Study Abroad: UH Hilo communication major Kealiʻi Rapozo talks about his experience in Scotland and Thailand: “A great way to expand my horizons”
Kealiʻi Rapozo spent 2025 spring semester at the University of Stirling in Scotland, and this past winter break at BE Global Camp 2025 at Mahidol University in Salaya, Thailand.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
Kealiʻi Rapozo has studied abroad twice during his pursuit of a baccalaureate degree in communication at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
“I had the opportunity to study abroad twice — the first time in the 2025 spring semester at the University of Stirling in Scotland,” he says. “The second time was this past winter break through the BE Global Camp 2025 at Mahidol University in Salaya, Thailand.” BE Global Camp a short-term international program hosted by the Bioresources and Environmental Biology (BE) Program at Mahidol.
Rapozo’s hometown is Līhuʻe, Kauaʻi; he’s an alum of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus, 2022. He arrived at UH Hilo that fall and will be graduating this spring.
He says the reason he wanted to study abroad is because as someone who grew up in Hawaiʻi, he had few opportunities to travel.
“I knew this would be a great way to expand my horizons,” he says. “Through an educational and personal lens, the ability to challenge my own experiences and step out of my comfort zone in a different environment is an experience of a lifetime, especially at such a crucial age as young adulthood. I think the opportunity to do so while earning college credits and building connections all over the world is pretty cool!”
Rapozo received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship in the fall of 2024 for his spring semester in Scotland. In the fall of 2025, he received the Nāpua Kalei ʻIke Honua Scholarship on behalf of the Nāpua Initiative for Global Learning, as well as a scholarship from UH Hilo’s Global Education and Exchange office.
Scotland and Thailand, homes away from home
While in Scotland, Rapozo pursued courses offered by the University of Stirling that met the requirements for his UH Hilo communication major.
“These courses focused on communication, with a focus on film studies and journalism ethics,” he explains. “As someone interested in the media, seeing the intricacies that go into creating these projects and how they’re able to control the narrative we, as an audience, create through our own perceptions, is quite fascinating.”
He says as editor-in-chief of Ke Kalahea, UH Hilo’s student-run newspaper, while in Scotland he loved learning about the behind-the-scenes work that contributes to ethics in journalism and the different ways the work on paper can be perceived.
During the BE Global Camp at Mahidol University, Rapozo’s cohort explored various aspects of sustainability and biodiversity in Thailand.
“Over the three weeks, we worked with community members, as well as university professors and students, through seminars, field trips, and cultural enrichment activities both in and out of the classroom,” he says. “As a communication major, I enjoyed being able to go out of my comfort zone by working in labs, while also taking some of my past experiences of conducting fieldwork on field trips, such as working in the rice patches that reminded me of the loʻi kalo and loko iʻa (taro patches and fish ponds) back home.”
During both study abroad experiences, Rapozo met each challenge with a sense of adventure.
“I was fortunate to have great housing in both of my countries, on campus or relatively near,” he says. “Learning to use public transportation was a valuable skill, and since it isn’t as common in Hawaiʻi, it helped me be more aware of my surroundings and gain more independence.”
“In Thailand, because of the language barrier, outside of some of the language I was able to learn, I used translation apps, pictures, and signs to help get my message across to those I came into contact with,” he adds. “I learned Hawaiian at a young age, so being someone who is also bilingual, experiencing a language barrier, and being able to communicate and build my confidence in my speaking was a humbling and great life experience.”
Overall, he found immense support from his coordinators, friends, and other community members while he was away.
“I was fortunate to be in such a friendly environment in both countries, and everyone I came into contact with was more than willing to assist with anything I needed,” he says. And despite batting moments of homesickness while away, he was so happy to experience such new cultures and ways of being. “I’ve created lifelong friendships through this process, and I couldn’t be more thankful.”
Home again
Hawaiʻi will always be home to Kealiʻi Rapozo, but he feels fortunate to have found versions of home all around the world through his study abroad experiences.
“I’ve returned home and shared my experiences, whether in classrooms, around campus, or just with my family and friends, in hopes of planting the seed with others who also wish to expand their horizons through such a life-changing experience!” he says.
Rapozo says he will always jump at the opportunity to enhance his knowledge and abilities in any capacity. Studying abroad was no exception.
“I’ve always enjoyed being a student, and I think we are all students of life, with the chance to learn more every day,” he says. “Through both lenses, I think I became a more confident decision-maker and planner. Subjects that were once foreign to me have become familiar because I got over my fear of the unknown and my indecision about what I would like to do. I hold those safe attributes throughout my life as I balance multiple areas.”
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.
