Month: November 2016

Paulo Nikkososa is a first-year student at KCC. This year is his first semester since his three year gap from school, his major being Liberal Arts. His mode of transportation to and from school being his bike.

“[I started cycling] about a year ago. It wasn’t really much of a passion at first, it was kind of a decision in life where I was like I need to either get a car or I cycle. Then I weighed out the pros and cons and cycling was more environmentally friendly and it’s more friendly for my body, so I chose cycling. And, the more and more I cycled, it got me out a bit more and I got into racing. I ride about 30 miles a day, from Kalihi to here. I started this just about a year ago with this specific type of cycling, which is track. But you know, I’ve always had a love for bikes since I was young.”

Kona Dias is a second year student at KCC who is studying to major in either Politics, Economics, or Astronomy. Those subjects fascinate him the most. Dias first found interest in Economics when the Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy in 2008.

“I am tired going through booms and busts,” said Dias. “What I mean by that is I am tired of artificially low interest rates and central planning.”

In his free time, Dias practices one of his countless hobbies including boxing, tennis, basketball, sprinting, soccer, and reading. Dias has no plans of going Black Friday shopping because he is not a “materialistic type of person.” Instead, Dias plans to study hard to raise his grades and prepare for the upcoming finals.

Robert Young is a first-year professor at KCC. He teaches Math 75x to students. To most of his students, he is known as “Kumu”. When he is not teaching, he is studying neuroscience at the center of disabilities for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Prior to teaching at KCC, Kumu Robert worked at Ānuenue and helped develop the math program there. He also currently works to develop 8th-grade mathematics curriculum for Native Hawaiians.

Young likes to spend his time working at the Institute For Human Services (IHS), a homeless shelter for families and children in Kalihi. There he runs an after-school science and math program.

“I think I like learning about the world more, math is just a means to do it,” said Kumu Robert.

He explains that math is a universal concept that can apply to anything. Kumu Robert prefers to not focus on one thing but instead likes to study many things including neuroscience and physics. Math gives him the tools to understand the world.