Ku‘uhiapo Jeong (Kana), born in Hilo, Hawaiʻi but raised in Puna, is a junior who plans to join the Humanities Academy, Performing Arts Pathway. From kindergarten through the 8th grade, he attended Ke Kula O Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u, a Hawaiian immersion school that teaches its students entirely in the Hawaiian Language. He was later accepted into Kamehameha High School and continued his studies there. After high school, he hopes to attend the University of Hawaii at  Hilo to continue his study of the Hawaiian language. He’s not sure what he wants to do with his life after college, but he is trusting God that He will guide him to a new mission in life. Besides focusing on academics, he loves to get involved in extracurricular activities just like school clubs.  Outside of school, he loves listening to music, volunteering, traveling to new places, listening to old stories from his kupuna, and most of all, dancing hula. He started dancing hula for Hālau O Ka Ua Kani Lehua at the age of 4 and has been dancing ever since; last year marked his 10th year dancing under the direction of Kumu Hula Johnny Lum Ho. At the age of 11, he competed as a soloist in the Queen Lili‘uokalani Keiki Hula Competition and placed 2nd. In the 5th grade, he took Hip-Hop and Jazz lessons from N2Dance. His biggest ambition is to compete in the Merrie Monarch Festival, and he says that his biggest dream in life is that one day, there will be a Mr. Aloha Hula (male hula competition) in the Merrie Monarch Festival. In this year’s Hō‘ike, Hā‘upu, Ku‘uhiapo will be portraying the role of Kana, the second son of Hina and Hakalanileo. He’s honored and thankful to have been given the opportunity to travel to such an amazing place where all forms of art and performances are shared amongst people all over the world. This is a blessing and a huge responsibility for the group and sharing the Hawaiian culture is one of their goals. The opportunity to share his love and passion for not only hula, but also other forms of performances could be the best experience that he could ever have in order to follow his dreams. Ku‘uhiapo would like to first thank God for everything He has blessed him with his whole life. Second, he would like to send his warmest mahalo to Mr. Stack, Mr. Mahelona, and everyone who was behind the scenes for sacrificing all of their free time to make this Scotland trip possible. He would also like to thank the entire cast for a great time during rehearsals. Lastly but certainly not the least, he would like to thank his entire family for supporting him through this unforgettable journey of his. He couldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for the love and support of his family.