Hiʻilei Manoʻi-Hyde is a student at Leeward Community College.  She is majoring in Hawaiian Studies and would like to focus on education and become a college professor.  A fluent Hawaiian language speaker and prolific composer, Hiʻilei is a talented young woman who enjoys sharing her culture.  She writes:

My goal is to continue my education through Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.  I am very passionate about the Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian values, and my hope is to be able to instill the same desires I have in students, for they are the future leaders of Hawaii.  My heart yearns to see the brilliance of our ancestors thriving in the minds of the next generation. Furthermore, I find my college education a necessity.  I am grateful for opportunities such as Pūpū A ʻO ʻEwa to be able to share my work with other Native Hawaiian students.

Credits: bio and performance videos by Educational Media Center, Leeward Community College; post feature painting by Enoch Wood Perry, Jr.  (“The Prince of Hawaiʻi Albert Edward Kauikeaouli” painted in 1865 – three years after the Princeʻs death in 1862 at age 4)