2014 Speakers

  • Stephanie Spear
    Stephanie Spear is a Junior at Kaiser High School located in East O’ahu. She is currently serving her third term as Class President and is also the Junior Vice President and Drum Major for the band. Her other involvements include Kamehameha Swim Club and Kaiser Varsity Swimming, National Honor Society, and STEM-Ed Club Secretary. An INTEL ISEF (INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair) 2014 qualifier and INTEL ISEF 2013 observer, Stephanie first became involved in extracurricular science programs at a young age. She participated in the Honolulu and Farrington District’s SPARK program from the 5th grade, which later led to her involvement with science fair. A five time participant of HI-STAR, an astronomy-focused summer research program run by the UH Institute for Astronomy, as well as a five time science fair participant, her passion for astronomical research has only grown over the years and she hopes to continue to pursue this in the future.
  • Madeline Williams
    Madeline is a home school student from Kailua, Hawai’i. For years she has pursued a deep interest in photography and the art that can be found in everyday life. With a variety of works, Madeline has distinguished herself as more than another Instagramming teen and hopes to encourage others to recognize the intimacy that photographs should contain.
  • Lahela Paresa
    Lahela Paresa and is from Wai’anae, O’ahu. She is the president of the Ku’i Club and one of three girls participating in the I Am Hāloa documentary that is currently being filmed. Over the past four years she has become more aware of sustainability in Hawaiʻi. She has also taken the time to learn more about what is going into her body and what the outcomes are. She enjoys serving her community, especially when there is a cultural significance to what she is doing. She has a passion for documenting. She believes that what we don’t write down will be easily forgotten. If there are no photographs, no videography, then the stories get thinner and weaker as time progresses. Hawaiians demonstrated proficiency in their way of recording history by word of mouth. Some practices, such as kuʻi ʻai, are still done today in the 21st Century similar to the way Hawaiians did hundreds of years ago because of quality in their work that has allowed such things to last for so many years as well as their stories that have been passed on from generation to generation. She plans to tell her story, and to preserve the stories of her ancestors.
  • Paul John
    Paul John, writer of the upcoming novel, Dreamworld, has always been a dreamer. Ever since he grew up in Hawai’i and had to move to Puerto Rico in the fourth grade, he’s been in a different school and had to say goodbye to his friends every year. Throughout these years, he has learned different life lessons and gone through different phases. He also dreamt of those same wonderful dreams that have held him through tough times. Knowing that the dreams were helpful, he wanted to share them with others. However, he realized that it wasn’t possible to beam ideas into another person’s head. This is why he chose, early on, that writing would be the next best thing. He writes on his free time, and is careful of not letting his other hobbies like computer gaming eat up all of his time. He has the support of his Japanese mother and African-American father who both encourage any experience they deem educational, as well as his family he visits regularly every summer in Japan. His dream is to write, share, and inspire.
  • Traci Aiwohi
    Traci Aiwohi is a junior at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus. Spoken word poetry is an art fairly new to her and she was introduced to it by accident while searching Youtube. She has performed some of her poetry in front of small crowds during her freshman and sophomore years and has also participated in Youth Speaks performances. Traci always considers performing poetry a privilege and honor, and she takes that responsibility very seriously. I ka ‘olelo no ke ola, I ka ‘olelo no ka make. In language there is life, in language there is death. Traci receives much support from friends and family, which has helped her through many performances when she gets nervous on stage. She is thankful and feels blessed for all she has been able to do. She hopes to use the TEDx platform to share the power of words and speech and encourage an awareness of that power in others.