"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.

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.

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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.

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.

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"No Boat Can Move Forward Unless the Crew Works Together" — An ʻEwa Beach Sailor, Scout, and Swimmer Is Headed to Okinawa

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

"No Boat Can Move Forward Unless the Crew Works Together" — An ʻEwa Beach Sailor, Scout, and Swimmer Is Headed to Okinawa

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From Lāʻie to El Salvador to Fiji — and Now Okinawa: Kahuku's Toa Aupiu Has Always Known How to Show Up for His Community

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

From Lāʻie to El Salvador to Fiji — and Now Okinawa: Kahuku's Toa Aupiu Has Always Known How to Show Up for His Community

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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.

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

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.

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He Screamed at the Top of His Lungs When He Found Out. He's Already Planning What He'll Do When He Gets Back. The Waialua Freshman Is Going to South Korea.

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

He Screamed at the Top of His Lungs When He Found Out. He's Already Planning What He'll Do When He Gets Back. The Waialua Freshman Is Going to South Korea.

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

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.

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"To Most People, I Am Just a Wallflower." The Roosevelt Sophomore Who Plays Three Instruments, Speaks Three Languages, and Commutes From ʻAiea Every Day Is Going to Jeju.

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

"To Most People, I Am Just a Wallflower." The Roosevelt Sophomore Who Plays Three Instruments, Speaks Three Languages, and Commutes From ʻAiea Every Day Is Going to Jeju.

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"It's the Lau Lau at Every Family Event, the Lifted Tacomas, All of That Together — That Makes Me, Me" — Kailua's Le'a Keohohou Is Headed to Okinawa

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

"It's the Lau Lau at Every Family Event, the Lifted Tacomas, All of That Together — That Makes Me, Me" — Kailua's Le'a Keohohou Is Headed to Okinawa

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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.

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.

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"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.

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.

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

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.

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"Kindness Connects Us" — The Class President of Waiʻanae High Competed in National Media Competitions, Found PAAC on Instagram, and Is Headed to South Korea.

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

"Kindness Connects Us" — The Class President of Waiʻanae High Competed in National Media Competitions, Found PAAC on Instagram, and Is Headed to South Korea.

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She Went to Idaho and Couldn't Find Lumpia Wrappers Anywhere. That's When She Understood What Growing Up in Hawaiʻi Really Meant.

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

She Went to Idaho and Couldn't Find Lumpia Wrappers Anywhere. That's When She Understood What Growing Up in Hawaiʻi Really Meant.

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She Made a Vision Board for This Program. She Talked to Her Parents About It Every Day. When the Notification Came, She Shook.

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

She Made a Vision Board for This Program. She Talked to Her Parents About It Every Day. When the Notification Came, She Shook.

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She Taught Herself Saxophone in Five Months, Golf on Her Own, and Korean in Class. Now the Moanalua High Student Is Taking It All to Jeju.

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

She Taught Herself Saxophone in Five Months, Golf on Her Own, and Korean in Class. Now the Moanalua High Student Is Taking It All to Jeju.

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At Eight Years Old, She Left Waiʻanae for the Big Island and Called It "Getting Thrown Into Cold Water." Now She's Ready for Okinawa.

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

At Eight Years Old, She Left Waiʻanae for the Big Island and Called It "Getting Thrown Into Cold Water." Now She's Ready for Okinawa.

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"I Hope to Honor My Family, My School, and My Home" — Radford's Cameron Werkman Is the First in His Family to Leave the Country

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

"I Hope to Honor My Family, My School, and My Home" — Radford's Cameron Werkman Is the First in His Family to Leave the Country

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A Kaimuki Senior Who Represents Kiribati, Marshallese, and Hawaiʻi Is About to See Cherry Blossoms for the First Time

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

A Kaimuki Senior Who Represents Kiribati, Marshallese, and Hawaiʻi Is About to See Cherry Blossoms for the First Time

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From Planting Seedlings in Fiji to Representing Hawaiʻi in Okinawa: McKinley's Ariana Nath Is Carrying Two Worlds With Her

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

From Planting Seedlings in Fiji to Representing Hawaiʻi in Okinawa: McKinley's Ariana Nath Is Carrying Two Worlds With Her

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