Colleen Barrett 3/20/26 Colleen Barrett 3/20/26

"I Want to Know How My Grandparents Grew Up in Their Country." A Kaiser Freshman Is Going to Ilocos Norte — Where Her Family Is From.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/20/26 Colleen Barrett 3/20/26

She Was Walking Her Dog When Her Sister Said to Check Her Email. Her Jaw Dropped. And Her Very First Thought Was That Her Parents Wouldn't Have to Pay as Much.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/20/26 Colleen Barrett 3/20/26

She's the Class of 2027 Student Council President, a Jiujitsu Practitioner, and a Future Doctor From ʻAiea. First Stop: Ilocos Norte.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

She Was Fresh Out of the DMV With Her New Permit When Carol Called. A Spot Had Opened Up. She Was Going Back to Ilocos Norte — Where She's From.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

"I Want All the People of Hawaiʻi to Be Infatuated With Hawaiian Culture, Motivated to Aloha ʻĀina, and Eager to Kūʻē." A Kāneʻohe Senior Is Starting in the Philippines.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

She Was at Her Grandma's House at 9:50pm, Refreshing Her Email Every Thirty Minutes. Then She Started Jumping Up and Down.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

"In Just 10 Days, I Had Become a New Person" — A Kailua-Kona Junior Who Found Herself at Nalukai Is Now Headed to Her Family's Philippines.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

Seventeen Years Ago, a Faint Knock on a Door in Vietnam Changed Everything. Now He's a Senior at Pāhoa High, and He's Going to the Philippines.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

"I'd Be the First Person in My Family to Travel Outside of Hawaiʻi and Pohnpei" — A Kapaʻa Junior Is Taking Her Family's First International Journey to Ilocos Norte

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

He Was Displaced From Lahaina in the 2023 Wildfires. Now He's Going to the Philippines to Learn How Islands Rebuild.

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 3/19/26 Colleen Barrett 3/19/26

"Many Beautiful Differences Within the Culture and People That I Can Bring Back Home" — A Hilo Student Leader Is Headed to Ilocos Norte With No Assumptions

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 2/24/26 Colleen Barrett 2/24/26

Born in Manila, Raised in Kauaʻi, Bound for Ilocos Norte: Angela Querubin Is Carrying Both Worlds With Her This March

It All Begins Here

Colleen Barrett 2/24/26 Colleen Barrett 2/24/26

A Ninth Grader From Kīhei Is Headed to Ilocos Norte — And She's Been Preparing for Years Without Knowing It

It All Begins Here