Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 35, Number 6, 1 June 2018 — Ho'oulu scholar shines at Chaminade [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Ho'oulu scholar shines at Chaminade

HO'ONAAUAO EDUCATION

By Treena Shapiro Afreshman biology course at Chaminade University ignited Hulali Kinilau's passion for science, but also took her out of her element. Her classmates didn't look like her, and they didn't sound like her, either. "I didn't see my people," she recalled of her early classes in STEM subjects: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "It made me feel like maybe I was in the wrong field." But the next year she had a biology class with Dr. Chrystie Naeole, and another with Dr. Jolene Cogbill the year after that. "They 're Native Hawaiian females in STEM and I was like, 'Okay, maybe my people are already in grad school or something.'" Professors Naeole and Cogbill became Kinilau's mentors as well as her role models, helping her navigate through college in every respect. "If we have problems with home life or school, we ean always go to them. If we don't understand a certain class, they have funding for tutoring," Kinilau described, adding that her mentors were also good mediators when issues arose with other professors. Chaminade's Office of Native Hawaiian Partnerships and its Ho'oulu Scholarship Program offered in partnership with Kamehameha Schools provide Hawaiian students additional resources and support services. As a Ho'oulu Scholar, Kinilau received full tuition assistance and had the opportunity to attend biomedical research eonferences that changed her ouīlook on STEM, and on being Hawaiian and female in a science field. "As a Native Hawaiian serving institution, we know investing in the success of students like Hulali is critical to our long-term success in the future, for all of us," explained Chaminade scholarships manager Dawn Johnson. 'There's a darker part of our recent past where we were ashamed of who we are and where we eome from and she's part of that change," Johnson continued. "She's part of that eon-

tinued wave toward re-embracing who we are, where we eome from and why we're here. We're not so far from our past today and it's our future, like we have in Hulali, that's going to ensure that we don't forget and we continue to perpetuate." An internship with cultural enrichment coordinator Kahoali'i Keahi-Wood helped Kinilau understand how Native Hawaiian practices and protocols ean be applied in a western setting, and deepened her understanding of lā'au lapa'au. "He made it so it was

a combination of culture and scienee," she said, describing how he taught students to identify medicinal plants and their uses, and how to make plant-based cleansers, eye washes and topical creams. Kinilau followed his example in integrating culture and science as she designed educational modules for Chaminade's "I Am a Scientist" program for grade school students, whieh focuses on inspiring the next generation of scientists. Education wasn't a priority for most of Kinilau's extended family members but her mother had attended college and expected that Kinilau would, as well. "I didn't have the same faith that she did, so I was like, 'Yeah, I'll go to college but I don't know how long I'H stay,'" Kinilau recalled. But her mother wasn't the only one who wanted to see Kinilau succeed in college - she was surprised with a partial scholarship to Chaminade during her 2012 graduation from Aiea High School. Kinilau advises Hawaiians considering higher education to "apply to anything and everything. Don't put yourself down and say there's better

people for the program. Have faith in yourself and what you ean do and what you're willing to do to get where you want." Last month, Kinilau graduated from Chaminade University with two STEM degrees, one BS in cellular biology and a second in environmental studies. This month, she left for the University of North Carolina's 12-monthPostbaccalau-reate Research Education Program SEE GHAMINADE ON PAGE 22

wmm II j| mf1 Hulali Kinilau, at far left, graduated with two STEM degrees in May. - Photo: Courtesy