{"id":201510,"date":"2024-08-06T15:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T01:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=201510"},"modified":"2024-08-06T15:00:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T01:00:57","slug":"students-turn-tragedy-into-community-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/08\/06\/students-turn-tragedy-into-community-building\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Maui students turn tragedy into community-building opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Sam Dameg at Ka Hale A Ke Ola homeless shelter in Wailuku with kids doing kinesiology\/martial arts with kicking pads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the aftermath of the devastating Maui wildfires, two University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Maui College<\/a> students are helping their community recover under the guidance of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa<\/a> and UH<\/abbr> Maui College faculty members.<\/p>\n

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Summer camp mentors and instructors. Lane Day (second from left) and Sam Dameg (far right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Samuel Dameg and Lane Day have been working tirelessly to aid in immediate recovery and contribute to the long-term resilience and STEM<\/abbr> education of Maui\u2019s youth. Their efforts, part of a National Science Foundation<\/a> (NSF<\/abbr>) RAPID grant on trauma-informed STEM<\/abbr> education<\/a>, focus on providing educational support and improving facilities for displaced children and families.<\/p>\n

“\u200b\u200bI can\u2019t believe it\u2019s been a year,” Dameg said. “The Lahaina fire was devastating, but it showed the Maui community\u2019s resilience—how people worked together during that time. It also made me realize I need to do something for my community.”<\/p>\n

Dameg is an information and computer sciences major specializing in data science and is currently also working on a separate NSF<\/abbr> RAPID grant with Maui resident David Eder<\/a>, a UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa graduate faculty member in the physics and astronomy department. Day is a business administration major at UH<\/abbr> Maui College. Both were personally affected by the fires.<\/p>\n

Dameg, who lives in Makawao, has family members who lost their homes and jobs. Day\u2019s mother and sister both lost their home in Lahaina. He lost his West Maui property management position as a result of the fires.<\/p>\n

Finding purpose in service<\/h2>\n
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Summer camp group photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite their personal challenges, both students found purpose in community service. Day recalled a pivotal moment at the Ka Hale A Ke Ola (KHAKO<\/abbr>) homeless shelter in Wailuku: “The first time I went there, there was a kid, 5–6 years old, just busted through the door… looking for a place to rest. That was the moment when I was like, ‘Ok, here we are, we have the opportunity to enrich these children’s lives.’”<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 involvement spans several initiatives. At KHAKO<\/abbr>, they offer weekly lessons in math, robotics and kinesiology. Day has also led efforts to remodel the children\u2019s space at the shelter.<\/p>\n

“The other day I was at the homeless shelter teaching them robotics. We do some coding, we do math, we also do martial arts,” Dameg explained. “It’s good to see them having fun with it.”<\/p>\n

Dameg and Day also participated in a summer camp and assisted at N\u0101pili Noho, an emergency distribution hub north of Lahaina, providing math and robotics activities for children.<\/p>\n

UH<\/abbr> creates opportunities<\/h2>\n
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Sam Dameg and the NSF<\/abbr> RAPID fire modeling team<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thomas Blamey, a mathematics professor at UH<\/abbr> Maui College and co-principal investigator on the NSF<\/abbr> grant, initially recruited the students as volunteers at N\u0101pili Park Distribution Center. Their roles expanded as they became more engaged with the STEM<\/abbr> community.<\/p>\n

“UH<\/abbr> has done a lot for me,” Dameg said. “Meeting Professor Blamey is what kind of started it. And that\u2019s how I pretty much got into a lot of the grants.”<\/p>\n

Day added, “I really owe the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> a great deal of gratitude for everything they\u2019ve done for me. Over the past couple of months, I wouldn\u2019t be here without them.”<\/p>\n

Both students emphasized the importance of community involvement and resilience.<\/p>\n

“If you have the opportunity to help out your community, do it,” Dameg urged. “Look where it landed me. It’s taking me to new, different opportunities to help out.”<\/p>\n

“They have been a blessing to UH<\/abbr> Maui College and Maui\u2019s struggle to come back better post wildfire disaster. I\u2019m thrilled to follow these gentlemen’s future endeavors,” Blamey said.<\/p>\n

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

Their efforts are part of a National Science Foundation RAPID grant on trauma-informed STEM<\/abbr> education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[95,308,484,1466,554,1597,568,313,9,60],"class_list":["post-201510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-education","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-information-and-computer-science","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-mathematics","tag-maui-wildfires","tag-natural-science","tag-stem","tag-uh-manoa","tag-maui-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t