Connecting Learning, Life and Aloha
‘O ka ‘imi na‘auao, ke ola a me ke aloha kā kākou e huliāmahi ai

Wailau: Storytelling at UH Hilo

Wailau

Wailau is a series of themed storytelling events that build connections between members of our campus and wider community that go deeper than the roles we hold and honor our complex, fragile, fascinating and brave selves. Each event will explore a different theme and we seek to showcase five storytellers - a UH faculty member, UH staff member, UH student, UH alum, and a community member.

Be the new face of Wailau!

Do you have a gift for gab? UH Hilo is seeking new student hosts for the 2023-2024 Wailau events!

Hosts must be available at least long enough to complete one academic year, and must be willing to be featured on video, in articles, on websites, in social media, and for live events. This is a paid part-time student position.

Hosts will:
Serve as the public relations team for Wailau, promoting it on social media etc. Be featured live and on video introducing the show, introducing storytellers, interacting with topic experts, etc. for a one-hour event. Help logistically with all phases of planning, execution, and clean-up of the event each semester. Assist with editing and captioning of the video after the completion of each event.

To Audition: - Go to flipgrid.com/5326c50f and log in using a gmail or hawaii.edu email address.
- Record a short video (up to 3 minutes) telling us: 1. Your name;
2. Why you think people like stories;
3. Why you would like to be the host of Wailau!

Submit your audition video as soon as possible for priority consideration!
(If you can’t access the flipgrid.com website to submit your video, you may email it directly to Justina Mattos at jmattos@hawaii.edu.

Meet the 2022-2023 Wailau Hosts

UH Hilo students play a major role in staging Wailau, from operating lights, sound and cameras, to participating as hosts and storytellers. A student committee determines Wailau themes, reviews story submissions and selects storytellers.

Mahalo to Tori and Dane, our student co-hosts, for their role in helping to build community and understanding through Wailau!

Tori Matsumoto Tori Matsumoto is an undergraduate English major at UH Hilo. She loves cringy poetry, piano, improv, cute rings, and - most recently - the stars. She says, “Stars are everywhere, and not just the literal flaming orbs in the sky. Stars twinkle in our eyes, course through our veins, and glow in our hearts. It's our hope for the future, passion for our interests, and unconditional love for others that makes being alive so incredibly special.” She likes to think that storytelling helps us share these qualities with the world, building each other up and spreading this love into our own souls, too.

Dane Dupre Dane Dupre is a sophomore performing arts major at UH Hilo with dreams of becoming a professional actor. He is passionate about acting, filming, and the theater/movie industry. He fell in love with acting in his freshman year of high school. Since then, he has been part of many acting opportunities, such as Scary Scenarios, Valentine Vignettes, "The Savior of My World" for Lā Makuahine, “Douglas” for Banyan, and "Eliot" for Wordsworth, the Musical. He hopes to fine-tune his acting skills, make it on the big screen, and become an inspiration. He says, “I want to leave my trail of footsteps on this world, in hopes that someone will find it, and continue the path.”

Past Wailau Events

Types of Storytellers


UH faculty member


UH staff member


UH student


UH alumnus


Community member

Please contact Justina Mattos with questions about speaking, volunteering or sponsoring Wailau.