Chelsea: So we heard that you grew up here, can you tell us what that was like and what is special about this place?
Keisha: Oh… I did grew up here. I grew up in Waipio, Kupu Halili and Honokaa but mostly Kupu Haili. What’s special about this place is the small town feel. The small town, the country feel uhm everybody knows everybody which could be a good thing and bad thing but uhm.. I like how small our community is and uhm… What else did I… What makes this place so special… I don’t know. Everyday you look out and we have such a beautiful school. I mean it overlooks the cliffs. The Hamakua cliffs and just our whole environment of our campus and our school and our place. I don’t know… I love it.
Chelsea: Did you attend Honoka’a High School? How has it changed since then?
Keisha: Yes I attended Honokaa High school from kindergarten through 12th grade. I graduated in 2007. How has it changed? Well for the physical side we made a lot of updates on our campus. You know the bleachers are new, the gym floor is new, the back courts got fixed. Just a lot of physical changes. The bathroom in the auditorium so I like how we’re beautifying our campus or making those updates you know because, as you know, our school is pretty old school. Then as far as teacher wise it is like, from being a student to a teacher, it gives me a new perspective from teacher to admin so like I don’t know how. Different perspectives from different roles. Change, I feel like we’re evolving as a school as far as what we’re doing. We’re moving to the academy model which gives you know our kids a little more real world experiences like making those connections. Verses when I went to school it was like read this, do this, do that and so it was like head on. There’s more guidance now in our education and more of them trying our system, shifting and setting you guys up for success in the future and making school relevant so that when you transfer into the workforce or college, you’re a little bit more prepared. So education wise I like that that shift yea… but as like some stuff are still the same it’s so crazy like some of my teachers when I went to this school is still here you know Mr. Atkins, Mr. Washburn, Mr. Tolentino, Ms. Honma, Ms. Fujioka, and then the people that I went to school with and some of them I have worked with so far. It’s full circle for sure.
Chelsea: That’s cool! Looking back, what advice can you give students based on your own high school experience?
Keisha: Do things that make you feel uncomfortable and push your limits because that’s the only way we can grow. Yea. So if we stay in our comfort zone then we don’t know what else is possible for us. Yea… and then obviously the normal stuff like don’t give up. Yea I feel like we give up so fast so having them having an experience mindset and setting those goals and knowing that our future depends on our actions and that we can always be the change we want to see.
Chelsea: Alright alright, Could you ever have imagined that you would someday be VP of HHIS?
Keisha: Not at all. It’s very ironic. I came to school to socialize and to play sports and I never thought that I would be back into the education field just because I did not like school. I did not like school and a lot of it was my confidence in my writing, my speaking. I was like, when you grow up in such a small town you’re shy and you don’t want to talk and you start to second guess yourself and your decisions or you just don’t want to. I don’t know. Like I was super shy in school so I hated public speaking and writing, and reading. I wasn’t definitely good at it either like my family definitely didn’t push education you know. Umm yea because my mom and dad were too busy working that education wasn’t the forefront importance. Instead chores and taking care of family members were more important. So to me I never thought that I would come back and be in this field. Yea and especially this position. I actually do miss being out and teaching in the classroom
Chelsea: Yea I can imagine that. What is your vision for the students here and the future of HHIS?
Keisha: What’s my vision… I mean I don’t know. Like our school vision is to empower all students with confidence and the ability to go after their dreams and I like that vision you know? To like to build our kids up in a way they feel confident enough to do what they want to do in life and like my experiences of moving away taught me a lot. I hope that a lot of our students will experience stuff like that out of this town. There is a bigger world out there that is scary but we learn a lot about ourselves and the opportunities that are out there so my hope is that we give them those skills and the confidence that they need to go and pursue their hopes and dreams in life.
Chelsea: One of my dreams is to travel out of this town and to other places as well. Well this is the last question. What do you love most about being here at HHIS?
Keisha: I love the people. I love the people I work with. I love the small town feel. I love the country vibes. I love… yea just being connected to the people around here. It’s such a peaceful place and I don’t know if you guys get to go visit but every time I go to the city and visit parts of the city I really enjoy them but I always like coming back home and being grounded. Yea I love being home.
Chelsea: That’s really interesting. Well that’s all the questions I had for you today! Thank you for giving me some time out of your day for this interview!
