{"id":219715,"date":"2025-08-05T15:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T01:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=219715"},"modified":"2025-08-05T16:28:23","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T02:28:23","slug":"uh-athletes-welcome-keiki-back-to-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/05\/uh-athletes-welcome-keiki-back-to-school\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> student-athletes welcome keiki back to school"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Student athletes welcome keiki back at Prince Jonah K\u016bhio Elementary.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s the first week of classes for Hawai\u02bbi public schools, and University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa Athletics<\/a> brought excitement, encouragement and a little Rainbow spirit to nearby elementary campuses, helping keiki start their day with smiles and school pride.<\/p>\n[vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/8oTGDxWIbKs” el_aspect=”916″ align=”right” el_id=”wrap-video-right”]\n

On the morning of August 5, eight UH<\/abbr> football<\/a> players and 14 women\u2019s volleyball<\/a> student-athletes surprised students at H\u014dk\u016blani and Prince Jonah K\u016bhi\u014d elementary schools, welcoming them as they arrived.<\/p>\n

The outreach is part of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Athletics\u2019 ongoing commitment to being a good neighbor, uplifting local schools and inspiring the next generation.<\/p>\n

“That’s really the main goal—just being able to impact younger kids positively and try to inspire them to do something great,” said UH<\/abbr> football quarterback Micah Alejado, a sophomore.<\/p>\n

The back-to-school visit also supports the university\u2019s “Our Team. Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s Team.” campaign<\/a> that unites student-athletes, fans, alumni and supporters around a shared sense of pride, community and connection.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s not just about us,” said freshman women\u2019s volleyball outside hitter Chaʻlei<\/span> Reid. “It\u2019s about the whole state that gives back to us. So keeping us grounded and humbled, and giving back to the kids that look up to us.”<\/p>\n

H\u014dk\u016blani Elementary Principal Ervin Pasalo said the visit by UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa student athletes brought a surprise spark to the morning routine.<\/p>\n

“They did a great job, they were amazing!” he said. “I think the students really enjoyed seeing them. They were very surprised because they didn’t know that they were coming, but I think it brought a different energy this morning.”<\/p>\n

Third grader Chloe Mendel agreed, “They were amazing, and they were nice, and they were super tall!”<\/p>\n

The event is one example of how UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa student-athletes seek to serve as positive role models in the community, on and off the field.<\/p>\n

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Wahine volleyball student-athletes give high-fives to keiki.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa student-athletes surprised keiki with back-to-school visits at two local elementary schools.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1362],"tags":[58,83,9,550,56,80],"class_list":["post-219715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","tag-athletics","tag-football","tag-uh-manoa","tag-manoa-athletics","tag-video-2","tag-volleyball","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