UH Hilo hosts 42nd Annual Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference, students from UH Hilo and across the state present their research
The conference offered students a supportive introduction to the research paper experience and an opportunity to build confidence in their research, writing, and presentation skills. A total of five prizes were awarded to UH Hilo students this year, including Best Undergraduate Paper.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo hosted the 42nd Annual Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference on March 28, 2026. The conference brings together undergraduate and graduate students from several universities within the state — BYU-Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, UH Mānoa, and UH Hilo — to present their research.
UH Hilo history professors Kerri Inglis and Yucheng Qin are co-advisors of the Alpha-Beta-Omicron Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta at UH Hilo and organized the event.
“Much more than the competition, this conference offers students a supportive introduction to the research paper experience, provides networking opportunities, and an opportunity to learn from the research of others,” says Inglis. “It is also an opportunity to build confidence in their research, writing, and presentation skills.”
“Participating in this conference, whether as an undergraduate or graduate student, a faculty member or community supporter, comes with many rewards,” she adds. “Among those rewards is the pilina (connections) that develop across our pae ʻāina (Hawaiian islands) with colleagues from our fellow chapters.”
Michael Bitter, dean of UH Hilo’s College of Arts and Sciences, delivered welcome remarks, pointing out the conference is notable in its bringing together some of the most talented history students from university and college campuses across the state to share the results of their research and hard work. “Your participation here is actually an important part of your educational journey, since it will help to prepare you to succeed in any academic, business, or government setting going forward.”
Each of the student speakers was given a tī-leaf lei to wear, made in the “hilo-style” braid.
“It’s name ʻhilo’ recalls a moʻolelo (story) of Kamehameha Paiʻea and his warriors’ ingenuity to protect the canoes of their aliʻi while at Kaipalaoa,” explains Professor Inglis to the group about the lei presented. “The tī-leaf also offers protection to its wearer, and we hope that with that protection and strength of connection, you (the students) will feel calm and confident in your presentations today.”
Presentations and prizes
UH Hilo students who presented at the conference were Jaydee Ah Sing, Briana Gaylord, Junior Lat, Nicole Scott, Will Sherman, Antonio Vite, and Ethan Walters.
“We are very proud of all of you, for your accomplishment in presenting at the PAT annual conference, and your poise in representing our UH Hilo community and history department!” writes Professor Inglis in a March 30 eblast to the UH Hilo community. “Everyone offered high-quality work and presented well.”
The students presented their research in 20-minute presentations and fielded questions from the audience. Papers are read by faculty volunteers prior to the conference, and judges on the day of the conference determine the various paper prize winners. UH Hilo was awarded a total of five prizes this year:
- The Herbert F. Margulies Prize for the best undergraduate or graduate paper in American History was awarded to Will Sherman for his paper, “A War Within: The Five Tribes in the Civil War and its Consequences”
- The Jerry H. Bentley Prize for the best undergraduate or graduate paper in World History was awarded to Nicole Scott, for her paper, “The Shape of Absence: The Socio Cultural Impact of Women in Early Chinese Immigrant Societies in California”
- The GFWC Prize for the best undergraduate or graduate paper exploring the history of women was awarded to Junior Lat, for his paper, “Women of the Longhouse: Persistence and Adaptation within the Haudenosaunee Confederacy under Colonial Disruption”
- The Oceania History Prize for the best undergraduate or graduate paper exploring Pacific Islands’ pasts using a comparative, transnational, or ethnographic approach was awarded to Antonio Vite, for his paper “Connecting Space and People: Lapwa and Va Perpetuated in the Philippines and Te Moana”
- The Overall Best Undergraduate Paper Prize was awarded to Jaydee Ah Sing, for her paper “Beacon of Displacement: The Kalaupapa Lighthouse as a Symbol and Instrument of Colonial Erasure in Makanalua, Molokai.”
“Competing against peers, including doctoral students from BYU-Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, and UH Mānoa, our students demonstrated excellent research, writing, and presentation skills, winning pride for the history department, the social science division, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the entire UH Hilo community,” says Professor Qin in an eblast on March 30. “Their success indicates the strength of our history program and the high quality of evidence-based inquiry on our campus.”
This is the fourth time since 2019 that UH Hilo students have won the Overall Best Undergraduate Student Paper Award at the Phi Alpha Theta Regional Conference. Previous winners were Kristen McDonald (2019), Ewalea Dameg (2024), and William Sherman (2025).
Keynote and plenary session
Conference keynote speaker was Holly Miowak Guise, PhD, an enrolled Iñupiaq (Alaska Native) from Anchorage and Unalakleet. An independent historian, her talk reflected the work found in her award-winning book, Alaska Native Resilience: Voices from World War II, that focuses on Alaska Native experiences in the history of US government occupation of Alaska during WWII in its defense against Japan’s invasion of the Aleutian Islands. The work shares the experiences of Indigenous peoples from across Alaska to reveal long-overlooked demonstrations of Native opposition to colonialism.
The conference also featured a plenary session, “Teaching History Today.” UH Hilo Assistant Professor of Education Josef Donnelly chaired the roundtable discussion featuring UH Hilo history alumni pursuing careers in teaching: Ewalea Dameg, David Freund, Vyas Hale, Kaipo Wahinepio, and Saedie Wakida.
“It was great to have you all participate as graduates of our history program and as representatives of the School of Education graduate program as well,” says Prof. Inglis.
Story by Susan Enright, 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.
