He Huʻeaʻo ʻImi Loa!
I ka mahina ʻo Ianuali i hoʻomaka kūhelu ai kekahi papahana huʻeaʻo hou ma waena ʻo Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu (Nāwahī) me ʻImiloa e mālama piha ʻia nei ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. He huʻeaʻo ia e komo ai ʻelima haumāna papa 12 ma nā kuleana pāʻoihana me ka hoʻohua maoli ʻana i nā huahana e hoʻohana ʻia ai ma kekahi honua pāʻoihana - a, ma ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. He kula kaiāʻōlelo Hawaiʻi Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu e hoʻoulu a kahukahu nei i nā kiaʻi hoʻōla ʻōlelo a kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi ʻōpio. “ʻO ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, me ke ola o ia ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma ko kākou ʻāina nei, ʻo ia ke kumu a pahuhopu nui o nā hana a pau a mākou ma Nāwahī e ʻimi ikaika nei,” wahi a Kauanoe Kamanā, ke Poʻokula o Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniōpuʻu. “ʻOiai ʻo ʻImiloa kekahi lālā o ke kuʻikahi hoʻōla ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma Hilo e lawelawe nei i ka ʻōlelo a kuanaʻike Hawaiʻi ma ka pāʻoihana a noiʻi ʻepekema Hawaiʻi, ua ahuwale iā mākou he hana pakanā maikaʻi kēia e ʻimi ʻia ai.” ʻO Lilinoe Ahia, Keoni Hauaniʻo, Hauʻolilani Keliʻikuli, Makanalani Kraus, a me Hekili Ouranitsas-Hayes nā haumāna papa 12 i koho ʻia no kēia papahana. ʻOiai ʻo Pepeluali ka mahina e piha ai ʻo ʻImiloa he 15 makahiki, ua hoʻolālā ʻia nā pāhana mua a nā huʻeaʻo e hoʻohua ai no kēia hoʻolauleʻa ʻana. ʻO ke kākau moʻolelo ʻoe, ʻo ke ʻoki wikiō ʻoe, ʻo ke kūkulu hana noʻeau ʻoe a nui hou aku.
In January 2021, a new professional readiness internship program began here at ʻImiloa with five senior class students from Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu (Nāwahī). Similar to many other internship programs, this partnership between ʻImiloa and Nāwahī aims to create opportunities for interns to develop and strengthen professional skills while contributing to the production of work distributed out from ʻImiloa to the general public. What sets this internship apart is its sole usage of the Hawaiian language! Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu is a Hawaiian-medium education school that educates and fosters the development of young Hawaiian language advocates. “The Hawaiian language, and our ability to use Hawaiian as a living language here in our homeland is our overarching mission for everything we do at this school,” says Kauanoe Kamanā, the Director of Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. “ʻIt was an obvious choice for us to partner with ʻImiloa as it’s a part of our Hawaiian language consortium here in Hilo, advancing the use of the Hawaiian language through a business and scientific perspective.” Lilinoe Ahia, Keoni Hauaniʻo, Hauʻolilani Keliʻikuli, Makanalani Kraus, and Hekili Ouranitsas-Hayes are the five seniors that were chosen for this student internship opportunity. These interns’ first hands-on work experience was preparing for ʻImiloa’s 15-year celebration in February.
Ma muli hoʻi ʻo kēia maʻi ahulau kolona, ʻaʻole e mālama ʻia nei kēia papahana huʻeaʻo e like me ka mea i maʻa mua i ka poʻe. I mea e kō ai nā pāhana ma ka malu ʻo ka palekana olakino e hui ai nā lālā o kēia papahana huʻeaʻo ma nā hālāwai kelekaʻaʻike. No nā lā pōkole i hui ai ka poʻe i mālama ʻia ai nā ʻōnaehana mālama ola a pau e aʻoaʻo ʻia nei. “He ʻelua wā hui kā mākou i kēlā me kēia pule,” wahi a ka Hoʻolaukaʻi Huʻeaʻo Haumāna, ʻo Alakaʻi Iaea-Russell. “Ma ia mau hālāwai e aʻoaʻo ʻia ai nā haumāna he kuleana hou o ka pāʻoihana e laʻa me ka mālama moʻomōʻali, ka hoʻokahua ʻana he hōʻike kelekaʻaʻike, ke noiʻi ʻaeʻoia ʻana, ke paʻi a hoʻoponopono wikiō ʻana, a pēlā wale aku.”
“We’re offering free crafts in the form of our ʻImiloa Explorer’s Kit,” says ʻImiloa Program Coordinator and Internship Lead, Kuʻulei Bezilla. “For about a year now, we’ve been offering video tutorials for some of our free downloadable crafts on our ʻImiloa@Home landing page. The interns took on the task of video recording and editing tutorials for each craft offered for our birthday celebration. It’s a very detailed oriented job and they really excelled in their performance.” Audiences can access both Hawaiian and English language versions for each craft on our ʻImiloa 15 year celebration landing page.
Nā haumāna huʻeaʻo ma ka hoʻoponopono wikiō ʻōkuhi.
E like me ke ʻano maʻa mau o ka hana huʻeaʻo, ua komo koke nā haumāna Nāwahī ma ke aʻoaʻo ʻana i nā mākau i pono ai nā pāhana i pili kikoʻī i ka hoʻolauleʻa piha makahiki no ʻImiloa. “Ke hoʻolaha a kaʻanalike manuahi nei mākou, ʻo ʻImiloa hoʻi, i kekahi mau pāhana noʻeau ʻepekema Hawaiʻi i kēia wā hoʻolauleʻa piha makahiki ma kā mākou ʻImiloa Explorer’s Kit,” i ʻōlelo ai ʻo Kuʻulei Bezilla, ka Luna Hoʻolaukaʻi Huʻeaʻo a me ka Luna Hoʻolaukaʻi no ka hoʻolauleʻa piha makahiki o ʻImiloa. “No ka makahiki i hala iho nei, he mea mau iā mākou ka hoʻolele ʻana i nā wikiō ʻōkuhi e aʻoaʻo ai i ka poʻe pehea e hana ai i nā pāhana noʻeau ma kā mākou ʻImiloa@Home paena pūnaewele. No kēia hoʻolauleʻa i aʻoaʻo ai nā huʻeaʻo pehea e paʻi a hoʻoponopono ai i nā wikiō ʻōkuhi. He hana nui a nonenone ia i komo a puka ai nā huʻeaʻo.” Ua paʻa nā wikiō ʻōkuhi ma nā ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi a Pelekānia e waiho ʻia nei ma ka paena kahua paʻa no ka hoʻolauleʻa piha makahiki 15 o ʻImiloa.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this particular internship experience is slightly different from past internships. In order to maintain safety precautions, the majority of the experience has been conducted virtually via zoom except for specific dates when interns followed safety protocols to conduct in-person video recording and editing at ʻImiloa. “We meet together as a group twice a week,” says Alakaʻi Iaea-Russell, the Student Internship Coordinator at Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. “In each meeting, the interns learn a new skill or professional readiness tool such as creating and updating a resume, creating and hosting virtual meetings and presentations, conducting independent work, recording and editing video and more.”
Ma ka lā mua o kēia papahana i nīnau ʻia ai nā haumāna no ko lākou hoihoi a no nā ala pāʻoihana a lākou e ʻimi ai ma hope o ko lākou puka kula ʻana. No Lilinoe, makemake ʻo ia e lilo he kauka keiki e hoʻōla pū ai i ka lāʻau lapaʻau. Wahi a Keoni, makemake ʻo ia e komo ma ka pūʻalikoa ma hope o ka puka kula ʻana. No Hauʻolilani, he ʻiʻini kona e lilo i loio e like me Iosepa Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu. No Makanalani, ʻo ka ʻoihana kūʻai ʻāina kāna hoihoi a no Hekili, ʻo ke komo ʻana ma ka ʻoihana kākuna ka mea āna e ʻimi ana. I loko o kēia mau mahina pōkole i hala iho nei i ʻike ai kēia mau haumāna i ke koʻikoʻi o ka ʻauamo kuleana a me ka waiwai o kēia papahana huʻeaʻo no ko lākou pono ke puka kula mai ke kula kiʻekiʻe. “ʻIke au he papahana kākaʻikahi kēia,” wahi a Hauʻolilani Keliʻikuli. “Pono au e lawe a hoʻohana i ka ʻike a pau e aʻo ʻia nei ʻoiai he mau mākau ia e hiki ai iaʻu ke hoʻohana ma ke ola.”
On the first day of this program, students were asked about their future plans. Lilinoe is interested in becoming a pediatric doctor utilizing traditional Hawaiian medicine. Keoni plans to enroll in the National Guard after graduation. Hauʻolilani hopes to be a lawyer such as Iosepa Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu - the Hawaiian advocate and role model from which Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu was named. Makanalani is interested in pursuing a career in real estate and Hekili wants to establish himself in the comic industry. Although these individuals have different areas of interests, the value of this internship became evident over these past short months. “Opportunities like this are very rare. I really felt like I had to take advantage of and utilize every opportunity to learn in this program as I know that I’ll eventually use it in real life.”
Lilinoe lāua ʻo Hauʻolilani ma ka hanana piha makahiki 15 no ʻImiloa.
“I loko nō o kēia aʻoaʻo ʻana aku i kēia ʻāuna huʻeaʻo mua, ua ʻike ʻia ka nui haʻawina e aʻoaʻo ʻia nei; ʻo ia hoʻi nā ʻano e hoʻoikaika ai mākou ma ʻImiloa nei ma ka hoʻoulu ʻana i nā ala e ola hou ai ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma kēia honua pāʻoihana,” wahi a Kaʻiu Kimura, ka Luna Hoʻokele o ʻImiloa. “Nui ko mākou mahalo i ko Nāwahī no ko lākou ʻaʻa i ka hoʻokolohua i papahana huʻeaʻo me mākou, a nui ka manaʻolana e ulu hou ai kēia papahana i ala e kākoʻo ai i nā ʻōpio o kēia mua aku e ʻike ai lākou i ko lākou mākau ma nā ʻano pōʻaiapili pāʻoihana like ʻole o ke ao.” E paʻa ana ke kau mua o kēia papahana me kēia ʻāuna haumāna ma Mei, ma ia wā e hōʻikeʻike ai nā huʻeaʻo no nā ʻano mākau i paʻa iā lākou me ke ʻano e hoʻopōʻaiapili hou ʻia ia mākau me ko lākou mākau ʻike ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi ma nā ala pāʻoihana a lākou e ʻimi ai ma kēia mua aku.
“We’re creating and sharing new experiences for these interns to grow, and in return, we too are learning how we can become better leaders and advocates of the Hawaiian language and worldview here at ʻImiloa,” says ʻImiloa Executive Director, Kaʻiu Kimura. “We’re very appreciative to Nāwahī for their advancement of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and encouraging us through this internship partnership. We’re excited for this program to grow and become a tool for future internship opportunities where young language advocates can envision themselves as skilled and valued members in any career path they choose after graduation.” This pilot internship program will commence at the end of May, where participating interns will present their experience and skills learned through this opportunity. Most importantly, interns will be able to share new found perspectives of Hawaiian language use in future career pathways.