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Hail to thee oh Wai’anae…This is where I come from. I graduated in 2007 with honors, and my family were so proud they sent me to the College Opportunities Program and there is where I passed the program and got into the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. In all I love to hang with family and friends, go to the beach, and play volleyball.
Now in college, I have many roles such as being a full time student, an RA at the Hale Aloha Lehua Residents Hall, and lastly being a Peer Mentor for cluster #35. My students are taking classes that consist of FAMR, Hawaiian Studies, and English. Majority are social butterflies that go to our volleyball and football games, not mention all other UH sponsored activites.
Iakwe! Etta in Tamera! Aloha! My name is Tamera and I am from the beautiful Marshall Islands! You may be wondering, “Where the heck is that?!” Well, they are located in Micronesia and are just a four to five hour sight south west of Hawaii. They will only appear as tiny dots on any map or globe, but that’s where I’m from! I am currently a junior, majoring in political science, although, I plan to switch to women studies or possibly double majoring! I am the peer mentor for cluster #6, which is a general education group. I only have seven freshmen in my cluster and they are all an absolute delight to mentor. All of my students are from Hawaii, but there is one from California who is aspiring to be a Japanese Dancer and another character from Oregon whose dream is to be on Broadway! As part of ACE, they are all taking Greek and Roman Mythology, Math 100, Intro to World Drama & Theater, and of course CAS 110. Apparently, all of my students really like their Greek and Roman Mythology class because they not only invited their instructor, Professor Littman, but they also asked his T.A. Alejandro to join in. Also, they were “called-out” by Prof. Littman and Alejandro for having mid-terms that were “pretty well” in their standards.
For our service learning project, we chose to help the Ka Papa Lo’I o Kanewai crew maintain the lo’i. My students had a lot of fun going down there for an hour every Friday last month. The first day, we all enjoyed a tour of the area and got familiar with it and all the people who work there. After spending time there, my students have come to understand that the lo’i is a pu’uhonua or a sanctuary. It’s a place where anyone is welcomed and it feels safe. We were just getting our feet wet, but after that first week, we got down and dirty!
My favorite place to eat on Oahu so far is Andy’s Kahuku Shrimp, conveniently located on Keeaumoku St. They make the best ever garlic shrimp in the entire island chain there! It’s such a great place to enjoy a meal, because the food is ono, it’s clean, the employees are friendly, and you can write on their walls! It’s no joke! Check out the pictures!
Best,
Tamera
Hello everyone! I mentor cluster 30 – a group of five pre-med, biology major girls. All but one are from Hawaii, the last is from Atlanta! They’re all taking Biology 171 and Chemistry 161 with the labs. I feel very privileged to be mentoring this group: they never cause me stress, everything is always on time, they do the reading, are friendly and open, and really take the initiative to get things done in CAS 110. They even do things like study and outside class activities together!!
Now that you know a little bit about my cluster, I’m going to share a little bit about myself. I love to eat Asian foods. From Indian curry, Chinese Dim Sum, Japanese Tempura, Pho, mmmmm… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!!! Anyway, if you are ever in the mood for some Indian curry, stop by the India Cafe outside of Webster Hall at lunch ($6 for a mini plate with jasmine rice, a choice of meat, and a choice of vegetables). I always get the chicken curry with coconut cabbage or cauliflower. Soo Goood!!! For relatively affordable Chinese Dim Sum, go to the Chinese Cultural Center in Chinatown and go to the one on the second floor (I forgot the name – but it’s the only one on the second floor haha, with gold lion statues), Legend is more expensive for the same dim sum. For Japanese Tempura, Sushi King obviously – after 10pm! Or if you’re hungry before 6:30pm, they have early bird dinner specials. Pho, Bale is okaaayyy… but there’s a great spot for Pho on the first floor of the McCully shopping center. Food is good. Food is great. Food is a necessity. My dad always said: Food comes first, no matter how smart you are, it’s all worth nothing if you don’t have a healthy body to use it.
OH MY GOODNESS THAT TEMPURA LOOKS SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!! :)
… and if you make it yourself, it tastes sooo much better!!!!! 
Have a great weekend!
Sharon
Hello hello everyboy, it’s Leilani… yay! I’m the peer mentor for the unbeliavably awesome cluster 22. It’s a Pre-Nursing cluster filled with wonderful freshmen from all over the islands… ok, not really, more like from here or the Big Island. yay! Here, take a look at how crazy beautiful they all are…
- Check out the one on the far right… it’s me!
Anyways, my cluster is taking FAMR 230, MATH 100 and CHEM 151. So every week, me and class like to do this “random fact of the week” thing, where we each take turns sharing random facts every week. Today, we learned that elvis’ hair is dyed… i know, i know, but it looks so natural… and that to actually rent a rated R movie, you can’t do it on the day you turn 18, you can only do it starting the day after. aww, sad panda. Hmm, I guess I’ll tell you a little bit about me then. Well, I’m starting my third year at Manoa and I’m tryting to pursue a degree in Biochemistry through the Interdisciplinary Studies program. I was born in California, but that doesn’t really count because I’ve lived here in Hawaii my whole life, since I was one. Ok, I’m getting bored talking about myself.
So last week our cluster had our Professor Breakfast… because our class is at 9 in the morning… and it was super fun. We met with their Famr professor, Rick. The plan was to make waffles, but that ended up being quite the disaster. By the way, did you know you can make waffles with a George Foreman grill? Cause you can. But that’s not what mattered, the talk was fun and it was really interesting learning about Rick and getting to know him. Since we’re talking about food, have you ever been to Leonard’s Malasadas? Well, you should go cause I’m totally going there this weekend, me and my friends have been craving it since last week’s Taco Tuesday! But seriously, check the place out. It’s right on Kapahulu, and how could you say no to malasadas? They’re such sugary goodness.
Malasadas! Aww... look how cute the wagon is.
Ok, well it’s been fun but now it’s shower time. So I think I’ll leave you with a few words of advice… look both ways before crossing, those jay-walking tickets are pretty dang expensive. Have a great weekend! Leilani.
Hello there all!,
My name is Kyle, and I am the peer mentor in charge of cluster #16. Come on over, and let me take you on this journey, to explore my wonderful cluster. My cluster meets every Wednesday from 12:30 til 1:20 in Sinclair Viewing Room #4. All of the students in my cluster come from all walks of life. There are students wo are from all over the islands in the class, along with students who are from the rest of the country including such places as Florida, California, Minnesota, Oregon, and even one student comes to us all the way from the Motherland herself, Germany. With all of these students coming from different places one would think that they would not get along. This is as far from the truth as possible. All of the students engage in wonderful rapport throughout class, and many can be seen together either eating, hanging out, working out, or walking, all over the campus. These are not your typical cluster students indeed. These students should not be considered your typical students either, as they all are some of the top students on campus being that they are pre-business students. None of this wimpy arts and science stuff for these students, it is straight to the top for all of them. We have done many activities including our great community service project. We helped the Hawaii Red Bull Team buid their soap box derby car. It was a great team-building experience for all!
Now let me tell you all a little bit about myself. I am onl 20 years old, though I may look like I am older. This is my third year out here at UHManoa, and I have loved every minute of it. I am a triple major in the business school. I am a management major, along with human resources management, and international business. I do not live on campus any more, but if you look quickly enough you will see be roaring by on my moped! I love to party, have a good time with anyone, hang out with friends, go to the beach, go to any type of sporting event, and just live life to the fullest. I work at the Stan Sherriff Center, and I love my job. I have great co-workers, and I get so many great perks from my job. I am also pat of the only the fraternity on campus, Kappa Sigma. All the rest are nice attempts at a fraternity, but seriously, give it up! I am a firm believer in not sweating the small things in life because when you look at it, everything is a small thing. Think about that, follow it, and thank me when your life is that much better.
One of my most favorite things to do out here is to go outside and go to the beach. I especially like good snorkeling whenever I can get it. A place on the island that is almost always never a disappointment is a place on the North Shore called Sharks Cove. Along with the small tide pools and jumping rocks, there is great snorkeling out there. There are always tons of marine life, along with the chance of always seeing a honu or two. Plus, there are great underwater caves to go out and explore. It is a great place to go, and everyone should go experience the place while you are out here.
This is a picture of Sharks Cove at sunset. Isn’t it just so romantic?
Well, that is about it. If you have any questions or comments just let me know. Later all!
Kyle
Aloha, Bonjour (French), Sawadee (Thai), Hello!
I am the peer mentor, Michelle Jamieson, for fabulous Cluster #4. I was a peer mentor last year and got to know Tiffany Yoshida, the ACE Student Coordinator, very well. I really enjoyed being a peer mentor and am back again this year. I had a great cluster last year and learned a lot from them. I am happy to say that this year I also have a great group of students and look forward to working and learning more from and with them.
I will be graduating from the Travel Industry Management School this coming December!!! I am Canadian, but lived overseas in Bangkok, Thailand for 5 years. Living in Bangkok has been the best experience of my life and I am actually moving back there to build a career and enjoy the city that has made me who I am today. I am very fortunate to be moving back to great friends and a wonderful place that I will call home for sometime, I hope.
Canadian Beaver
My fabulous cluster is a very diverse group of kids. There are students from Hawaii, San Diego, New York, Ohio, Japan, Vietnam, and California. It is always great going into class and hearing something new about their experiences in college. There is nothing more rewarding then to know these students are succeeding and enjoying their time at UHM.
“Take your professor to lunch” was renamed “Professor Breakfast” because our class is in the mornings and roast beef sandwich would have been too much!! The teacher that the students originally wanted to visit could not make it and they settled for the second best, Pensri Ho. The best part is that this particular professor will be able to explain and help them understand their scores from a midterm from last week.
Fast forward to the day of the “Professor Breakfast” that was very interesting. I think that Pensri asked more questions than the students. But at least we had good food and she was very helpful with tips about succeeding in her class as well as in college in general, which I think was the most important. She was very down to earth and now all of the students are more comfortable speaking to her.
Over and out!!
Mahalo,
Michelle Jamieson
WHAT SUP!
MY name is Howard Yun and I am the peer mentor for pre-business cluster, Cluster #15. I’m currently a senior majoring in Accounting and Finance. I absolutely love sports, especially football and basketball! My favorite football player has to be RAY LEWIS and my favorite basketball player is Lebron James. Just like any other sports fan, I’m very competitive and I hate losing! Other than sports, I like to listen to music while I’m exercising or hiking. I usually listen to Lil WEEZY or T.I., favorite song is “MOTIVATION” by T.I. from his first album, if you haven’t heard that song, please listen, I highly recommend it! Enough of myself, I just want to briefly talk about my cluster. 11 brilliant students are in my cluster, each individual has a unique personality that I can’t find from other students, which is the reason why I enjoy getting to them at a personal level. They are still very shy and I still have to initiate a conversation first. Since this cluster is for pre-business students, I constantly remind my students about the importance of communications, and encourage them to speak and express their feelings and thoughts freely in the class.
Here are pctures of my students!
Last class, we had a lunch with their Speech 251 TA, Jenifer at the campus center. Also two week ago, I utilized last half of the class to help them prepare for the Econ 130 mid-term. Since I already took courses they are taking this semester, I always try to give them helpful tips on how they should prepare and what they should expect on mid-terms. Many of them said they did well on their Econ Mid-term so I’m very happy for them. Definately, I enjoy mentoring these respectful, hard-working students and I want them to enjoy this course as much as i do! GO CLUSTER #15 and GO ACE!
See ya later, alligator!
Howard Yun
What’s up y’all,
My name is Magdiel Vilchez and I am the Peer mentor for Cluster #3! However, because our cluster consists of 13 students, I co-teach with Liana and you can imagine the craziness that is! Most of our students are from Hawai’i, with about two of them being from out of state. None the less, our cluster is full of off the wall characters from military kids to salsa dancers and even UH band members, Go ‘Bows!
Some of our cluster during our MAC workshop assignment
Though I am Nicaraguan, I’ve lived in San Francisco for most of my life and have become very fond of good Mexican food, especially burritos(which isn’t “real” Mexican” but whose counting?) With that said, one of the unfortunate disadvantages of living in O’ahu is the lack of good and decent priced Mexican food. I have searched the island and found that BC Burrito is the most legit place for burritos in town. It will cost you a bit more than you expected, but it’s pretty good. And if you’re really adventurous, you cna try one of their Deadly “Go home to yo momma” hot sauces that they have in their cabinets. I tried one drop on my burrito and I felt the burn in my mouth the entire night!
conveniently located in Kaimuki, BC Burrito will rock you!
Another place I would recommend in the Kaimuki area is Verbano’s Italian food. It’s a bit pricey, so expect to pay 30-something dollars for dinner for two, but it is good food(plenty of vegetarian, for all you veggie heads) and the atmosphere is very elegant, classy and romantic!
Dinner at Verbano
Hope this adds some new dining options for you all! Enjoy!
-Magdiel
HELLO ALL!!! SO THE BAKE SALE WAS SOOO MUCH FUN, JUST SITTING THERE CHIT-CHATTING, ADVERTISING AND EDUCATING… HERE ARE A FEW PICS FROM THURSDAY!!!
YAY!!! LOL
~ DOROTHY: CLUSTER #11 MENTOR
Hello There!!!
‘O Nora ko’u inoa. (My name is Nora.)
I am the leader of the COP cluster #38. If you are not sure what COP is, It stands for College Opportunities Program. This program is an alternative way to get into UH for people who don’t meet the requirements to get into the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
This is my cluster:
All of my students are from O’ahu but one of my girls is from Lana’i. The classes that the students share together for their cluster are English 100, Hawaiian Studies 107, and Theatre 221. Recently as a class, we attended the Manoa Advising Workshop. This was very good for my students because they got a chance to individually talk to advisors about their majors and see what kinds of classes that they must take in order to be on the right track.
Besides being a peer mentor, I attend UH full time along with working at Zippys’ full time. At Zippys’, I work the counter, in the kitchen, in the bakery, as a host, and as a waitress.
This is me and some of my co-workers at an employee Karaoke party.
And these are some of the foods that I like to eat at my work place.
(Chili Moco with over medium eggs and brown rice/ Chocolate pudding with whipped cream)
Mahalo for all of your attention. Have a good day!!!
