This column by University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Chancellor Lui Hokoana was published by The Maui News on November, 2023.
By the time you read this, most of you will have enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal with your families and friends. Many of you will have gotten a “Black Friday” head start on your holiday shopping. Hopefully, you will also have taken a moment to remember our friends and neighbors who weren’t able to do either of those things this year.
Four hundred students from the two Lahaina zip codes were directly affected by the August wildfires. They experienced different kinds of loss — their homes, their family homes, their jobs, their vehicles. These students attend all of the University of Hawaiʻi’s 10 campuses; the great majority are our own Maui College students. Thanks to the numerous donors and volunteers, we were able to step up immediately to help all of these students. They looked to us for help ranging from financial assistance to emotional support and everything in between. Our college has epitomized the concept of “Laukanaka” (Many People) since Aug. 8, dedicated to serving our campus and our wider community in any ways we can for as long as the needs remain.
Four months down the long road to recovery, two of our students share their insights with you here. Their experiences since the fires and their commitments to their families, their community and their education are inspiring.
Kauikeolani Alo-Kaonohi Ah Loo is a freshman studying Criminal Justice. She was a four-year boarder at Lahainaluna High School.
“Living in Lahaina for those four years brought me a new perspective of the town and the people. The people of Lahaina are one community and a proud one at that,” she said.
Both Alo-Kaonohi Ah Loo and her father work in the hospitality industry.
“I had only started working at a resort hotel. I was temporarily laid off but my dad still had his job. My family spent the first two weeks after the fire rounding up donations for the displaced and taking them to shelters or drop-off sites in Lahaina. I watched firsthand as people around the island stopped to donate anything they could offer, the island united as one,” she remembered.
We were concerned that many students would hesitate to start or return to college after the fires. That turned out to be true but, happily, most overcame their trepidation. Alo-Kaonohi Ah Loo was one of them. For her, there was just too much happening but, in the end, she felt she could not put off her responsibilities.
She has something else in common with many of the students we’ve spoken with. She’s grateful.
“The impacts on me and my family do not compare to the people of Lahaina who have lost everything. Now, four months after the fire I am ending my first semester of college and have picked up a part-time job. My dad’s job is gradually going back to normal. Although I may not have been impacted physically or financially, my heart still hurts from the damage caused to my people and my land. Throughout everything, college has provided me and other students with a sense of normalcy,” she said.
Second-year Culinary Arts student Raiden Baraoidan, who was born and raised in Lahaina, feels exactly the same way. After leading our massive food preparation hub, the Culinary Arts Program is now back to its regular curriculum. Seeing familiar faces and resuming a normal class schedule has been helpful.
“College takes me away from the outside world. My mind is completely focused on education right now,” said Baraoidan.
When he received one of many scholarships donated by the very generous Merriman’s Culinary Scholarship Fund, he was shocked.
“It came out of nowhere, the college let me know and said the main purpose was to ensure that we didn’t have to drop out,” he said.
Raiden’s family—including three older brothers—also works in the hospitality industry and he reports that right now, they’re all back to work and doing well.
Still, Lahaina is always on his mind. So, in the midst of this holiday season like no other, he has this message: “Please continue to express love to your loved ones because tomorrow is never promised. We must remember that time will always heal wounds and there’s always a light of hope at the end. We are Lahaina. We don’t give up, we will bounce back, rebuild, and we will continue to fight the obstacles to have our city again.”
If you would like to donate funds to continue to help our fire-affected students, faculty and staff, please visit the UH Foundation’s Help Maui page here www.uhfoundation.org/give/giving-opportunity/help-maui. For complete UH Maui College information, visit maui.hawaii.edu/.
* Dr. Lui K. Hokoana is chancellor of the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College. Kaʻana Manaʻo, which means “sharing thoughts,” is scheduled to appear on the fourth Sunday of each month. It is prepared with assistance from UH Maui College staff and is intended to provide the community of Maui County information about opportunities available through the college at its Kahului campus and its education centers.
