He's Lived in the Philippines, on a Remote Indonesian Island, and in Wahiawā. Now the Leilehua Sophomore Is Going to South Korea — and He's Bringing It All Back.
One of 42 public high school students selected for the 2026 Hawaiʻi Sister-State Study Tours.
Student Snapshot
Name: Sean Claude Palamos
Preferred Name: Sean
School: Leilehua High School
Grade: 10th
Home Community: Wahiawā, Central Oʻahu
Delegation: Jeju Island
Travel Dates: March 14–25/26, 2026
Focus Interests / Extracurriculars: Speech and Debate Secretary (plans to run for president by junior year); Leilehua High PAAC Club Vice President (newly founded club; plans to run for president by junior year); Key Club; lived in Philippines (~5 years, non-consecutive); lived in Indonesia (Rote Island, remote — 6 months/year before pandemic, learned to live simply without technology); visited Thailand (medical purposes and tourism), Taiwan (night markets, father's wedding gift trip), Singapore (twice); attended 7 different schools across Philippines, Indonesia, and the United States; learned hula and lei meaning in Hawaiʻi; drawing, ukulele, Brazilian jiujitsu (prior hobbies); research and debate (current grounding activity)
Career Aspirations: College at his dream university — not named specifically; leadership in community service and cultural advocacy; his essay frames these goals around serving Hawaiʻi and fostering tolerance through cultural understanding
Why They Were Selected
Sean has attended seven schools across three countries. He lived on a remote Indonesian island where his father taught him to fish, surf, and sail — and to live simply, away from technology. He watched the Philippines change from the place he loved into something heavier. He found Hawaiʻi and decided to stay. He's a tenth grader who is Vice President of a newly founded PAAC club, Secretary of Speech and Debate, and planning to be president of both by junior year. His essay opens with a question — "Who is Sean Palamos?" — and answers it more honestly than most adults could.
What They're Excited About
Relief followed by jumping up and down; the food above all else (he said so, with joy); personal growth; embracing and respecting Jeju's culture; using the trip to recruit members to the new PAAC club at Leilehua; long-lasting bonds with peers
He Remembers When Rain in the Philippines Meant Kids Laughing in the Street. Then It Changed. That's Why He Chose Hawaiʻi. That's Why He's Going to Jeju.
Sean Palamos remembers what rain in the Philippines used to sound like — kids laughing and running down streets. He remembers when his motherland felt like the most welcoming place on earth. Through the years, he wrote, the rain brought something heavier instead. Sean has lived in the Philippines, on a remote island in Indonesia where his father taught him to fish and sail and live without technology, and in Wahiawā, where he finally decided to stay. When he found Hawaiʻi, he recognized it. It reminded him of a place he used to call home. The Leilehua High sophomore is going to Jeju Island this spring — and he has been thinking about why that matters since before he applied.
Sean is a student who has attended seven schools across three countries. In Hawaiʻi, he learned hula and the meaning of different leis. He's the Vice President of Leilehua's newly founded PAAC club and the Secretary of Speech and Debate — and he's planning to be president of both by junior year. Research is the thing that keeps him grounded: when he's building a debate case, he writes, he falls into a trance, going deeper and deeper into a topic for hours. That instinct — to understand something fully before speaking about it — is exactly what makes a strong ambassador.
Sean was selected because he already understands what it feels like to carry a place with you when it changes, and to find a new one that holds. He wants to protect Hawaiʻi from the things that transformed the Philippines. He knows, logically, that Hawaiʻi has its own problems — the cost of living, housing, homelessness — and he wrote plainly that turning a blind eye to those problems is unfair to the thousands who suffer. He's going to Jeju to learn something he can bring back to Wahiawā.
"I remember a time when the rain only brought the sound of kids laughing as they ran down the street... And I suppose that is why I love Hawaiʻi so much, because it reminds me of a place I used to call home." — Sean Claude Palamos, Leilehua High School, Class of 2028
When Sean returns to Wahiawā from Jeju, he'll return as someone who has now represented two homes internationally — the one he came from, and the one he chose. For a newly founded PAAC club and a community that gave him somewhere to belong, he's planning to make that count.
