Jodie Chiemi Ching
Sixteen-year-old Jamie Hirano is on board as The Hawai‘i Herald’s newest intern. The junior at James B. Castle High School has her target goal clear in sight – attend New York University to major in journalism. When asked why she wanted to pursue a career in journalism, she replied, “It’s an opportunity to give [a] voice to others” and explained that she has enjoyed writing from a young age.
At Castle, Hirano has already started to cultivate leadership, planning and teamwork experience through student government and school activities. She has served as a Windward District student council representative, recording secretary and Key Club vice president. She is also currently the flute section leader for the Castle High School marching band.
For the duration of Hirano’s four-month internship, you will see her name pop up here and there in the coming issues of the Herald; she will be helping to compile our Bulletin Boards and write some pieces for Community Focus. Hirano’s first day at the Herald included a tour of the facilities. She met the office staff including those at our Japanese-language sister publication the Hawaii Hochi. She was in awe of the giant goss printing press in our printing department and even stopped to take a photo of it.
Hirano comes to The Hawai‘i Herald through a program with Hawaii Workforce Pipeline (hawaiiworkforcepipeline.com). According to HWP’s website, the non-profit organization “is committed to bridging the gap between traditional education and careers that provide a living wage. We partner with local businesses to provide student members with an on-the-job, experimental learning opportunity. All student members are eligible for a certificate validating their hours of experience.”
In recent years, The Hawai‘i Herald had the privilege of mentoring two other interns: Kacie Yamamoto (2019), a Moanalua High School graduate who now attends the University of Southern California and still continues to freelance for the Herald; and Katherine Itoh (2020) who graduated from St. Andrews Priory and currently attends Syracuse University in New York.
The Hawai‘i Herald is honored to work with young motivated individuals at a time when they are venturing out as contributing members of the community. It is a win-win situation when we can provide them on-the-job experience and students bring their enthusiasm and new ideas to enhance our publication. We hope to continue to do our part in supporting local students in their pursuit of their professional goals.
Finally, we are espcially looking forward to Hirano’s feature story on Nisshodo Candy Store’s 100th anniversary coming soon. Otanoshimi ni!
