ʻAʻohe pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi │ One learns from many sources │ A web publication from the Office of the Chancellor, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo
In celebration of 2025 Peace Corps Week, UH Hilo alum Chris Wu shares his story about teaching (and eating!) in the Kingdom of Tonga. “My favorite Tongan food item here is the lū, which is almost identical to laulau!”
Hawaiʻi Island was chosen as a primary training location for thousands of Peace Corps volunteers in the 1960s and UH Hilo’s precursor — UH-Hilo Branch — contributed greatly to the training program.
John Kleinschmidt’s Peace Corps group was instrumental in running Malawi’s 1st and 2nd national meets. Only a few years after they left, the country sent track and field athletes to the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Jasmin Sison Kiernan spent her time in Swaziland in the Lubombo District providing health screenings, oral exams, vaccines, and checking water sources for parasites.
Many years later, Patrick Bryan wrote a colorful, entertaining, and enlightening memoir about life in the Peace Corps. “In 1960’s Palau, life was raucous, laughable, and harrowing.”
Hilo-born Kacie Miura served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, China, from 2009-2011. “My time as a Peace Corps volunteer was life-changing: it shaped my decision to dedicate my career to promoting a better understanding of the world.”
UH Hilo Assistant Professor of Education Josef Donnelly served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 2006 to 2009. “It shaped my vision of the world and exposed me to a larger global community.”
“Every (Peace Corps) volunteer I’ve spoken to agrees that we took away more than we contributed.” — Artem Sergeyev.
Rooted in Indigenous knowledge, three UH Hilo colleges collaborate on Medicinal Garden
UH Hilo English students use their writing and analytical skills to lead book drive for local nonprofit
He Pūkoʻa Kani ʻĀina: Keaukaha community gathers at UH Hilo aquaculture center to celebrate coral restoration at Puhi Bay
Student leaders in UH Hilo’s Bonner Program share and celebrate their community-based projects
Photos: 2026 AstroDay! UH Hilo physics/astronomy students, profs engage island keiki in science
UH Hilo Waiʻanae nursing cohort gives back to their Oʻahu communities