Chamber educating students about in-demand careers

The cost of living continues to sky rocket for our island residents — so much so that the increase is driving families and students to the continent to seek better opportunities. We cannot let this happen. While many factors drive this, one of the ways to address this is to create opportunities and prepare our students for them, so that they can stay home and pursue quality jobs and quality of life.

Last month, the chamber’s Engineering Sector Partnership members collaborated with STEMworks, University of Hawaii College of Engineering and partner Department of Education schools on week-long festivities designed to expose students to a future career in engineering. We are grateful for the support and collaboration between educators, employers and community members, and will continue to ensure that Hawaii’s youth are exposed to and supported along the way towards high-paying, in-demand jobs — right here at home.

Highlights from Engineers’ Week include:

Engineering Field Days at various partner schools, where students participated in hands-on projects such as boat -making, pH level testing and Altino car coding.

Virtual Engineering Parent and Guardian Night, featuring a panel of local engineering professionals sharing how families can continue supporting their children as they grow along the STEM pipeline.

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, STEMworks’ annual event that connects middle school girls with female engineers.

This is one of many initiatives that we are working on to strengthen job opportunities. Look for similar sector partnership work around the IT industry.

I couldn’t be more proud of the work that our Education and Workforce Development team is doing to ensure that the connections with students, teachers and partners continue to strengthen, so that together, we can create a brighter future for the people of Hawaii.

SHERRY MENOR-McNAMARA, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

100th Infantry Battalion kicks off challenge for students

The 100th Infantry Battalion, composed mostly of World War II Nisei soldiers from Hawaii, was formed on June 12, 1942 against a backdrop of distrust and animosity from fellow U.S. soldiers and military and political leaders.

They had to contend with a war within the war. They were valiant on all fronts and emerged victorious.

“Hawaii has some of the greatest homegrown heroes. The freedoms we enjoy in Hawaii today can be traced in part to the values that drove the decisions and actions of these soldiers and veterans 80 years ago,” said Janice Sakoda, one of the organizers of the 100th Infantry Battalion’s 80th Anniversary Commemoration Committee.

“Hawaii was different in the mid-1940s after the war. Many Hawaii residents may not realize that we are all beneficiaries of their trailblazing work to create more equity in our community.”

Sakoda said the younger generation, who are Hawaii’s future leaders, may not be aware of the traumatic events that occurred in the past or appreciate how these soldiers responded to adversity.

“We initiated the 100th Infantry Battalion Challenge to encourage young students to explore their roots and to find lessons that can be applied to today’s challenges,” Sakoda added.

The challenge is designed to encourage research and deep reflection. Students are being asked to identify an important issue or problem facing Hawaii and create an innovative solution to address this chal¬lenge by applying the values, sacrifices, contributions and accomplishments of the World War II 100th Infantry Battalion Nisei soldiers and veterans.

“Entries can be presented as a business idea, video, website, art piece, or a poem, story or play,” Sakoda said. “We want the students to be creative and have fun as they learn.”

After rigorous boot camp training on the Mainland, the 100th Infantry Battalion, known affectionately as the “One-Puka-Puka,” was initially deployed to Italy in September 1943. They bravely navigated land mines in open fields and other challenges, losing many of their fellow soldiers along the way, but still forged ahead.

They later became known as the “Purple Heart Battalion” due to the extraordinarily high number of casualties. The training and war record of the 100th helped pave the way for the creation of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in February 1943.

Both the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team have been recognized with numerous citations and commendations, including the Distinguished Unit Citation (later redesignated the Presidential Unit Citation); Medals of Honor, which is the nation’s highest individual award for valor; the Congressional Gold Medal; and many others.

There is a wealth of additional information and resources available on the 100th Infantry Battalion’s website at 100thbattalion.org and on the Nisei Veterans Legacy website at nvlchawaii.org.

The deadline to register for the challenge is Tuesday, March 29, 2022. Students may sign up at https://100th-challenge.eventbrite.com.

100TH INFANTRY BATTALION VETERANS EDUCATION CENTER