HIKI NŌ #1208 HIKI NŌ Student Reflections Winter 2021, Part One Original airdate: 2/4/2021

During the winter quarter of the 2020/2021 school year, HIKI NŌ students reflect on the impact COVID-19 restrictions have had on their home and school lives, as well as the lives of those close to them.

Taylor McCann, a junior at Waiākea High School on Hawaiʻi Island, discusses the impact COVID-19 has had on her family. Her father’s business, the Volcano House, is indefinitely closed due to the collapse of the visitor industry in Hawaiʻi. In order to provide for his family, Taylor’s father has had to work at a national park in Maine, while his family remains in Hilo.

Ethan Morse, a senior at Farrington High School on Oʻahu, expresses how quarantining at home has caused him emotional turmoil, mainly due to being isolated from his friends.

Cameron Culver, a junior at Maui High School, describes the stress, feelings of being overwhelmed, and lack of motivation she experienced while isolated at home.

Isabel Leung, a seventh-grader at Moanalua Middle School on Oʻahu, explains how new restrictions brought about by the pandemic have made it more difficult for her to keep in contact with her father when he is on military deployment.

Holden Aniya, a junior at Sacred Hearts Academy on Oʻahu, discusses the bright side of having to stay at home during the pandemic.

PLUS

As the 10th anniversary of HIKI NŌ’s February 28, 2011 debut approaches, we are presenting a series of stories on outstanding HIKI NŌ alumni from the program’s first decade. The alumni profile in this episode spotlights Waipahu High School graduate Karen Cayme. Karen was a co-host on the fifth episode of HIKI NŌ in the spring of 2011. When Karen came into the PBS Hawai`i studio to tape her host segments, she thought to herself, “This is where I’d like to work some day.” Ten years later, Karen is an Advancement (fundraising) Specialist at PBS Hawaiʻi.