UH Hilo Student Association hosts Vulcan Vitality Fair, an interactive event showcasing student health and well-being

Posted on February 13, 2026March 2, 2026 by Staff

The event provided access to health screenings, educational resources, and hands-on demonstrations addressing physical health, mental well-being, and preventive care.

Group of students pose, some in red UHHSA t-shirts, a couple shakas, under a tent. Two students in the forefront sit at a table with laptops. — Student volunteers who helped organize and run the Vulcan Vitality Fair, including pre-med and other UH Hilo students. (Courtesy photo: UHHSA/UH Hilo)

By Staff/UH Hilo Stories.

A free on-campus health event called the Vulcan Vitality Fair 2026 was recently held on the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo campus. Organized by the UH Hilo Student Association (UHHSA), the Jan. 21 event brought together students, faculty, high school guests, and community members for an interactive afternoon that showcased the full range of health- and medicine-related organizations, programs, services, and initiatives across UH Hilo and the broader Hilo community.

The event provided access to health screenings, educational resources, and hands-on demonstrations addressing physical health, mental well-being, and preventive care. More than a collection of booths, the fair created an inviting space for learning, conversation, and connection between students and healthcare professionals. Information was also available about careers in medicine and allied health fields.

“The Vulcan Vitality Fair showed how powerful it can be when education, health, and community come together,” says Sage Kainalu Nosaka, UHHSA senator-at-large and member of the group’s Health and Medicine Committee who organized the event. “It wasn’t just an event, it was a reminder that truly supporting students means caring for their whole well-being.”

Group of student talk with others seated at informational table. — Pre-med students from Hawaiʻi engage with representatives from the John A. Burns School of Medicine and ʻImi Hoʻōla at informational booths during the Vulcan Vitality Fair. (Courtesy photo: UHHSA/UH Hilo)

Sage shakes hand of vendor. — Sage Kainalu Nosaka, at right, UHHSA senator and lead organizer of the event, greets a community vendor during the Vulcan Vitality Fair, highlighting the collaboration between UH Hilo students and local health partners. (Courtesy photo: UHHSA/UH Hilo)

Group meets in classroom. — Students and community members participate in a hands-on workshop and demonstration at the Vulcan Vitality Fair on the UH Hilo campus. (Courtesy photo: UHHSA/UH Hilo)

Student looks inside vision machine. — A UH Hilo student receives a vision screening provided by Walmart Vision during the Vulcan Vitality Fair. (Courtesy photo: UHHSA/UH Hilo)

Nosaka, a Hilo-born Native Hawaiian pursuing a career in medicine, says the fair, grounded in a strong sense of kuleana (responsibility) to community, wellness, and service, was brought to life through the collective support of UHHSA, faculty mentors, and fellow students.

The planning, outreach, and the event itself reflected UH Hilo’s culture of collaboration and shared responsibility, reinforcing the university’s commitment to nurture each student academically, physically, and emotionally, while also strengthening ties between the university and the broader community.

Lauren Aoki, an English major with a minor in anthropology at UH Hilo, contributed to this story. She is literary editor at the university’s student publications Kanilehua and Hohonu.

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