Aloha Kakou,I know this article is a bit outdated, perhaps if I find the time I will do an updated one, but I'm just posting this article so other young Hawaiians will read it & perhaps, feel inspired & encouraged by Punihei's accomplishments & examples.If you're thinking about studying 'Olelo Hawai'i after high school, especially at UH Manoa, Punihei is definetly one of the people you should see. At the very least she can give you help & advice on how to accomplish your higher education goals & if you do become a major, it is her job to advocate on your behalf-so, you'll have a strong, successful, & powerful ally on your side once you're there.It's ALWAYS important to know your source of information, so here are mine:The information for my article came from a May 2005 sit down interview I conducted with Punihei in the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies Resource Room/Library.All my other information comes from what I heard & phamplets I received at the this year's Hawai'inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge dinner for all Hawaiian Language & Hawaiian Studies majors & their families. The dinner was catered by Haili's (If you don't know-that's some 'ono stuffs!^^) at the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies in the Halau o Haumea on Friday, September 12th, 2008.As a Hawaiian Studies major & Hawaiian language student in attendance that night, I am just doing my part to spread the word cuz' every Hawaiian should have the opportunity & resources necessary to get a higher education.Some Contact Info:Kaiwipuni Punihei LipeAcademic Advisor, Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language2540 Maile Way, Spalding 253CHonolulu, Hawai'i 96822Kelepona: (808) 956-7637Kelepa'i: (808) 956-5978Leka Uila: kaiwipun@hawaii.eduMahalo Nui for reading,kEAHI^^)Written By: Keahi Lee, KaLeo Staff WriterIssue Date: 5/26/2005.Section: NewsLink to online article: http://media.www.kaleo.org/media/storage/paper872/news/2005/05/26/News/Uhm-Graduate.Aspires.To.Help.Others-2797636.shtmlOn May 15, Kaiwipuni "Punihei" Anthony graduated from the University of Hawai'i with a bachelor's degree in Hawaiian Studies. Punihei spent her early childhood at a Hawaiian language immersion school and went on to graduate from Kamehameha School.Considering her Hawaiian background and that her mother is Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, UH professor of Hawaiian Studies and the former director for the Center of Hawaiian Studies, majoring in Hawaiian Studies would seem a likely choice for Punihei. But like many graduates, Punihei started her freshman year at UH with different intentions."When I started at UH in August 2001 my intended major was pre-med," Punihei said. "But I took Jon Osorio's Hawaiian Studies 107 class and it just raised a lot of issues in my own mind, issues that I thought I had answered for myself prior to coming to college. After taking the class, I realized that there were still a lot of things I had to learn for myself in order to be able to work for my community."Soon after, Punihei declared her intention to major in Hawaiian Studies with an emphasis on Hawaiian Language. Although she was on a merit-based scholarship from the School of Hawaiian, Pacific and Asian Studies for her sophomore through senior years, Punihei still had to work."My toughest challenge was balancing work with school," she said. "I had to try and be financially stable enough to stay in school and try to find scholarships. Money was my biggest issue, but I realized that I had to keep working and keep going to school because that was the only way to get through it."Punihei found jobs as a student aide for the Native Hawaiian Leadership Project and as a Bishop Museum research assistant, helping with projects involving the Hawaiian language. "Currently I'm working on a Hawaiian language newspaper project called Ho'olaupa'i, where we're working on digitizing the old Hawaiian language newspapers and making them available on the Internet," she said.Besides school and work, Punihei also immerses herself in the Hawaiian language and culture through hula. "I have been formally dancing in a hula halau since I was nine years old," she said. "I was part of Chinky Mahoe's halau for 5 years, and then I took a break from the halaus for a little while, but I continued dancing hula for fun at Kamehameha. I started up again in 2002 and now I'm part of Manu Boyd's Halau O Ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani."This year, at the 42nd annual Merrie Monarch Festival, Punihei represented Halau O Ke 'A'ali'i Ku Makani as a soloist in the Miss Aloha Hula competition and took second runner-up.Punihei said that placing in the competition didn't matter to her. "What really mattered were my performances," she said. "I was really happy with them and so was my kumu. Once I was done, I really didn't think about it. Placing was kind of just a nice extra.""I think the most important thing for any hula dancer, especially if you want to be Miss Aloha Hula, is to know what you're talking and dancing about," she added. "It's important to understand the language and the culture because you just can't dance hula any other way."While some may aspire to be Miss Aloha Hula, Punihei aspires to become a counselor to help others. She counseled Native American, Alaskan and Hawaiian kids for Oregon State University during the summers of 2002 and 2003."My job was to help and encourage these kids to learn about the college experience, specifically in the sciences, as there is a lack of native kids interested in going into sciences," she said. "That's kind of when I decided I wanted to become a counselor."After graduation, Punihei plans to join the counseling and psychology program at Chaminade University. Her long-term goal is to become a counselor and help Native Hawaiian kids learn and get through college.While at UH, Punihei found time to be an ASUH senator and spent last spring semester at Waitago University in New Zealand on an international exchange program. At the commencement ceremony, Punihei was a marshal for the School of Asian and Pacific Studies.Punihei, along with this year's Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Studies graduates, opened the commencement ceremony with the chant "Welina Manoa."
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