{"id":188799,"date":"2023-12-18T10:45:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-18T20:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=188799"},"modified":"2023-12-18T17:32:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-19T03:32:10","slug":"leeward-student-aid-with-maui-fire-impacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/12\/18\/leeward-student-aid-with-maui-fire-impacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeward CC<\/abbr> student paused study abroad plans to aid with Maui fire impacts"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Ramos
Dave Ramos (second from left) was an intern at the Grand Wailea Maui.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Immediately following the deadly Maui wildfires in August, Leeward Community College<\/a> student and Maui native Dave Ramos diverted from his plans to study abroad in Japan this semester and headed home to help his community.<\/p>\n

“Dave, at that time, was actually going through his visa process to get to Japan, dealing with the Japanese consulate in Honolulu,” said Aya Hara-Joesting, interim manager for Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s Office of International Programs<\/a>. “I can\u2019t even imagine what that was like, going through that while seeing what was happening on Maui.”<\/p>\n

Ramos felt compelled to assist in the aftermath and volunteered at the Baldwin High School gym shelter.<\/p>\n

“It was heartbreaking to see all of the displaced families,” he said. “It was eye opening and hits a little bit close to home knowing that this kind of tragedy happened to Maui, of all places.”<\/p>\n

Hospitality industry perspective<\/h2>\n
\"Ramos
Dave Ramos<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A native of Wailuku, Ramos\u2019 experience as a catering and conference services intern and restaurant busser at the Grand Wailea Maui sparked his interest in the hospitality industry. After earning an associate\u2019s degree in hospitality and tourism<\/a> from UH<\/abbr> Maui College<\/a>, he decided he wanted a career in mid-level management at a luxury hotel. Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s one-year international study\/abroad program was the best next step for him. It would send him to Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s partner, the University of the Ryukyus<\/a> in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.<\/p>\n

“I lived in Okinawa from 2017 to 2019 while I was in the military. I always wanted to return and experience living abroad as a civilian.” Ramos said. “I also had a personal interest in learning Japanese, because, in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, Okinawan and Japanese culture is intertwined with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s cultural identity. I want to relate to Japanese and Okinawan visitors on a personal basis by getting to know their culture and speaking to them in their own native tongue.”<\/p>\n

\"Ramos
Dave Ramos on Maui.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The aftereffects of the fires also reinforced Ramos\u2019 ultimate career goal.<\/p>\n

“Tourism in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is essential to its economy,” he said. “Most of my friends\u2019 and family\u2019s jobs were reduced or cut because of the lack of tourists (after the fires). The Maui fires made international news and have made people want to visit Maui in order to support the local economy. The following years are essential in order to keep Maui’s economy thriving.”<\/p>\n

Future hospitality leader<\/h2>\n
\"Ramos
Lance Corporal Dave Ramos salutes his commander at Camp Lejeune.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ramos is currently thriving in Japan—learning the language and immersing himself in the culture.<\/p>\n

“All the education I\u2019m getting and experiences I\u2019ve been having will benefit me in the future,” he said. “The most impactful thing I\u2019ve experienced so far is becoming friends with both local Japanese and international students. All come from different countries and vary in age, ethnicity, and education. This has inspired me to continue my education, as most of my international classmates have either completed their master’s program or started their PhDs at such a young age. Everyone at the university has a personal and educational goal, yet we are all connected with experiencing Okinawan culture as well as learning Japanese.”<\/p>\n

After completing his study abroad program with Leeward CC<\/abbr> and earning his bachelor\u2019s degree from UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>, Ramos intends to embark on a management career at one of Oʻahu<\/span>\u2019s many luxury hotels. Wherever he lands, Ramos is equipped with a great education, Maui\u2019s resilience and sense of responsibility to the community.<\/p>\n

Learn more about Leeward CC<\/abbr>\u2019s study abroad program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—By Bonnie Friedman<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Instead of pursuing his visa to study in Japan, Dave Ramos volunteered at the Baldwin High School gym shelter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1613,65,1597,724,71,60],"class_list":["post-188799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-hospitality-and-tourism","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-maui-wildfires","tag-study-abroad","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-maui-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188799","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188799"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188799\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188964,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188799\/revisions\/188964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188799"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188799"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188799"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}