Growing up in Chandler, Arizona, thousands of miles from the nearest coastline, University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa major and undergraduate student Landon Schumaker never imagined his future would take him to the farthest reaches of the deep sea. But this summer, Schumaker conducted research in Perth, Australia, with the support of the , a funding opportunity administered by the UH Mānoa (UROP) and the .

From June through August, Schumaker worked with the Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Centre to study the Nova Canton Trough, a hadal region more than 6,000 meters deep. This area had never been studied at such scale and depth until recently.

Schumaker said that last year scientists conducted an expedition to the Nova Canton Trough and deployed cameras to assess deep-sea biodiversity between 2,471 and 7,983 meters deep. He contributed to meticulous work on this footage, including taxonomic identifications, statistical analyses and visualizations.

“The deep sea fascinates me because it feels like an entirely different world,” Schumaker said. “It’s a world that is perceived to be so far away, yet in reality, is on our planet and right beneath our surface waters. There are vast knowledge gaps, and every expedition brings the possibility of discovering something new.”

Schumaker’s work was complemented by monthly virtual check-ins with his UH Mānoa mentor, Professor Jeff Drazen in the , who has guided him for more than a year.

“Landon was pretty familiar with the deep ocean when he departed for Australia, and he had already analyzed deep-sea videos. But in Australia he really dug into big datasets, and he dramatically increased his ability to use statistical modeling to explore research results,” Drazen said. “I’m really impressed that he analyzed the data and has a draft of a peer reviewed paper. This was a stellar opportunity for Landon and he really capitalized on it.”

Looking ahead, the results from the Nova Canton Trough study are expected to lead to at least two scientific publications, with Schumaker as a co-author, and potentially lead author. Long-term, he hopes to pursue a PhD in biological oceanography and dedicate his career to exploring and protecting the deep sea.

More on the Tyler Fellowship

“The Tyler Fellowship provided me with the financial support I needed to travel, live abroad for an extended period and gave me the opportunity to learn about so many different projects going on around the world,” Schumaker said. “This fellowship meant a lot to me, as it was something I put a lot of effort into between developing a proposal and a project plan, and then being entrusted with this award. Receiving it was both rewarding and humbling.”

• Related UH News story: New UROP fellowship supports international undergraduate research, creative work, March 11, 2025

Applications for the Tyler Fellowship for summer 2026 are expected to open in spring 2026.

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Approximately 90 undergraduate students from the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz�, Leeward Community College and other universities across the nation showcased their research and creative projects at the 2025 (SURE) Symposium on August 1.

Hosted annually by the UH Mānoa (UROP), the event featured oral and poster presentations at the �鶹��ý Imin International Conference Center.

“The symposium reflects the breadth and depth of student scholarship across all disciplines at UH Mānoa, as well as the university’s profile as an institution of academic excellence,” said UROP Program Coordinator Noah Perales-Estoesta. “As a land-grant and R1 university, UH Mānoa has a three-part mission to advance student education, promote research and serve the broader public. UROP is very proud to administer programming like the SURE Symposium that supports every part of that mission.”

Students presented research and creative work on topics including the potential of generative AI for personalized language learning and persistent organic pollutants in the waters of Pearl Harbor. Their projects also included studies on sustainable agriculture and the impact of performing arts as an interdisciplinary experience.

Presenters included UROP funding recipients, participants in National Science Foundation-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates and participants in the ’s new Summer Research Institute.

UH President Wendy Hensel and UH Mānoa Interim Provost Vassilis Syrmos delivered opening remarks, highlighting the value of undergraduate research and creative work.

UROP funding support

Each year, UROP awards more than $500,000 in merit-based scholarships directly to students to support mentored undergraduate research and creative work projects and presentations. An additional $135,000 is awarded directly to mentors to support undergraduate research and creative work during the summer. The SURE Symposium is one of several regular on-campus presentation venues organized/co-organized by UROP. During the fall and spring semesters, UROP co-organizes the with the .

Haley Taylor is a shining example of a student who found her passion at the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz�. And for the past few years, the spring 2024 graduate and student has been paying it forward to the community through her service in Alohathon, a UH Manoa-based non-profit organization, and to future Rainbow Warriors as a tour guide with the .

Discovering academic interests

Taylor began her academic journey at UH ����ԴDz� in the midst of the pandemic, unsure of what the university would have to offer and what major to pursue. After enrolling in a few courses in the ’ , she found that these classes resonated with her interests.

“I’ve met some really amazing faculty who really wanted me to thrive,” Taylor said. “They taught me things about new emerging social media and media connections and how vital communications is in the world we live in now.”

Inspiring future ‘Bows

Taylor was born in Tennessee and went to high school in Las Vegas, but in between spent four years residing in �鶹��ý Kai, so she wasn’t new to living on Oʻahu. While Taylor lived on campus during her freshman year, most of her classes were online due to the pandemic. She recalled that when her parents visited, she couldn’t tell them what most of the buildings were. This is what inspired her to apply to be a campus tour guide during her sophomore year.

“By luck they hired me and I’ve loved it ever since I started—just being able to talk to prospective students and tell them what I’ve learned, what I’ve gained from it and hopefully allow them to see what kind of amazing opportunities they might not be thinking about, and how it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get your education in a place like this,” Taylor said. “It really is unlike any other.”

She continued working as a tour guide through her senior year and also became a leader to welcome and connect new students and their families with the campus.

“At orientation, they’d come up to me like, ‘Hey, you’re my tour guide. I heard you talk about this. I knew I wanted to be a part of it when I came to the school.’ And that’s just a feeling you can’t really describe,” Taylor said. “It’s just like, ‘Wow, I made an impact on someone’s major life decision.’ It’s not solely because of me. It’s because of how amazing the university is.”

Giving back

Becoming a part of the UH Manoa ʻohana inspired Taylor to look for ways to give back to her campus community. In her sophomore year, she called it her “proudest moment” when she led an organization called Alohathon at UH ����ԴDz�. They helped raise more than $27,000 for Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

Stepping toward the future

Taylor is headed to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, to pursue a master’s degree in communications, with a focus on artificial intelligence. While she’ll be leaving the islands, at least for now, a piece of her legacy will remain at the place it all started—the admissions office. Inspired by the impact UH ����ԴDz� had on their daughter’s academic career, Taylor’s parents made a generous contribution to revamp the welcome center in the Office of Admissions—the place many prospective students see when they first step foot on campus and where Taylor spent many memorable hours.

“To revamp this and to get this to be a fresh new happening place for prospective students to come in and see, it’s a good first look for the university,” Taylor said. “In however many years when I have a family, I can come back and show them not only the place that I love, the island that I love, but the place I spent so much of my undergraduate time in.”

Check out more stories of our UH spring graduates

When asked about what UH ����ԴDz� has meant to her, Taylor concluded, “UH has meant everything. This has been the best four years that I could have ever imagined. I can’t imagine going to a different undergraduate program.”

—By Marc Arakaki

A University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� senior majoring in and was named a —the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States—and is the only recipient from �鶹��ý this year.

Daniel Arakawa, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama (KS Kapālama) and native of ����Ա�ʻ�dz��, hopes to become an assistant United States attorney and aspires to serve as a federal judge. Arakawa volunteers as a speech and debate coach for his alma mater and found out the news while helping to prepare his KS Kapālama students for a statewide speech and debate tournament.

Check out more stories of our UH spring graduates

“I was ecstatic. It’s truly wonderful. First thing I did was call my parents and tell them,” said Arakawa, who is graduating this spring. “Of the different fellowship/scholarships like Rhodes and Fulbright, Truman is a really special one. I’m really grateful for the opportunity, and this award will definitely open up a lot of doors.”

Truman Scholars demonstrate outstanding leadership potential, a commitment to a career in government or the nonprofit sector, and academic excellence. Each Truman Scholar receives funding for graduate studies, leadership training, career counseling, and special internship and fellowship opportunities within the federal government. Arakawa was one of 60 college students from 54 U.S. colleges and universities selected in 2024, out of 709 candidates. Arakawa was assisted by the , which endorses students applying for select competitions that require official nomination by the university.

Arakawa served as an intern with then-Lt. Gov. Josh Green in 2022 and became a constituent services specialist for newly elected Gov. Green in January 2023. Through these positions, Arakawa developed a passion for public service and an understanding of the political process by working closely with and supporting underserved communities. He intends to pursue a Juris Doctor focusing on criminal law.

“I’ve always been interested in argumentation and law, and so criminal law was a natural route,” Arakawa said. “As I learned more about the process in the criminal justice system, and the problems and inequities that are present, I became more interested.”

Arakawa was also selected as a student marshal for the at the spring 2024 commencement ceremony and recently joined Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the nation. He credits Department of Sociology Professor David Johnson and Department of Political Science Professor Jonathan Goldberg-Hiller with helping him develop his interest in law and the criminal justice system.

“Daniel Arakawa is the most special student I have encountered in 25 years of teaching at UH,” Johnson said. “Several qualities set him apart, including these: his desire to look carefully at the world and see it for what it is; his passion for asking questions, without fear or favor; and his ability to drain heat and anger from controversial topics and replace them with wonder and curiosity.”

Goldberg-Hiller added, “Daniel is an exceptional student with a strong commitment to public service. We are all very proud of the honor he has achieved with this prestigious scholarship.”

Arakawa is the 22nd awardee from a UH System campus since the program’s inception in 1977 and the first since Jessica Lau earned the award in 2022.

The Department of Political Science and Department of Sociology are housed in UH ����ԴDz�’s College of Social Sciences. The Scholarships and Fellowships Office is administered by the University Honors Program, under the Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Excellence.

Transformative work on community-driven research projects has earned a University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� PhD student a national honor.

Maile Wong, a spring 2023 graduate in botany and ʻŌ������� �鶹��ý, was named one of four 2023 by the (NCHC). Wong will receive a $375 stipend, a certificate and will present her research at the NCHC conference this November in Chicago.

“I am honored for this work to be recognized, but more than that I am excited that the type of research this work represents is being recognized at a national level. Community-driven research is critical to creating meaningful change,” Wong said. “I am inspired by the many Kānaka ʻŌ���ɾ� scientists who have committed their lives to doing this type of work, and most of all, I am humbled by the fierce aloha ʻ�徱�Բ� who work tirelessly in ʻ�徱�Բ� to grow and implement a collective vision for �鶹��ý‘s future.”

Nearly 900 NCHC institutional members can nominate only one thesis per institution written by an undergraduate honors student for the competition each semester. Wong is the sixth UH ����ԴDz� Honors student over the past eight years to earn this recognition.

Critical conservation projects on Oʻahu, Kauaʻi

�´DzԲ�’s thesis, E Paʻa Ke Kahua: Building Foundational Skills for Engaging in Community-driven Research, highlights the work she has done to improve her community through engaging in research.

The projects include:

• Working in Heʻeia at a location called Puʻulani for more than three years. Through a partnership with UH and ������ʻ�� ʻŌ���ɾ�, volunteers have transformed the area that was once filled with non-native species into an agroforest (integration of trees and shrubs into crop systems to create environmental, economic and social benefits) that provides materials for lei and food, and opportunities for the community to access and connect with it. Read more in UH News.
• Investigating the effects of seawater inundation on coastal dune plants in a controlled greenhouse environment. This project builds off a previous field experiment, which Wong conducted at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kauaʻi to test how seawater flooding affected the survival of seedlings out-planted into the dunes.
• Interviewing 36 agroforestry practitioners, asking about the motivators and barriers to their practice. They found a clear contrast between Indigenous agroforestry practitioners and other practitioners. Barriers include that Indigenous knowledge is not valued and that practitioners are unable to access suitable information. Wong created a map of agroforestry practitioners with layers that group practitioners with similar foci (those focused on education, those focused on commercial production, those focused on preserving cultural practices and placed-based knowledge, etc).

UH ����ԴDz� School of Life Sciences Professor Tamara Ticktin was �´DzԲ�’s project mentor.

“Maile’s honor’s thesis provides a model for interdisciplinary community-engaged research: she beautifully interweaves Indigenous and western methodologies, natural and social sciences, theory and on-the-ground-management, and products for both academic and community audiences,” Ticktin said. “Maile’s thesis demonstrates both academic excellence and true commitment to place and to community. I am thrilled that Maile’s incredible work has been recognized with this prestigious national prize.”

Wong concluded, “I am grateful to my mentors, Dr. Tamara Ticktin and Dr. Kasey Barton who lead by example and who have supported me immensely along the way, I am grateful for the Honors Program, and my honors advisor Dr. Vernadette Gonzalez for creating the space in my education to engage in research and for pushing my limits.”

By Marc Arakaki

Expanding public parklets to improve business in Kailua Town and investigating the reentry of Indigenous wāhine (women) from incarceration were two of the featured projects at the Fall 2022 , hosted by the University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� and (UROP). Approximately 50 students presented at the on-campus academic conference that highlighted undergraduate research and creative work at UH ����ԴDz�.

Public parklets in Kailua

A quartet of undergraduate students investigated the use of public parklets—curbside parking spaces converted into community gathering spaces—to increase business for local shops that grew during the pandemic. Airon Castaneda, Dean Matsumura, Joy Edades and Logan Shiroma worked with Cafe Kopi, a small coffee shop in Kailua, and nonprofit organization Better Block Hawaii to explore public parklets as a medium for community gathering and public engagement. The students created a schematic design and plan that were submitted to Better Block Hawaii that took into account several facets, including the culture of Kailua Town, and the integration of native plants that would best thrive in the area.

“We learned how to work with clients and participate in the entire design-build process. As students, we have focused on conceptual designs and this is the first project where we had to prioritize construction feasibility as well as coordinate with multiple partners,” the team said. “We wanted to bring greater opportunities for small businesses and community outdoor gathering while also finding ways to incorporate native plants in an urban environment as education tools.”

The students were mentored by Associate Professor and Landscape Specialist Andrew Kaufman.

Indigenizing reentry solutions for incarcerated wāhine

student Kylie Noelani Akiona studied the effectiveness of incorporating Indigenous beliefs and practices into reentry programs for incarcerated wāhine. Akiona specifically focused on a �鶹��ý Island reentry group called Wāhine O PAʻA. The research was intended to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s work through a series of interviews and literary analyses, but also explores the carceral constraints placed on the research process, champions the incorporation of Indigenous theories of knowledge and values into reentry methods, critically examines mass incarceration in �鶹��ý, and echoes the demand for prison industrial complex abolition.

“Reentry, or the system of support for folks leaving incarceration and returning to our communities, is a necessary but often neglected part of decarceration,” said Akiona, who works part-time for American Civil Liberties Union of �鶹��ý. “Another often ignored fact is that the disproportionate incarceration of Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and wāhine in particular is not at the fault of our individual actions, but rather, created and perpetuated by the colonial conditions that shape our lived realities.”

Akiona added, “After informing myself and others on the impact of incarceration, I became extremely passionate about following data-driven and abolitionist-oriented solutions and decided to dedicate my life and career to ensuring our liberation from incarceration and the ongoing military occupation of our lands and waters by the American empire; as Indigenous peoples, we have no choice but to become aware of what shapes our oppressed realities and refuse them for our ultimate survival and rightful return of our lands, waters and bodies.”

Akiona was mentored by Department of Political Science Assistant Professor Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio.

UROP project funding

Both of these projects received UROP . Each year, UROP awards approximately $500,000 in scholarship funding to support faculty-mentored undergraduate student research and creative work projects and presentations.

More about the Undergraduate Showcase

The Undergraduate Showcase is held at the end of every fall and spring semesters. It is a public event open to visitors on- and off-campus. All UH ����ԴDz� undergraduate students in all fields of study conducting a faculty-mentored research or creative work project are encouraged to submit an abstract to present. Visit the for more information.

—By Marc Arakaki

A recent University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� graduate, who is making tremendous strides into Alzheimer’s disease research, was recognized as one of the top student scholars in the nation.

Geetika Patwardhan, a spring 2022 graduate in the UH ����ԴDz� and alumna, has been named one of four 2022 by the (NCHC).

As an undergraduate, Patwardhan worked at the (JABSOM) in Associate Professor Ben Fogelgren’s National Institutes of Health-funded laboratory. During those four years, Patwardhan’s research focused on identifying new molecular mechanisms in neurons that regulate the production of amyloid-beta, a peptide that accumulates as plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients. These plaques disrupt function and ultimately lead to the mental decline associated with Alzheimer’s. Patwardhan’s research looked at how and why these plaques accumulate in the brain.

Her work has contributed to several exciting discoveries in the field, including the characterization of a new signaling pathway by which insulin could directly affect amyloid-beta production in neurons. The work will hopefully point toward possible pharmaceutical targets to treat the disease.

Patwardhan is continuing her training as a postbaccalaureate research fellow at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland in its two-year Intramural Research Training Award program. She eventually hopes to earn her MD and PhD, and become a physician-scientist in �鶹��ý.

“I am thrilled and proud to represent the Honors department and the University of �鶹��ý on a national scale,” Patwardhan said. “I feel very grateful to be given the opportunity to showcase the important and rigorous research done at UH and JABSOM.”

UH ����ԴDz�’s continued student success

NCHC institutional members can nominate only one thesis per institution written by an undergraduate honors student for the competition. Patwardhan is the fifth UH ����ԴDz� Honors student over the past seven years to earn this prestigious recognition.

“Geetika really took advantage of the research opportunities available at �鶹��ý����ԴDz�, and was fortunate to find an incredible mentor in Dr. Fogelgren,” UH ����ԴDz� Honors Program Director Vernadette Vicuña Gonzalez said. “The representative from NCHC commented on how rare it is to consistently see Portz Scholars from the same university year in and out, which is a testament to the quality of our students and the kind of faculty mentoring they are receiving.”

The Portz Scholar program was named in honor of John and Edythe Portz. John Portz was the first director of the honors program at the University of Maryland, College Park, and one of the founders of the National Collegiate Honors Council, the professional association of undergraduate honors programs and colleges.

Goldwater Scholar

Patwardhan also earned a national Goldwater Scholar award in 2021 for her research. She was UH ����ԴDz�’s first recipient of the award in over 30 years, and was one of approximately 410 recipients across the country out of more than 5,000 applicants. During her undergraduate career at UH ����ԴDz�, Patwardhan volunteered for JABSOM’s , under the guidance of Associate Professor Jill Omori. She is also one of three recipients of the Student Excellence in Research Award, presented at the 2022 UH ����ԴDz� awards ceremony in May.

For someone who once didn’t believe in the power of higher education, Tiare Sabellano-Tsutsui has just earned an impressive academic accolade. The graduating senior in the , who will earn a bachelor’s degree in , was selected as student speaker at UH ����ԴDz�’s 2022 commencement ceremony on Friday, May 13. Sabellano-Tsutsui remembers how, when she graduated from Pearl City High School in 2011, she went straight to work for seven years.

“After a lifetime of believing I wasn’t good enough for college, I entered before transferring to UH ����ԴDz�,” said the 28-year-old Wahiawā resident. “I instantly fell in love with higher education.”

More highlights from the commencement ceremonies and our amazing graduates

At UH, Sabellano-Tsutsui became the epitome of an involved student—serving as a tutor, peer mentor, academic coach and teacher assistant. She was an editor for both Kapiʻolani CC and UH ����ԴDz� student journals; developed and hosted Zen mindfulness classes via Zoom for Kapiʻolani CC students during COVID-19’s impactful first semester; and worked as a research assistant for faculty in psychology, psychiatry and public health. In addition, she volunteered weekly for the UH ����ԴDz� Prison Education Project—co-teaching positive psychology and developing mindful awareness exercises and lessons for inmates at �鶹��ý correctional facilities.

Off campus, she is a black-belt sensei (teacher) in karate; likes to try different sushi restaurants; and keeps fit and agile by practicing traditional Chinese lion dance. She hopes to enjoy a fun summer before joining the master’s program in fall 2022 at the UH ����ԴDz� . After that, she is determined to earn a PhD in social welfare, then start a non-profit organization or become a university faculty member.

As a commencement student speaker, what is her message to fellow graduates?

“With everything going on in our world, these times call for individuals like us to rise and become the best versions of ourselves for humanity,” said Sabellano-Tsutsui. “May the breath of ����ԴDz� be always at our backs as we venture forth into this great unknown we call life.”

Sabellano-Tsutsui’s experiences in higher education is an example of UH ����ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

The student speakers for UH ����ԴDz�’s 2022 commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 14 are Maansi Murty, candidate for bachelor of science in biology, and Genice Tran, candidate for bachelor of education in elementary education. For more on the student speakers, visit the .

The visitor impact on Hanauma Bay’s coral reef and how geographic locations affected students’ college experience were two of the nearly 100 undergraduate research and creative work projects on display at the virtual 2022 University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� on April 29.

Hanauma Bay visitor impact

Shannon Murphy, a senior global environmental science major in the , chose to study the impact of visitors on the coral reef at Hanauma Bay because she has visited the bay her entire life, and volunteered with the Friends of Hanauma Bay.

“I have also found a passion for studying coral reef ecology, and this project was the perfect combination of studying my favorite organisms and providing science to my community,” Murphy said.

Under the guidance of Researcher Kuʻulei Rodgers, Murphy monitored four plots in the bay, bimonthly for nine months. She recorded the number of snorkelers entering each plot and their interactions with the reef. Results showed a direct relationship between snorkeling density and the number of disturbances, however, those disturbances did not translate into coral health impairment, which means there was no coral breakage or abrasions from snorkelers.

Murphy said this could be explained possibly by low coral cover across the bay and/or coral species with high skeletal strength due to history of high water motion and extensive visitors. Murphy said future management actions could limit the number of visitors and occurrences of reef disturbances to potentially reduce tissue loss and promote coral recruitment.

“Hanauma Bay is a place of cultural and ecological significance, not just a place for tourists to enjoy,” Murphy said. “As it is a Marine Life Conservation District, residents and visitors should take responsibility to preserve and protect this area. Ultimately, if corals are not gaining surface area nor reproducing, it is a matter of time before more corals disappear. I hope this project can encourage additional research in the bay on coral health as well as initiate stricter preservation strategies so the people of �鶹��ý can enjoy the bay for years to come.”

Role of geography in students’ college experience

Manu Moreira, a senior psychology major in the , focused on how geography played a role in students’ college experience (self-efficacy, well-being, stress and self-esteem). Under the guidance of Assistant Professor Emily Daubert, Moreira surveyed more than 300 UH ����ԴDz� students, gauging their college experience through different variables.

“I grew up in the rural county of Kaʻu and when I moved up to Oʻahu my experiences as a rural student felt unique in comparison to my peers from urban and suburban backgrounds,” Moreira said. “Furthermore my peers from rural backgrounds held similarities yet differences in perception of college experience or how they navigated through these experiences were different to my own.”

According to Moreira, results found no significant differences between geographic locale on the college experience, controlling for income and gender. However, Moreira said there were significant differences of stress between males and females. While results for this study did not show statistically significant differences in college experience, future studies with a larger sample size would create a more diverse understanding of the student college experience. Moreira said geographic locale is not a commonly used variable, therefore its inclusion lessens the gap of literature into geographic based studies.

More about the undergraduate showcase

Hosted by the and the , the Undergraduate Showcase is held at the end of every semester. It is a public event open to visitors on- and off-campus. All UH ����ԴDz� undergraduate students in all fields of study conducting a faculty-mentored research or creative work project are encouraged to submit an abstract to present. Visit the for more information.

This work is an example of UH ����ԴDz�’s goals of (PDF) and (PDF), two of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

—By Marc Arakaki

University of �鶹��ý at ����ԴDz� undergraduate student Cullen Slavens became a top debate finalist after duking it out against elite debate teams from universities across the globe at the Duke Open debating championships, hosted by Duke University and held online, April 9–10. Slavens was among 80 participants who beat students from top schools, including ivy league schools Harvard, Princeton and University of Pennsylvania to make it to the event’s Open Grand Finals. He serves as president of the ����ԴDz� Debate Union, a registered independent organization, which he helped to establish last year.

“Debate is such a great learning experience, and it feels good to compete against top teams and learn from the best at the same time,” said Slavens, a senior and a 4.0 economics major in the Honors program.

A member of a number of online debate groups and forums, Slavens was able to build his connections with other debate teams during the pandemic when in-person competitions were canceled. As a result of those relationships, the ����ԴDz� Debate Union now regularly holds cross-training online events for its members to practice and debate with other teams across the country and participates in a number of competitions.

“One of the great aspects of online debate competitions and forums is that it provides a huge opportunity for schools like UH ����ԴDz� that don’t traditionally don’t have access to top debaters and debate events on a regular basis. It’s something that grew out of the pandemic that has really taken off and is here to stay,” said Slavens.

Slavens and debate members have also recently competed in well-known debate competitions, including the Seattle University IV where he was a quarterfinalist. He is also the reigning �鶹��ý state debate champion.

Slavens, a Kamehameha Schools Kapālama graduate, will be earning his economics degree in May. In his free time, he also studies music and ballroom dance. His future plans include going to law school.

“I really enjoyed my collegiate experience in debate and at UH ����ԴDz�, and I really encourage others to look for those opportunities or even create their own,” Slavens said.

New members welcome

While UH ����ԴDz� previously hosted a debate team, it has been inactive for a few years. The ����ԴDz� Debate Union, which boasts more than 260 participants from more than 20 countries, welcomes new students interested in learning about debate or improving their speaking skills.

Tierra Sydnor, an English and French major and vice president of the ����ԴDz� Debate Union, said it provided her with a diverse community that shared similar interests during the pandemic.

“Since starting I’ve seen a dramatic increase in my ability to think on my feet and my communication skills,” Sydnor said. “Even as a beginner, everyone was very helpful and patient while I was learning British parliamentary debate style. I never thought I would be the type of person to join the debate team, but now I look forward to every practice.”

For more information, visit them on or or email manoadebateunion@gmail.com.

This is an example of UH ����ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.