‘We are a global community’: Kaua‘i Community College students shine at international camp

Kaua‘i Community College students Malia Hoʻokano and Sabrina Petroc showed off their creativity and skills on the global stage in February during the KOSEN Global Camp at Toba National College of Maritime Technology in Toba, Japan.

The camp is focused on “designing social systems and business models oriented towards a circular economy” with an emphasis on sustainability.

Participating students were tasked with inventing and building a seawater desalination device before heading off to camp. Participants from Vietnam, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and the United States then collaborated with their multinational peers in multicultural teams while they were at camp to improve their projects.

The two Kaua‘i Community College students come from liberal arts and business backgrounds — unlike the engineering world from which most of their peers hail — brought valuable skills to each of their teams only they could.

Business major Hoʻokano led her team to victory in a contest where they pitched an idea of developing a sustainability kit blueprint that communities could use to build their own desalination devices.

“Our business model was more of a sustainable way to empower the community,” Hoʻokano said. “This experience was more confirmation of my resiliency and my leadership — something that I can be proud of.”

Liberal arts major Petroc described the camp as “a multilingual innovative networking opportunity with the purpose of coming together for a common goal.”

She noted that many participants lacked experience in cross-cultural communication, but she kept her team focused and communicating effectively.

Kaua‘i Community College associate business professor Dirk Soma accompanied the students on their trip to Japan. He praised their adaptability under pressure.

“There were not clear guidelines, and this was a multi-language, multi-age group,” Soma said. “The significance of this diverse experience is that we are a global community.”

He added spreading proven ideas and ways of thought that can solve issues around the glove, “thatʻs what weʻre trying to teach the students.”

Kyoko Ikeda, international program coordinator at Kaua‘i Community College, said Toba students have visited Kaua‘i Community College for 15 years; however, this was the first time students from the community college in Līhuʻe were invited to Toba.

“That’s what’s unique about us as a community,” Ikeda said. “We do a really good job of nurturing partnerships. When they visit, the first day they are our guests, and the second day they are our family.”