NHSS is providing internships to 13 undergraduate students at UH Mānoa this 2018-2019 academic year, who are placed at 11 different departments and organizations both at the UH Mānoa campus and in our community. The organizations were selected by NHSS, representing opportunities to strengthen partnerships in service to Hawaiian student success. These site placements are:
- Hālau Kū Māna Charter School
- Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue
- Ka Waiwai Collective
- Hawaiʻi Mission Homes
- ʻIolani Hale
- Hawaiʻi Independent
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs Haumea Research Project
- Office of Hawaiian Affairs Mana Lāhui Research Project
- UH Mānoa Native Hawaiian Science Engineering Mentorship Program
- UH Mānoa Maile Mentorship Program
- UH System Sustainability Office
Students are hired in these positions at a rate of $14.90/hour where they can work up to 350 hours over the academic year, potentially earning up to $5,000 total. The internships are intended to provide real-world work/career experience for students, while helping to strengthen critical partnerships that help to support Hawaiian student success at UH Mānoa.
Meet This Year’s Interns!
Sky Bruno (Major: Academy for Creative Media)
Hometown: Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu
Internship Site: Maile Mentorship Program (Hoaka Thomas & Dr. Rosie Alegado)
Internship Abstract: The Maile Mentoring Bridge program in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology aims to support Native Hawaiian, kamaʻāina and other underrepresented ethnic minorities in the geosciences through unique mentoring relationships that offer encouragement and sharing of knowledge. The Maile program has served as a community-building and gathering space for undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff within SOEST. This internship will support Maile program activities by helping to facilitate and strengthen relationships with community college partners, by highlighting Maile events and opportunities to the broader UH community and by assisting program staff with mentor pairs. Importantly, this internship reinforces the Maile program’s connection with 
Native Hawaiian Student Services and other undergraduate support systems at UH Mānoa. We envision this fellowship as being critical to helping SOEST define its kuleana as part of a Hawaiian place of learning.
Kawenaonalani Correa (Major: Exploratory Business)
Hometown: Ewa Beach, Oʻahu
Internship Site: ʻIolani Hale (Ihilani Gutierrez)
Internship Abstract: The Friends of ʻIolani Palace intern will serve as an exhibits coordinator working in the curatorial department to plan and implement a new temporary exhibit on Objects Returning Home to Iolani Palace. The project will involve many aspects of the curatorial work including, managing a budget, scholarly research, object care and marketing of new exhibits.
Rachel DeCaires (Major: Exploratory Business)
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Internship Site: Native Hawaiian Science Engineering Mentorship Program (Kelli Ching & Kawena Elkington)
Internship Abstract: The Native Hawaiian Science & Engineering Mentorship Program (NHSEMP) Outreach Intern is responsible for assisting in the implementation of the programs overall communications and marketing plan. Focusing specifically on outreach, they will be helping to build awareness around NHSEMP within the academic and local community. By working with staff to refine outreach strategies and best practices, the intern will participate with staff as program representatives at outreach and recruitment events, assist in producing media material, support management of the programs social media strategic plan, and assist with website updates. Ultimately, the NHSEMP Outreach Intern will be helping execute program goals and activities through various forms of outreach and communications.
Jordan Phoenix Kamuela Gestrich (Major: ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi)
Hometown: Kapahulu, Oʻahu
Internship Site: Hālau Kū Māna (Dr. Keoni Bunag)
Internship Abstract: Hālau Kū Māna is a public charter school in Makiki specializing in community-driven, place-based curriculum grounded in Hawaiian culture, history and language. The school offers grades 4-12, with an average class size around 18. The internship is geared for students interested in contributing to the development of Hawaiian identity and who accept the lifelong kuleana of being learners and teachers. The intern will be paired with experienced teachers and engaged with students and curriculum at the level they are ready for.
Pumehana Howard (Major: Hawaiian Studies)
Hometown: Kalihi, Oʻahu
Internship Site: Hawaiʻi Mission Homes (Lisa Chow)
Internship Abstract: The Special Tours at the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (HMH) will expand the historical narrative shared with visitors and school programs. HMH is excited to expand the narrative offered to visitors from the perspective of the Hawaiian—researched, written, and given by Hawaiians. It remains that the current narrative shared is lacking the fundamental narrative of the Kanaka Maoli throughout our space and interns will be a part of establishing this narrative. In addition to working with Hawaiian Mission Housesʻ staff, interns will work in the archives with UH professor Noelani Arista, as well as other history scholars. Interns will also have the opportunity to work intimately with a small non-profit organization that has a significant impact on the community at large. This project has its foundation in two ongoing programs: the construction of the Hale Pili under the cultural direction of Uncle Earl Kawaa and Uncle Dwight Kahuahikaua and Kealaleo ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi classes taught by Keoua Nelson.
Christina Kaleiwahea (Major: Finance)
Hometown: Makakilo, Oʻahu
Internship Site: University of Hawaiʻi Office of Sustainability (Matt Lynch)
Internship Abstract: The Sustainability Research & Communications Fellow will work with the UH Office of Sustainability to conduct technical analysis and research to support development of the UH Mānoa Master Energy Resource Plan, share indigenous perspectives on integrating sustainability into core mission and functional areas of the University, and develop a thought paper exploring student perspectives on innovation in energy that serves the environment and marginalized communities.
Billy Kinney (Major: English)
Hometown: Hanalei, Haleleʻa, Kauaʻi
Internship Site: Hawaiʻi Independent (Will Caron)
Internship Abstract: The Hawaii Independent, publishing thoughtful, civic journalism that moves Hawaii forward. The 19th century in Hawaii was a time of social, economic, political and cultural upheaval. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, this period was also a time of great excellence in art, literature, education, public discourse and philosophy. At a time when the United States had a roughly 50 percent literacy rate, by the 1830s, Hawaii held the highest literacy rate in the world. The seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Iolani Palace, had electricity and telephones installed several years before the White House. And politicians, philosophers and engaged citizens would hold public debates on policy and other ideas, played out across the pages of the Kingdom’s many esteemed newspapers, for all the public to read and absorb. The Hawaii Independent seek to harken back to this era of excellence while simultaneously accounting for and evolving with the realities of the 21st century with a goal to expand and elevate the level of discourse in Hawaii within the public sphere.
Maluhia Low (Major: Hawaiian Studies & Psychology)
Hometown: Haʻikū, Maui
Internship Site: Office of Hawaiian Affairs Mana Lāhui Project (Dr. Kealoha Fox)
Internship Abstract: The new book Mana Lāhui Kānaka is a multidimensional study of mana: what it is, how to articulate it, and how to access and cultivate it. The 300-page volume builds on Kūkulu Hou, the vision for kanaka leadership presented by author Dr. Kamana’opono Crabbe. In coordination with the release of Mana Lāhui Kānaka, OHA is reaching out to larger communities to discuss mana, in person and online. Kānaka ʻōiwi will be encouraged to participate and express their own ideas on how mana can be used to strengthen communities, and the lāhui at large. Moreover, we look forward to community ideation of next-level ingenuity, where kanaka maoli create and assess our own measures of mana—and increase the mana of our people as the lāhui kānaka. The internship will explore the area of mana and will assist our community outreach efforts of the book and its tools to positively cultivate mana lāhui.
Leikuluwaimaka Meleiseā (Major: Hawaiian Studies)
Hometown: Kapolei, Oʻahu
Internship Site: Hawaiʻi Indpendent (Will Caron)
Internship Abstract: The Hawaii Independent, publishing thoughtful, civic journalism that moves Hawaii forward. The 19th century in Hawaii was a time of social, economic, political and cultural upheaval. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, this period was also a time of great excellence in art, literature, education, public discourse and philosophy. At a time when the United States had a roughly 50 percent literacy rate, by the 1830s, Hawaii held the highest literacy rate in the world. The seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaii, Iolani Palace, had electricity and telephones installed several years before the White House. And politicians, philosophers and engaged citizens would hold public debates on policy and other ideas, played out across the pages of the Kingdom’s many esteemed newspapers, for all the public to read and absorb. The Hawaii Independent seek to harken back to this era of excellence while simultaneously accounting for and evolving with the realities of the 21st century with a goal to expand and elevate the level of discourse in Hawaii within the public sphere.
Molly Miyamoto (Major: Business Management & Hawaiian Language)
Hometown: Maple Valley, Washington
Internship Site: Waiwai Collective (Keoni Lee)
Internship Abstract: The challenges we face today in areas like housing, education, healthcare and the environment are big and complex, almost paralyzing in the face of seeming inevitability. The societal systems in Hawaii are not working well so what are we to do? At the core of Ka Waiwai is the belief that traditional Hawaiian ways of thinking and doing to create abundance and value on islands can be repurposed in a contemporary context. However, this is possible only if we give ourselves the space, and build the relationships necessary, to work collectively and creatively to translate the old into the new and vice versa. Our intention is not to go back in time but rather to learn from and build upon our ancestral foundation of innovation and ingenuity to create new systems of wealth and abundance in Hawaii. Intern will support all aspects of operations at Ka Waiwai and will become intimately familiar with the mission and vision of the organization, with a focus on indigenous and alternative economy-building.
Kaohele Ritte-Camara (Major: Hawaiian Language)
Hometown: Hoʻolehua, Molokaʻi
Internship Site: Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue (Baba Yim)
Internship Abstract: This internship will provide classroom support in an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi immersion elementary education environment. Interns will support classroom teacher with currculum development, lesson plan preparation, classroom management and other tasks as needed. Intern will also become familiar with school programming at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue and will work in part with the summer school coordinator, Kehau Camara, developing programming between Ānuenue and UH Mānoa that will strengthen college outreach between the two schools during the school year.
ʻAlaneolani Sakamoto (Major: Sociology)
Hometown: Haʻikū, Maui
Internship Site: Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue (Baba Yim)
Internship Abstract: This internship will provide classroom support in an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi immersion elementary education environment. Interns will support classroom teacher with currculum development, lesson plan preparation, classroom management and other tasks as needed. Intern will also become familiar with school programming at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue and will work in part with the summer school coordinator, Kehau Camara, developing programming between Ānuenue and UH Mānoa that will strengthen college outreach between the two schools during the school year.
Christina Young (Major: Food Science & Human Nutrition)
Hometown: Fremont, California
Internship Site: Office of Hawaiian Affairs Haumea Project (Dr. Kealoha Fox)
Internship Abstract: The new report “Haumea: Transforming the Health of Native Hawaiian Women and Empowering Wāhine Well-Being” examines important issues impacting Native Hawaiian females from keiki to kūpuna through six integrated chapters: mental and emotional well-being, suicidality, physical health, chronic diseases, maternal and child health, intimate partner violence, incarceration, economic wellness, poverty rates, underrepresented occupations, gender wage gaps, and much more. There are more than one hundred programmatic and policy recommendations presented throughout the book that offer ways for decision makers and organizational leaders to be involved in empowering women’s health. This internship is focused on women’s health and well-being, and will assist community outreach efforts, manage multiple tools to collect and analyze information and help develop the project toward ‘ōpio.