Month: February 2018

Imie came to Hawai‘i from Cagayan de Oro City, in the Philippines, two years ago. She started school last fall, and is taking general education courses at the moment. Her sister owns a care home, and she currently works as a Certified Nurse Assistant — CNA — there, helping to take care of three patients.

The job experience has motivated Imie to further her studies and pursue a career in nursing. However, the 23-year old believes “it is really hard to get into nursing school”. In her free time, she enjoys the beautiful hikes and beaches on the island. Her favorite is Lanikai beach, in Kailua.

Kimberly Serna is a first-year student attending KCC who is majoring in Physical Therapy. The 18-year-old, who graduated from Farrington High School in May 2017, said that she has felt a connection with the medical field since her junior year when she had the opportunity to do job shadowing and work-study as a physical therapy assistant (PTA) through the school’s health academy.

“I got interested in the way the [PTA’s] environment is and in helping the patients,” Serna said.

Although catching the bus from Kalihi to KCC can be lengthy and tiring, Serna said that she enjoys coming to KCC for her education. Upon receiving her associate’s degree at KCC, Serna hopes to work in Tripler Army Medical Center as a PTA in the future.

Mikey Simmons moved to Hawai‘i from Osaka, Japan, six months ago. He plans on staying for another two years to get his associate’s degree in Liberal Arts. He is currently struggling with his ESL 100 class, which he considers really hard.

“I’m not good at writing. I’m asking to native speakers to help with grammar and suggestions.”

When asked about what makes him tick, Mikey immediately says “music”. He shares that back in Japan, he was in two different bands. He enjoyed playing the guitar in a rock band and the saxophone in a jazz one.

“I’d love to have a band here, too.”