Long-time math teacher, adviser, athletic director, and Soran Bushi choreographer and dance teacher Mr. Kena Heffernan has accepted a position as the athletic director of Mid-Pacific Institute effective earlier this week. 

“Heff,” as he was fondly called by colleagues, students, and advisees, leaves behind a legacy of rigorous academic focus and discipline, passionate participation in interscholastic sports, and a warm, bighearted attention to the spiritual, social/emotional, and learning needs of his students.  

 

Kena Heffernan has been an educator at PBA since 2010. I had to look it up to remind myself the year he started at PBA. I can hardly remember a time when he was not. PBA has benefited immeasurably from his improvements to the math program, his work as a leader in the community of athletic directors, and most importantly, from his

 

Whether or not Otake Sensei will be as capable a choreographer for Soran Bushi remains to be seen … and I have not

discussed the matter with him yet (please don't blow my cover).  

Mr. Heffernan’s advisory will be taken over by new STEM teacher Mr. Adrian Pedroza. We are excited to share stories about the new educators at PBA in future issues of the What’s New.  

I informed the school community – PBA parents and students – about Kena’s departure by email, to begin with, and followed up by discussing the matter with the student body at the first advisory gathering yesterday.  

I explained to the students that I knew of Mr. Heffernan’s potential departure for about a month, but that, because it was not certain he would leave, I was not able to share the information with them earlier. And I shared that, now that Kena has successfully won the role at Mid-Pacific for himself, we would look forward to inviting him to join us at the school to celebrate his 14 years of dedicated, skillful service to Pacific Buddhist Academy in the near future.

I consider Kena a good friend. He has been a tireless colleague, does an excellent karaoke rendition of Alice in Chains’ “Here Comes the Rooster,” and brings that beautiful combination of high expectations and compassionate understanding in his work with students. We will carry his torch into the future, and welcome him at our bonfire any time he swings back by.

Warmly, 
Josh Hernandez Morse

Mari was recognized at the HRYF Scholarship Celebration along with additional recipients from around Rotary clubs around the island. “I got to meet new people and learn more about the origins of our local Rotarians. This was a great experience, and I am so grateful to have been awarded such a generous scholarship,” said Mari.  

 

Reflecting on the motto of Rotary – “Service above self” – Mari shares, “Community involvement is important, whether it’s community service or getting your community together for an event. One person can only do so much, but when you gather members of your community and get involved, it makes your job ten times easier, and your goal that much simpler to achieve. It’s important that we support our communities and that we are close to what we are passionate about. Some of my favorite projects in high school were the community service assignments. I loved coordinating, directing, and planning service projects. I enjoyed getting our PBA sangha involved, and it felt better when we accomplished our goal and project.”  

Mari is currently preparing to move to Seattle, Washington to attend Seattle University. “I’m most excited to experience and see new things. I also look forward to getting a sense of college life and seeing what it’s like to dorm.” she said. Mari plans to study education. “This fall, I will take three humanities courses including Difference Power Change, Indigenous Peoples of NW, and Philosophy of Person and Social Identity. These classes will prepare me for my degree in Humanities for Teaching, Elementary Education.”  

PBA congratulates Mari on her achievements and commends her on her dedication to inspire future generations. We have no doubt that her future students will benefit immensely from her passion and commitment to education.