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From Bees to Building: Students Explore Career Paths at KCC “Mad Skillz” Event

High school students work with KCC culinary students and instructor Chef Steve Nakata.

Students get hands-on culinary experience.

Students listen to EIMT instructor Veronica Rose.

Instructors explain the benefits and uses of skin and edible products made with local honey.

Students taste hot honey made with ingredients from the KCC farm.

Students look at soil, insect, and plant specimens under microscopes.

Approximately 65 students from Hawaiian charter schools visited Kauaʻi Community College last Friday for the annual Nā Pua Noʻeau Kauaʻi “Mad Skillz” event, an immersive, hands-on career exploration experience.

During the event, high school students participated in one of four vocational pathways offered this year: culinary arts, agriculture, beekeeping, or electrical installation and maintenance technology (EIMT). Each session was designed to provide students with practical, real-world skills.

Nā Pua Noʻeau Kauaʻi Coordinator Maila Chun emphasized that the event’s hands-on approach is what distinguishes it from traditional career fairs.

“The primary goal is that within one hour, students walk away with a practical skill,” Chun said. “We hope it gives them insight into whether that pathway is right for them, while also allowing KCC to showcase the incredible programs available here.”

In the beekeeping session, students created sugar scrubs using honey and jabong flower oil before tasting hot honey made with chili peppers, all ingredients sourced directly from the KCC campus. While the activity sparked curiosity, some students noted they are still exploring different career paths.

Ninth grader Kaley Rapacon shared that although she enjoyed learning about the campus apiary, she plans to pursue automotive studies and eventually join her family’s business.

Fellow ninth grader Kulia Numazawa-Laranio, who is currently enrolled in Hawaiian Studies early college courses through KCC, is considering a future in EIMT. Despite that interest, she chose to explore beekeeping during the event.

“Beekeeping is one trade I haven’t experienced yet,” Numazawa-Laranio said. “I’m trying to stay open for college.”

Throughout the workshops, student mentors from the Waiʻaleʻale Project, who are actively pursuing these career pathways, join the charter school students to talk story. Following the hands-on sessions, participants gathered to learn more about both the Waiʻaleʻale Project and the Kīpaipai Program - first-year experience programs offered at KCC.

Students were gifted tools and materials related to their chosen field—and, organizers hope, a broader perspective on their future opportunities.

Chun noted that the annual event typically serves between 60 and 80 Hawaiian charter school students each year.