{"id":232492,"date":"2026-04-17T16:02:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T02:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=232492"},"modified":"2026-04-17T16:12:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T02:12:13","slug":"breaking-generational-cycles-leeward-cc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/04\/17\/breaking-generational-cycles-leeward-cc\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking generational cycles at Leeward CC<\/abbr> for a college degree first"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Kikila
Janie-Maria Kikila<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Janie-Maria Kikila, graduating from Leeward Community College this May is more than earning a degree—it\u2019s a deeply personal milestone shaped by resilience, growth and determination. As a nontraditional student, mother and the first in her family to graduate from college, Kikila sees this moment as proof of perseverance.<\/p>\n

\"Family
Kikila with her children Jahzyah (14), Jazlyn (6), Levi (4)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“This shows me that if you keep going, you can finish what you started,” she said.<\/p>\n

Raised in Whitmore Village, Kikila attended Leilehua High School before transferring to Waiʻanae<\/span> High School. Her journey hasn\u2019t been easy, but she\u2019s remained focused on a bigger goal.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve gone through a lot—from not always feeling safe as a child to postpartum depression as an adult—but I made a decision not to let those things define me,” she said. “I want to break generational cycles, and I want to be someone my keiki can look up to.”<\/p>\n

Finding support at Leeward CC<\/abbr><\/h2>\n

Kikila first enrolled at Leeward CC<\/abbr> in 2013 but stepped away to build a career in management. That was disrupted when the COVID<\/abbr>-19 pandemic hit in 2020.<\/p>\n

\"Kikila
As a nontraditional student, Kikila has found a path to success at Leeward CC<\/abbr>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“It was hard going from being financially independent to needing help,” she said. “I knew if I was going to start over, I needed a clear direction.”<\/p>\n

She returned to Leeward CC<\/abbr> in 2023 to pursue a degree in business management. Back on campus, Kikila found support that helped her stay on track\u2014not just academically, but personally. Through Leeward\u2019s counseling services, she began working with mental health therapist Lori Lum.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve been seeing Lori for a little over a year, and she\u2019s been amazing,” Kikila said.<\/p>\n

Turning challenges into motivation<\/h2>\n
\"Kikila
Social Synergy founding members and supporters: (From left) Dag Faustino, Kay Ono (retired), Janie Kikila, Tad Saiki, Madison Byrum, Na Huang\u00a0(edited)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She also credits flexible student employment and mentors, such as business division faculty Tina Lee and Dag Faustino.<\/p>\n

“Janie leads with intention and heart,” Lee said. “She\u2019s someone who turns challenges into motivation.”<\/p>\n

Kikila founded Social Synergy<\/a>, Leeward\u2019s first marketing club, open to students of all majors across the UH<\/abbr> System. It brings students together to connect, collaborate and gain real-world experience.<\/p>\n

“She saw a need and built something that brings students together in a meaningful way,” Faustino added. “That kind of initiative is what sets her apart.”<\/p>\n

Kikila plans to transfer to UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> to continue her studies in business and marketing, with the goal of one day serving in a leadership role within the State of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"Kikila<\/p>\n

By Tad Saiki<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leeward CC<\/abbr> grad turned struggles into motivation for success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":232488,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[679,498,234,65,774,59],"class_list":["post-232492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-business","tag-commencement","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-marketing","tag-uh-west-oahu","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/leeward-business-management-kikila-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232492","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=232492"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":232511,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232492\/revisions\/232511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}