Story and photos by Jamie Sickel, Kapi‘olani CC We returned to Maui this month for what turned out to be a beautifully sunny day of reflection and progress on our Wo work at UHMC - mahalo to Whitney and Jeff for planning our day and hosting us again! Our day began with an insightful breakfast and talk story with Deans Kahele Dukelow (Arts and Sciences, Wo Gen VII) and Laura Lees Nagle (Career and Technical Education). They shared Ka‘ao Framework for student success, which consists of 4 parts, taken from the story of Maui: Hua (your "why", motivation or catalyst for transformation), Ha‘alele (a departure from the community - into this new college journey), Huaka‘i (a series of "lifes and deaths" - the challenges you confront and how your grow from them), and Ho‘i (a reintegration back into the community - how you will give back). Kahele and Laura shared their own Hua - what motivates and drives them - and their journey to their current leadership positions. Afterward, we headed out to ‘Īao Valley, where Neil Stotts (Wo Gen XII) served as our guide for the morning. He shared with us his own reflections on his journey at UHMC, specifically through the tenure and promotion process, and how he felt that parts of who he was in the past had to die in order for him to grow. We were encouraged to reflect on our own hua and huaka‘i as we wandered through our beautiful surrounds.
As we walked down to where we began, we came upon a circle of rocks where we gathered to reflect and share our hua and our thoughts from the morning. I've been reflecting quite a bit since this conversation about my own purpose, my journey, and the parts of myself I might need to let go of in order to move forward and grow.
In the not-so-distant future, we will pass the torch to a new generation of Wo Learning Champions. We have just one more meeting left to our generation alone before the final, all-generation Wo gathering that will mark the end of our time together as current Wo Learning Champions. I will try not to focus on the end, but remain present during the remainder of our journey...what an amazing journey it is!
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