KATRINA EIKO SHIMOMURA
Parents: Karen and Arnold Shimomura
High School: Mililani High School
College/Degree: University of Hawai’i at Mänoa, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering candidate
Occupation: Student and Part-time Security
What or who drives you to keep moving forward?
“What inspires me to keep moving forward is my family. They’ve shown me strength from a young age. My mother had four children and worked as a teacher while my father worked his way up from being a custodian, to a teacher, then a vice principal. My grandparents helped raise my siblings and I, giving us things they never had growing up. My eldest brother pushed through high school with cancer and nursing school with leukemia. Their incredible willpower has always driven me to try to be better and move forward in life. In the face of hardship when we lost my father and eldest brother, my family only became closer, and we kept moving forward together. Now, my mother does enough inspiring for two parents, believing that the next generation should go further, and always pushing me to better myself by continuing my education in college.”
LAUREN AKEMI SUGAI
Parents: Stephen Sugai and Susan Sugai
High School: Pearl City High School
College/Degree: University of Hawai’i at Mänoa, Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting; University of Hawai’i at Mänoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, Juris Doctorate
Occupation: Attorney
What or who drives you to keep moving forward?
“The love and support of my parents motivate me every day to be the best person I can be. They have worked together to raise me, much like the way they have combined talents to make my favorite makizushi. Their recipe for rice vinegar ideally balances salty and sweet flavors, just as their personal styles provided contrasting but complementary lessons.
“My father instilled in me the values of hard work and dedication. He motivated my siblings and me to pursue higher education and at the same time, he encouraged us to enjoy our family activities such as golf and karate. His teachings challenged me to face the bitterness of potential failure. By contrast, my mother provided the emotional backbone. She made it easer for me to accept all challenges and to appreciate the sweetness of learning from those experiences and overcoming all obstacles.”
KAYLA YURI UESHIRO
Parents: Clayton and Kyung Ueshiro
High School: Pearl City High School
College/Degree: University of Hawai’i at Mänoa, Bachelor of Education in Elementary Education candidate
Occupation: Full-time student, part-time technical assistant, and part-time math and STEM tutor
What or who drives you to keep moving forward?
“My students motivate me to keep moving forward. As a future educator, I have the privilege to teach, challenge and empower my students to reach their goals. I aspire to foster kind-hearted people, community leader and life-long learners that will pave the way for future generations. The students that I have the opportunity to educate come from diverse backgrounds and experience adversity everyday. They look up to me to model acts of kindness, show my passion for learning, and embrace who I am as an individual. Knowing that I have my own imperfections and this honor of being a role model for them encourages me to constantly reflect how I present myself and how I can improve. Life is neither predictable or easy. However, it is my aspiration to be this catalyst for my students’ dreams to continue persevering through the challenges and successes of life.”
