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| PBA's Artist Showcase is Next Thursday!
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| Dear Readers of the What's New, |
| The PBA Weinberg Building is a beautifully versatile space. Designed by architects Keith Mitchell and Jonathan Sim to blend seamlessly with the temple campus and our residential location on the flank of Pūowaina, or Punchbowl Crater, our main learning facility hosts classes across the academic disciplines, temple services, yoga classes, sumo sessions, tea service, school dances, and, last Thursday, PBA’s first-ever Fine Arts Showcase. Our space is homey, classy, and a great place to welcome guests. I promoted the showcase in my previous missive for the What’s New, and so I am very pleased to report the event was an outstanding success. Nearly the entire student body was on hand, and, with the help of staff, parents, alumni and alumni parents, and Head of School Emeritus Pieper Toyama, we welcomed more than 100 visitors that evening to enjoy food and crafts prepared by PBA’s senior class of 2023 for their Makers Market, music from the PBA Rock Band and Toyofuku Sensei strumming on his guitar, prose readings from Pieper Toyama’s Family Stories from the Plantation and Beyond, crafts for purchase from alumna Koki Atcheson, Lisa Roerk, and Kayla Suganuma, crafts and jewelry from faculty members Megan Lee, Verena Mellein, and Blanche Yarnell, and painting by fine arts teacher Wayne Takazono. “The purpose of the Makers Market was to create a microeconomy within PBA so that students could experience the challenges of emulating small business owners with a public purpose,” said humanities teacher Paris Hitchcock ’13. “Students worked on their Makers Market products from the start of the cycle as part of my ‘Economic Origins of Income Inequality’ seminar by interviewing small business owners, researching the Hawaii economy, and developing products. |
| The kids went above and beyond this year – I am very proud to announce that they were able to raise just shy of $2,400! All the proceeds will be donated to Parents and Children Together (PACT Hawaii), whose focus is to give aid to those who experience domestic violence, need behavioral health support, or need early childhood education. PACT's mission aligns with the other primary aspect of my seminar, which focused on communities who face disparities due to systemic oppression.” And all of that was merely the first floor of action for our showcase. The second floor featured room after room of PBA student art: drawings, pastels, watercolor, and acrylic painting of various method and genre; photography and film; jewelry; and the twin Chang girls competing for recognition in pottery. |
| Like we say in Buddhism, we wouldn’t have been able to pull the event off without relying on the considerable wisdom of our school sangha. “I’m so happy that the night went well,” said event organizer Megan Lee. “When we pitched the idea to the Dragon Parents ‘Ohana, they endorsed it immediately, and they were instrumental in helping to make the event happen. In particular, I want to thank Yvette Lee for her planning and organization of a State House Resolution |
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| for Mr. Takazono; Gwyn Mihara for volunteering her time to plan and speak with guests; and Kim Winter for her generous donation of table cloths and organization of the Fine Arts Giving Tree. I also want to recognize Dr. Ben Bruch, for his beautiful calligraphy on each award completed in record time for the student ceremony.” For me, endorsing the event was a no brainer. Year after year I watched students stuff great pieces into their backpacks at the end of marking periods and wondered if those pieces ever found an audience. Worse, I often watched as they crumpled drawings and paintings for the rubbish can. Our high school years, even if less trained from a craft perspective, are in many ways some of our most creative. But art, if it is to be considered art, wants an audience, and PBA, who has dedicated 17 gratifying years to the performance of taiko, dance, singing, and rock for impressive audiences of hundreds, permitted student work in the fine arts to go unseen for far too long. Some of the teachers were excited enough about the showcase to assert we should hold them twice or three times during the school year! We will see about that, but one thing that’s certain is that the Fine Arts Showcase will return again to the PBA Weinberg Building again in the future. We hope to welcome you to our house of learning then. |
| Warmly, |
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| Alumnus Enrolled in UH Mānoa’s Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program
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| “I knew I wanted to go into a field with a good mix of technical and hands-on work,” said Liam Meyer ’17. “Mechanical engineering inherently satisfies both very well, as you need both skills to succeed in the field.” Liam, who will finish the first year of graduate study in May, is a research assistant at the University of Hawai`i Nanotechnology Laboratory pursuing an advanced degree in mechanical engineering. There, he studies graphene, a strong, lightweight, and highly conductive material with the potential to revolutionize different areas of science and engineering. “Graphene is a two-dimensional material made up of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice,” explained |
| Liam. Graphene can be used in electronics, energy storage, and water filtration. “Before 2004, they thought graphene was too unstable to exist. A simple way to create graphene is to peel off thin layers of graphite from pencil lead with scotch tape.” As an undergraduate in UH Mānoa’s program mechanical engineering, Liam studied autonomous iron technologies and the development of formula style electric race cars. He also worked as an on-campus information technology consultant. “I’m very proud of Liam!” said Dean of Students Liane Viloria. “He was always determined and motivated to succeed. I remember he came to visit me at PBA after going through an academically rigorous semester at UH Mānoa. He told me, 'I wanted to show you that I could do it!' I never doubted it, and I knew with his perseverance and drive, he was destined for great things. Congratulations Liam!” As Liam reflects on his first year of graduate study, he is optimistic about entering the workforce. “I look forward to graduating, gaining independence, and earning a livable wage. Meanwhile, I’m working diligently in my program. There are of course some stressful and memorable moments, such as the time I printed out an entire textbook instead of the 11 pages I needed. Overall, it’s been a great opportunity and I relish my research into nano composite materials.“ PBA wishes Liam success as he continues to advance in his program.
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1754 Lusitana Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
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