Hoʻokamaʻāina: New faculty and staff orientation includes a day’s excursion to cultural sights in Hilo
The orientation is a unique experience for the university’s newcomers that goes beyond the usual nuts and bolts about campus infrastructure and services.
By Susan Enright.
New faculty and staff orientation at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is a unique experience for the university’s newcomers that goes beyond the usual nuts and bolts about campus infrastructure and services.
At UH Hilo, the orientation is a comprehensive three-day experience that along with those expected nuts and bolts, also includes hoʻokamaʻāina, an immersive day trip where newcomers — and some longtime residents — fully experience the natural environment, history, and culture of Hilo.
All new employees, including those already working on campus but starting new positions, are invited to join in the bi-annual excursion.
“This educational experience introduces you to several significant places in Hilo neighboring our campus and engages you with these environments,” states this fall’s invitation extended by Malu Dudoit, a lecturer in Hawaiian studies who heads the cultural program Uluākea that focuses on developing UH Hilo into more of a Hawaiian place of learning, and Kekoa Harman, an associate professor of Hawaiian studies and Hawaiian language.
“The energy and support that you will experience is intended to transcend daily in the services provided towards our students’ success and as a valued member of our UH Hilo ʻohana,” the invitation explains.
Dudoit and Harman, who organized the excursion, are co-chairs of the Hawaiian language and culture committee of UH Hilo’s Hanakahi Council, a caucus-based advisory group of Native Hawaiian faculty and staff who meet monthly with the UH Hilo chancellor to discuss issues that may impact access or success with Native Hawaiians at UH Hilo. UH Hilo’s new Director of Native Hawaiian Engagement Pele Harman attended the event.
This was the first Hoʻokamaʻāina that Chancellor Bonnie Irwin was able to attend since returning to in-person events after the pandemic.
“I was so happy to finally be able to participate in the Hoʻokamaʻāina,” says Chancellor Irwin. “Even though I have visited these places in Hilo many times, hearing the moʻolelo (stories) that the students shared and experiencing the journey with faculty and staff made it particularly meaningful.”
On Saturday, Sept. 14, the group visited several sites while learning about each location’s kaʻao (legends and tales). The students on the trip — Emalani Kekauoha Schultz, Kalikopua Zablan, and Kalikopua Zablan — shared the kaʻao for the site visits.
- Wakaomāui (Canoe of Maui) at the mouth of the Wailuku river, the boundary between Hilo Palikū in the north and Hilo One on the south
- Waiānuenue (Rainbow Falls) that includes Keanaohina (Cave of Hina) and Waiokuna (Water of Kuna)
- Peʻepeʻe (Boiling Pots)
- Mokuola (Coconut Island) with views of Hilo Palikū, Hilo One, and Hilo Hanakahi; and Nā Puʻuhālaʻi with Puʻuōpeʻapeʻa (Bat Hill), Puʻuhālaʻi (Hill of Tranquil Breath) and Puʻuhonu (Turtle Hill)
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
