things in their communities.”
SXSL challenged us to build toward an America that is full of opportunities for everyone.
Christine Alonzo, Maui High School Freshman
Aug 31, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
“Pathways to Our Future,” the annual dinner and auction to benefit the Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) Ke Alahele Education Fund, was held at the Fairmont Kea Lani Resort in Wailea on August 20th. The 2016 event, celebrating the Fund’s 10th year, provided a fun, educational and inspirational look at MEDB’s statewide STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs. Over 550 guests enjoyed an exciting lineup of activities, bid on a myriad of items during the popular Apples for Education live and silent auctions and competed in teams during a Family Feud-style game – STEM edition. Besides hosting distinguished guests U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz, U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Lieutenant Governor Shan Tsutsui and his wife Lynette, and Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa and his wife Ann, the event raised an impressive $331,800. “Thanks to generous businesses and other community stakeholders, we have touched thousands of students,” said MEDB President & CEO Jeanne Unemori Skog. “Donors help support the teaching, tools, and experiences that will prepare our youth for STEM careers.”
MEDB proudly announced the 2016 honorees of the Daniel K. Inouye Innovation Award who demonstrated the most creative use of STEM tools and capabilities to best serve our community. First place winners, Lanai High and Elementary School students, Jasmine and Keona Conroy-Humphrey, used the geospatial software training they received in their MEDB STEMworks™ lab for their project, Lanai Fire Hydrant Collection. “We produced an Esri electronic map to geolocate fire hydrants for the Lanai Water Company,” said Jasmine and Keona. “The Esri Collector app helped locate the longitude and latitude of each fire hydrant allowing the water company and fire department faster access to the fire hydrants from their computers and phones. Our goal, to geolocate the information in a timely manner, was to help make Lanai a safer place.”
“We are so proud of all our STEM students,” said Skog. “MEDB’s programs offer a fantastic opportunity for students of different backgrounds, skill levels, and affinities to get together and create an amazing service for the community!”
The annual Daniel K. Inouye Innovation Award was created to inspire students and to encourage them in STEM pursuits that would include the community and make life better for our citizens.
Jennifer Goto-Sabas, Director of the Daniel K. Inouye Institute Fund
Jun 30, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
You are invited to attend Pathways to our Future, a benefit for the MEDB Ke Alahele Education Fund.
Bid on hundreds of items during the “Apples for Education” Live & Silent Auctions
Play Family Feud, The STEM Edition
Mingle with Distinguished Educators:
- U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono
- U.S. Senator Brian Schatz
- Lt. Governor Shan Tsutsui and Lyndelle Tsutsui
- Mayor Alan Arakawa and Ann Arakawa
Sponsorship opportunities are available.
Saturday, August 20, 2016 • Fairmont Kea Lani, Maui
4:30 pm Reception/Silent auction • 6 pm Dinner/Live auction
For reservations, visit www.medb.org or call us at 808-875-2300.
