Category: Alumni

Tori Ann Ogawa, an LIS alumna, was recently elected to the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) Board. Tori Ann graduated from the LIS program in 2015 and is currently a Youth Services Librarian at the Kitsap Regional Library in Washington. This isn’t the first time we’ve shared news about Tori Ann either. She was selected as a 2017 Emerging Leader by ALSC six years ago! Congratulations Tori Ann!

Text from UH News: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2022/04/05/helen-wong-smith-elected-to-saa/

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library Archivist Helen Wong Smith has been selected as vice president/president-elect of the Society of American Archivists (SAA), the oldest and largest national organization of professional archivists in North America. She becomes the first person from Hawaiʻi to hold this position. She will begin her one-year term in August and will become SAA’s 78th president in 2023–24.

Widely known for her work on cultural competency, Wong Smith is excited to be serving in this new role at SAA. “I see it as an opportunity to inform and share with the rest of the country and profession the wealth of resources we have here in the islands, including records reflecting five governments (kingdom, provisional, republic, territory and state) and their impacts on the kānaka maoli and the diverse cultures and communities who selected to make Hawaiʻi their home, and the caliber of archivists, both professional and community, and repositories we possess,” she said.

A product of UH Mānoa, Wong holds a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and a master’s in Library and Information Science. She has served as university archivist at UH Mānoa since 2018. Her prior UH positions include researcher at Nā Pua Noʻeau: Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian Children at UH Hilo, recruitment coordinator for the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Hawaiian Collection Librarian in UH Hilo’s Edwin H. Mookini Library, and Pharmacy & Health Sciences Resources Coordinator at the Daniel K. Inouye School of Pharmacy.

Wong has been involved with SAA since 2003 and has served in a number of capacities, including her involvement on several committees, being elected to the SAA council and delivering a number of presentations at the annual conferences. A 2015 plenary address calling for cultural competency training allowed her to develop a workshop she has delivered across the country since 2017.

For more than 35 years, Wong has highlighted Hawaiian collections through research and presentations and has written extensively on Hawaiian cultural resources. In addition to her previous UH appointments, she was also lead archivist for the Pacific Island Network of the National Park Service, cultural specialist for Kamehameha Schools and librarian archivist for the State Historic Preservation Division.

“Teaching cultural competency while at UH Hilo, I recognized how cultural competency can advance the archival profession. This framework has extended to the museum sector through a series of webinars for the Hawaiʻi Museum Association and to private companies,” Wong said. “It is an inherent framework kamaʻāina have utilized to live and work with the diverse cultures living closely together and its employment has proven benefits in multiple sectors such as health services, education and business.”

Among Wong’s project highlights as university archivist include the Mitsuo Aoki Papers, which include the collection of the theologian, minister, college professor and founder of UH Mānoa Department of Religion, and the Luciano Minerbi Papers, which exceed 50 linear feet and captures the earliest community-based planning activities in the islands.

Congratulations to our LIS alumna Wrayna Fairchild, who has recently received a $2K Voya Unsung Heroes grant for her converted STEM lab that “encourages collaboration and gives students the space they need to design innovative solutions to real-world problems.”
We’re so proud of you!

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

A Honolulu STEM coordinator and coach at Voyager Public Charter School has received a $2,000 grant from Voya Financial, a provider of retirement plans and educators.

Wrayna Fairchild has received the grant as part of Voya’s 2021 Unsung Heroes awards competition. Fairchild’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics lab is one of 50 winners across the country and will be considered for one of three top awards that comes with an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000 prize.

Voya’s Unsung Heroes program has awarded grants to K-12 educators to “honor their innovative teaching methods, creative educational projects, and their ability to positively influence the children they teach.” It has awarded more than $5.8 million nationwide.

Fairchild’s “Extreme Makeover: STEM Edition” turned the school’s outdated learning space into a “top-notch” STEM lab that “encourages collaboration and gives students the space they need to design innovative solutions to real-world problems.”

“This year, educators like Wrayna Fairchild have had to be particularly innovative to find new and creative ways to reach students to help keep them engaged during challenging times,” said Angela Harrell, Voya’s chief diversity and corporate responsibility officer and president, Voya Foundation, in a statement. “We are proud to support educators across the country as they go above and beyond to ensure they are connecting with their students with innovative approached to learning.”

Congratulations to LIS Alumnus & Leeward Community College Interim Learning Commons & Library Coordinator Wayde Oshiro! He is one of 15 recipients of the 2021 Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching.

Wayde Oshiro is an associate professor at Leeward CC where he serves as the interim learning commons and library coordinator. He is a collaborative leader who works hard to foster a student-centered learning environment, and is respected as an educator and leader by students, faculty, staff and community across the University of Hawaiʻi System.

Since 2015, Oshiro has served as one of the leaders of Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives for Leeward CC and UH Community Colleges. This initiative has promoted the adoption and supported the development of free OER textbooks and materials for many courses.

He has coordinated and facilitated training on OER for more than 150 instructors from across the seven UH Community College campuses, UH Hilo and UH West Oʻahu. This has resulted in total student savings across the UH Community Colleges of $8.7 million since spring 2015. At Leeward CC, 52% of all class sections use free course materials.

Oshiro has transformed the Leeward CC library, increasing productivity and patron satisfaction by implementing new technologies and operational strategies. He assumed additional responsibilities for the Learning Commons in 2020.

The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by the Board of Regents as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity, and personal values that benefit students.

Read more about the other recipients.

The students, faculty, and staff of the Library & Information Science program wish to offer a sincere and elated congratulations to Alumna Keala Richard, who recently became the newest member of the Smithsonian Libraries Preservation Department as a Conservation Technician! During her time in the UHM LIS program, Keala interned at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Library and received a certificate in Archives and Special Collections.

In a Smithsonian article about Keala, she says:

“The intersection in interests of my native Hawaiian history and Western culture brought me to Washington and the Smithsonian. I hope that with developing skills in library conservation I can return home to share resources and approaches to help and inspire others.”

In the meantime, since she has moved to Washington, Keala has discovered Hālau Nohona Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian cultural school in Silver Spring, where she is participating in classes offered in hula, language, chant, protocols, music, and history.

You can read more about Keala and her exciting new conservation position at the Smithsonian website.

Best wishes, Keala!

Congratulations to LIS alumna Tori Ann Ogawa on being selected by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) as its representative in the 2017 Emerging Leader program!

Ogawa is the Harold W. McGraw Fellow at the Darien Library in Darien, Conn., where she works as a Children’s Librarian. In December 2015, she graduated with her Master in Library and Information Science (MLISc) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In her undergraduate days, Ogawa worked as a Circulation Desk Attendant and a Reference Desk Attendant at her academic library at Linfield College. She also brings a wealth of teaching experience, from working as a part-time ELL/ESL teacher in Hawaii to earning a Master of Education in Learning Design and Technology in May 2016.

“Effective leadership takes a balance of leading and listening. I believe a leader is someone who will guide and direct a team, not boss members around and impose only their ideas on the team” said Ogawa. “Leadership is about taking ideas from everyone, listening to what the group has to say, and encouraging everyone to participate and have a voice.”

For more information, please see the ALSC press release.

Christin Lozano, class of 2006, has authored a children’s book titled Island Toes. Christin is also an HSPLS librarian at Kaimuki Public Library. Congrats!

From the publisher’s site:

What kinds of experiences do toes have in the islands? What places do one’s toes take them? On an island, one can expect to see plenty of toes! What goes without saying, but seeing, is that there are many different types of toes. From snorkeling toes, to wheelchair toes, and even straps-in-between toes! Just how many other types can there be? Island Toes takes readers around the islands, where shoes are optional and toes have the freedom to explore.

Jane Kurahara and Betsy Young, LIS alumnae, who have been long-time volunteers of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i (JCCH) and former school librarians, received the prestigious Frank Haines Award presented by the Hawaii Historic Hawai‘i Foundation in recognition of their lifetime commitment to preserving Hawai‘i’s heritage. The award was presented on May 27, 2016, at the Pomaika‘i Ballroom at the Dole Cannery Square.

In receiving the award, Kurahara and Young were commended for their nearly two decades of work to preserve the Honouliuli Internment and Prisoner of War Camp. Their efforts were capped in February 2015 when President Barack Obama designated the site as the Honouliuli National Monument, ensuring its future preservation. (more…)

UH LIS alumnus Frans Albarillo (2009) is the recipient of a Diversity Research Grant from the ALA Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. Per a notice in the June 2016 issue of American Libraries Magazine, “recipients receive a one-time $2,500 award to conduct original research over the course of the year.”

An assistant professor and librarian at Brooklyn College, Frans was recognized for the project “Information Needs of Undocumented Students.” According to AL Magazine, the research “looks at the information behaviors of undocumented students at a large public liberal arts university.” Congratulations Frans!

Carolyn Kirio, LIS alumna and Kapolei Middle School librarian was selected by The White House for their Great Educators Award. She was recognized at a White House ceremony honoring the National Teacher of the Year, State Teachers of the Year, and Great Educators from across the United States on May 3, 2016.

Kirio said: “It is rare to be invited to a party that celebrates education. It is even more amazing to see school librarianship being honored equally as educators of other core disciplines. I am humbled and grateful to have had this experience to represent all school librarians at this monumental celebration.” (more…)

Diane Mokuau and Michelle Colte received Golden Key Awards from the Hawaii Association of School Librarians (HASL) at the group’s spring conference held on April 30 at Moanalua Middle School Library. The Golden Key Award recognizes school librarians, who have provided exemplary service to the profession.

Diane and Michelle have been outstanding representatives of the profession and tireless advocates for libraries as centers of excellence. They were presented with framed certificates of recognition at the HASL conference. In addition, their names were added to a perpetual Golden Key Koa Bowl. (more…)

Congratulations to Jan Kamiya on being selected by the Friends of the Library of Hawaii and co-sponsor Native Books Na Mea Hawaii as Librarian of the Year for 2015!

Jan is a graduate of the UHM LIS Program, an adjunct faculty member for LIS, and librarian at McCully – Moʻiliʻili public library.

She began her library career as a Library Assistant III at the Hawaii State Library after receiving her B.A. in English and a minor in Music from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her favorite LIS classes were Intellectual Freedom and the History of the Book. When not in librarian mode, Jan is a mezzo-soprano for the Hawaii Opera Theatre Chorus.