As a fourth-year mechanical engineering student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, I often think about the opportunities that interest me, the communities I want to contribute to and the kind of person I want to become. More specifically, I’ve wondered whether I can build the kind of engineering career I want here in Hawaiʻi.

Last year, through the Akamai Workforce Initiative program, I completed my own design project at W. M. Keck Observatory, where I was introduced to engineering work happening in my own community. This summer, I returned to Keck as its inaugural Kamaʻāina Pathways Intern, taking on greater engineering responsibility while building on the foundation I developed through Akamai.

With that greater responsibility came greater trust from my mentors to solve problems through self-guided learning and design. That independence strengthened how I frame and understand problems, maintain forward momentum with design projects and consider how stakeholder engagement shapes engineering solutions.

Ideas showcases stories, opinion and analysis about Hawaiʻi, from the state’s sharpest thinkers, to stretch our collective thinking about a problem or an issue. Email news@civilbeat.org to submit an idea or an essay.

Read More

That trust also helped me clarify a much bigger question: “Where do I want to be after I graduate?”

The Kamaʻāina Pathways Internship Program showed me that I can build a career in Hawaiʻi that aligns with both my technical interests and the kind of workplace culture I’m looking for. That realization is what made this experience so valuable for me.

I’ve talked to my peers about where they see themselves after graduation, and many of them have difficulty answering that question due to a lack of exposure to the science and engineering happening in our community. My experience at Keck introduced me to the unique engineering opportunities Hawaiʻi has to offer because of our environment and geographic location, and those opportunities extend far beyond astronomy.

Hawaiʻi attracts specialists from all over the world to work in fields such as oceanography, volcanology, marine biology, renewable energy and more. Yet many students who grow up and study here are not aware of the range of opportunities available to them close to home.

This fall, enrollment at the UH Mānoa College of Engineering reached a record high, surpassing 1,600 students for the first time. As enrollment grows, so does the importance of connecting students with local companies and research institutions that can give them meaningful professional experience and show them what a career in Hawaiʻi can look like.

Programs like the Kamaʻāina Pathways Internship Program are an essential part of that connection. They give students opportunities to learn from professionals in their fields, take on real STEM challenges and understand how the skills we develop in the classroom translate to work that matters in our community.

Returning to Keck this summer was the best learning experience I’ve had so far. I grew technically, but more importantly, the experience helped shape my career goals in a way no other program or coursework could. It showed me that building a meaningful career doesn’t necessarily mean leaving Hawaiʻi.

Sometimes, the opportunities we’re looking for are already here. We just need a chance to see them.

That’s why I hope more companies and research organizations across Hawaiʻi will create opportunities like Kamaʻāina Pathways for local students. By giving students meaningful, hands-on experiences and the trust to take on real challenges, Hawaiʻi’s STEM community can help more of us see a future for ourselves here at home.