Please Consider Being an Organ Donor

This past weekend, we were invited to attend a Nevada Donor Network’s Donor Remembrance Event to thank the families and friends of recent organ donors. Randy and I decided to make the trip to Las Vegas and to attend the event with our son, Justin, and our grandsons, Jace and Jayden. We wanted to honor the memory of our second son, Jarand and his unselfishness in becoming an organ donor. Nevada Donor Network was able to harvest his corneas to give sight to two people and thus improved their quality of life.

The convention room was filled with people, young and old. It was somber but also uplifting to know that somehow, all of us were connected by our loved one’s decision to become an organ donor. As I read through the book and viewed the slide show, I was overwhelmed by the stories of how each person made a difference, most of them to strangers, by their simple act of checking the box on their driver’s license. In fact, that’s why Nevada Donor Network contacted us - because Jarand checked that box.

The keynote presenter was Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., and Rear Admiral, USPHS (Retired). That convention room was silent as he shared grim data about organ donation and transplantation: 113,000+ names in the United States for those needing an organ donation; 18 people on that list passing away each hour, never having had their opportunity to receive a transplant. He asked us to visualize the new Las Vegas Raiders Stadium that is presently being built and which will hold 65,000 fans. I pictured that in my mind and could only shake my head. Then Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu shared that his wife, Donna Moritsugu had passed away in an automobile accident 27 years ago, and different organs were transplanted into people, thereby giving them a new opportunity at life. Four years after that, his 21-year-old daughter, Vikki Lynn Moritsugu was hit by an automobile and her organs were also donated so others could have an improved quality of life. The Moritsugu family took two tragic events and turned them into opportunities to make a positive difference for others.

One day, medicine and technology will merge and make it possible for organ donation and transplantation to be unnecessary. Until then, society will rely on ordinary people like Jarand to be organ donors.

I was filled with an array of emotions on Saturday. I was proud of our son for being an organ donor; it validates what a selfless person he was. I was also filled with an overwhelming sense of loss, not just for Jarand, but for all the donors and their families. I also felt gratitude for those who benefited and now have an opportunity to live a better life. At the event, there were donor recipients who shared their stories and showed their medals about the Transplant Games, an Olympics-style event for those who received transplants and are now living active lives. They were inspirational.

If you are not presently an organ donor, I hope you will consider becoming one. It’s so easy to just check the box on your driver’s license. If you would like more information about organ donation in Hawaii, check out the link for Legacy of Life.

I want to thank Nevada Donor Network for inviting us to share in this very special event.

 We received a book that shared about the donors. This is Jarand’s page.

There was a slide show with photos of the donors as well as displays about some of the donors.

Each donor’s family received a small jar of colored sand which we added to the larger container. Now we are all connected to the other donors and their families and friends.

The Red Rock Casino Convention Center Ballroom was filled with people. 

Each donor received this very special medal. Jarand, we are proud of you. 

“Ho`oha`aheo” Public School Proud

I was honored to be asked to write an article for the September 2019 issue of Ho`oha`aheo, the newsletter for the Hawaii Department of Education. I thought I’d share the article here.

I wasn’t quite 5 years old when I stepped foot into my kindergarten classroom at brand-new Helemano Elementary School in Whitmore Village, north of Wahiawa, Oahu. I was in awe - new friends, new books, new activities, and a teacher - Miss Okihara, whom I adored. It was sometime during my first year in school that I decided that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I never lost sight of my goal, and after graduating from Leilehua High School, I obtained my teaching degree from the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

There were no jobs at the time for those of us who majored in elementary education, so I was fortunate to be hired by the Head Start program. I was thrilled to have my own classroom in a former Japanese language school that I attended when I was in elementary school. It was old and had been vacant for a long time, but we brightened it and turned it into a classroom where our students would gain the skills they needed to be successful when they entered elementary school.

After 15 years with Head Start, I was finally hired at the Department of Education, teaching first at Wheeler Elementary School and then opening a new high tech school, Mililani Mauka Elementary. I loved being a teacher! Every student was different; every one was special, and building relationships and helping them to grow socially, academically, and emotionally was so rewarding. I felt so lucky to be doing something I really loved.

At the suggestion of my principal, I decided to pursue educational administration, and for the last 15 years of my career, I was the principal of Daniel K. Inouye Elementary School (aka Hale Kula Elementary). It was a truly wonderful experience working in a school community where 98% of our students were from military families. These families faced unique challenges such as transitions and deployments, and our school became their `ohana. I believe that our military students and their families are the perfect ambassadors for our Hawai`i schools, sharing the aloha spirit wherever their paths may lead them in the future.

When I retired in July 2018, I decided to write a book, and in July 2019, my book was published. Leading with Aloha: From the Pineapple Fields to the Principal’s Office  shares how my humble roots growing up in a pineapple plantation village strengthened the core values and beliefs that helped me to lead our school with aloha - love, compassion, empathy, and respect. The process of writing and publishing a book was more difficult than I thought, but the opportunity to share my story motivated me to persevere.

I encourage all educators to reflect and to write about their own personal and professional experiences - the successes and the challenges - because we can learn from each other. I cannot think of a more rewarding profession than being an educator; we should be proud to share our stories!

“Most Likely to Succeed in Hawaii”

I’ve been retired for a little over a year now, but that doesn’t mean that I am no longer interested in education issues. On the contrary, I probably have more time now to delve deeper and to decide how I want to stay involved.

Last week, I agreed to be a mentor for Hawaii Innovative Leaders Network 2.0. I was a member of the first HILN cohort, and it was the best professional development I received as a principal. When I first began HILN 1.0, I was a bit hesitant because I had never interacted with any of the other participants prior to being a part of this PD. By the end, though, I considered all of those school leaders as not just colleagues, but friends. Today, I reflected on my experiences (see my blog), and I know why HILN was so valuable to me as a school leader. It was the culture of trust, the realization that we were at different places in our journey, but that we all were striving to engage and empower our students and our staff to make a difference in this world through project-based learning. It is evident that HILN 2.0 is a dynamic group of school leaders. Many are young and just starting their journey as administrators, but already, they are confident in who they are and what they hope and dream for their schools. Others are more experienced, but they are excited and open to new ideas so that their schools will benefit.

Our schools and our leaders in Hawaii are going through some pretty significant changes that are positively impacting our students. I see many more schools using social media to share not only what is going on but also to engage in conversations with others about “What School Could Be.” I am thrilled! This was something I hoped for, where schools in Hawaii are much more open about sharing successes as well as challenges. Educators are supporting each other in their writing; they are planning un-conferences; they are hosting ed chats, and recently, a “Most Likely to Succeed in Hawaii” podcast launched. I’ll be honest; I don’t listen very often to podcasts, but I really enjoyed the first two episodes and can’t wait to hear more from outstanding school leaders! I wished that these podcasts had been available when I was a principal so I could have connected and learned from others.

This is a great time to be an educator! Let’s show the rest of the country “What School Could Be” in Hawaii!