Ten students from across Hawaiʻi gathered at the East-West Center to prepare for PAAC's inaugural study tour to Palau — and discovered they had more in common with the Pacific's other shore than they expected.

Before 18 students from across Hawaiʻi flew to Taiwan, they spent three days learning what lei really carry — and asking questions only Taiwan could answer.

On May 9th, 83 people gathered at the Hoʻokupu Center to say thank you — in eight languages, across 17 schools, and at the end of a year that took students from Honolulu to Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Jeju Island, Okinawa, Taiwan, Palau, and beyond.

Julie Matsumoto walked into a disbanded PAAC club at Mililani High School and rebuilt it from scratch. Jayden Tran boarded a plane to Vietnam and came back knowing that life is bigger than himself. Ninety-five seniors are stepping into what's next — and the Class of 2026 is taking everything with them.

Leads with the mission Global leadership doesn't start in boardrooms or on world stages. For these four Hawaiʻi students, it started at a beach full of trash, in a flood-marked home in Hội An, at a Pearl Harbor commemoration, and in a school that didn't yet have a student council. Meet PAAC's 2026 scholarship and award winners.