This special edition of HIKI NŌ highlights is hosted by HIKI NŌ grad Victoria Cuba and features some of the outstanding stories from the Spring Quarter of the 2014/2015 school year:

From Waipahu High School on Oahu: a follow-up story on Victoria Cuba. We first met Victoria last season as a senior at Waipahu High School, when she opened up about being homeless. Now, she attends the University of Hawaii at Manoa on a full scholarship and interns at PBS Hawaii. No longer homeless, she resides in a UH dorm, but admits that the transition has had its challenges.

From Kapaa High School on Kauai: the story of a new program created by the Kauai Humane Society to encourage the adoption of dogs. Volunteers take dogs from the Kauai Humane Society on field trips to various places on the island to help them meet potential owners.

From Ewa Makai Middle School on Oahu: an introduction to P.E. for the 21st century. When students take physical education at this high-tech middle school on the Ewa plain, they don’t just play dodge ball or run laps around the track. We learn how their innovative P.E. program is using computer technology to help students get fit both physically and technologically.

From Mid Pacific Institute on Oahu: a profile of Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning musician Mark Yamanaka. Yamanaka shares one of the biggest challenges of his life – not being of Hawaiian ancestry and wanting to play Hawaiian music.

From Moanalua High School on Oahu: the story of Moanalua history teacher Cris Pasquil, who uses non-traditional activities like group projects, skits and even music to instill a love of learning in his students. He draws inspiration from his own experience learning hula under kumu hula Robert Cazimero and his halau’s victory at the esteemed Merrie Monarch Festival earlier this year.

From Konawaena High School on Hawaii Island: the story of how their school is trying to develop one of only two high school lacrosse teams on the island. Konawaena teacher Daniel Curran is on a mission to make lacrosse a mainstream sport in Hawaii. Starting a team has many unique challenges, but students say the benefits are worth it.

From Maui Waena Intermediate School on Maui: the story of their experience at the 2015 Student Television Network conference and video competition in San Diego, California. Although the primary purpose of their trip was to participate in the video competition, they also spent a great deal of time volunteering for worthy San Diego-based causes. The Maui Waena students went on to win several awards at the competition, but they consider their hours of community service as the most rewarding part of the trip.