TOP STORY Students from Kaua‘i High School in Lihue present a personal essay called “The Bigger Picture.” It bemoans how smartphones and other personal electronic devises get in the way of our enjoyment of the natural world around us.

This compilation show features some of the top stories from the spring quarter of the 2017-2018 school year. Each of the stories presents an excellent example of an element that is essential to successful dramatic storytelling: change.   –Students at Maui Waena Intermediate School in Kahului tell the story of a former I.T.

TOP STORY   Students from H.P. Baldwin High School on Maui trace a fellow student’s road to recovery after he was hit by a drunk driver. In May 2017, Baldwin senior Jerome Ribao suffered a severe leg injury from the accident. Despite this setback, Jerome found ways to remain active.

TOP STORY   Students from Maui Waena Intermediate School in Kahului, Maui, profile urban farmer Larry Yonashiro. After a thirty-year career as an I.T. professional, Yonashiro wanted to return to his family’s farming roots (his father worked on a pineapple plantation), but in a modern way.

The second of four in a special HIKI NŌ Focus on Compassion series emphasizes the unique and sometimes misunderstood relationship between parent and child. This four-episode series is hosted by Crystal Cebedo, a 2016 HIKI NŌ and Wai‘anae High School graduate in her second year at Menlo College in Atherton, California.

TOP STORY:   Students from Kapa‘a Middle School on Kaua‘i tell the story of Kinichi Ishikawa, a 98-year-old, 442nd Regimental Combat Team veteran who has been a farmer since the age of fourteen. Now nearing the century mark, Mr. Ishikawa farms taro at Waikoko Farms on Kaua‘i eight hours a day, rain or shine.

TOP STORY: Students from H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Maui tell the story of Karina Bhattacharya, a young artist diagnosed with bi-polar disorder. Bi-polar disorder, also known as manic depression, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks.

This special edition of HIKI NŌ highlights some of the best stories from the spring quarter of the 2015-16 school year. The show is hosted by Waianae High School Class of 2016 graduate and HIKI NŌ standout Crystal Cebedo, who will be attending Menlo College in Atherton, California on a full scholarship.

TOP STORY:   Students from H.P. Baldwin High School in Wailuku, Maui present poignant portraits of two long-time HC&S (Hawaii Commercial and Sugar) employees: machinist Wes Bissen and millwright Koa Martin. HC&S is the last remaining sugar mill in Hawaii and will be closing at the end of 2016.

TOP STORY   Students from Mid-Pacific in the Manoa district of Oahu tell how former UH Warrior assistant football coach and former NFL player Rich Miano devoted his life to exceling in football as a reaction to the tragic death of his brother Robert Miano.