Kamani Kuala'au, second from right, is shown with fellow trustees Harvey McInerny and Stanley Hong and Lunalilo Home interim executive director Dr. J. Kuhio Asam. Kuala'au is a graduate of the Nā Pua No'eau program. - Photo: Lisa Asato

By Jazzmin Cabanilla / Special to Ka Wai Ola

Nā Pua No'eau, the Center for Gifted and Talented Native Hawaiian children is a nonprofit organization funded primarily by federal and state grants. Students who attend Nā Pua No'eau programs come from all social and economic backgrounds and many are able to participate because the programs are offered at no cost to the participants.

Kamani Kuala'au, a vice president at Bank of Hawai'i and former Nā Pua No'eau student, is one individual who had the opportunity to attend the center's programs and acknowledges the significant impact that government funding has on programming. In a recent survey, Kuala'au emphasized the importance of different funding sources to support cultural-based programs such as Nā Pua No'eau.

"I would encourage all 'ōpio to consider the programs offered by Nā Pua No'eau," he wrote. "If the programs were not supported financially by government and other contributors, I could not have attended."

Kamani Kuala'au, above, left, was able to attend Nā Pua No'eau programs as a youth because government funding made it free for participants. Kuala'au is now a Bank of Hawai'i vice president and trustee for the Lunalilo Trust. Photo: Courtesy of Nā Pua No'eau

As a student, Kuala'au attended Summer Institute classes focusing on the sciences such as geology and ethnobotany. Although he later found his professional niche in business, he fondly remembers attending science and cultural classes with educators whom he describes as "top-notch" kumu, such as Dr. Jim Anderson of the University of Hawai'i; Dr. Jim Kauahikaua, the scientist in charge at Hawai'i Volcano Observatory; and Aunty Kekuhi Kanahele, a renowned musician and cultural specialist.

The ability to participate in Nā Pua No'eau programs enabled Kuala'au, a native of Maui, the opportunity to spend time at the University of Hawai'i at Hilo, learn from local educators and interact with other Native Hawaiian students in an educational atmosphere. Kuala'au recognizes the impact that attending the center's programs had on his personal life and worldview: "Nā Pua No'eau was probably the first program in my life that taught me there was more to the world than where I was and what I was doing every day. Spending time in Hilo with other students at the University of Hawai'i broadened my view of the world with our studies …"

Upon graduation from Kamehameha Schools, Kuala'au continued his education at Princeton University, where he graduated with an A.B. in sociology in 2001. (Some East Coast schools refer to the B.A. as an A.B.) After spending a few years working as a financial analyst consulting local governments in California, Kuala'au returned to Hawai'i in 2003.

An active participant in the Hawaiian community, Kuala'au has recently been appointed a trustee to the King William Charles Lunalilo Trust. He also continues to support Nā Pua No'eau programs as a member of its scholarship committee.

According to Nā Pua No'eau Director Dr. David Sing: "The strength of Nā Pua No'eau is the design of its program to weave personal connections to role models, strengthen the students' understanding of their Hawaiian heritage through historical and cultural understandings, and create a link to academic success as related to students' relationship to their 'ohana and their community. The result is having students who have a confidence in their Hawaiian-ness and a connection of their academic success and career choices to 'ohana values and well-being."

The continued financial support of programs such as Nā Pua No'eau is crucial. The educational opportunities that the center offers is limitless and the success of the program can be measured by the accomplishments of its students. Eō' Kamani Kuala'au.

Jazzmin Cabanilla is a volunteer at Nā Pua No'eau, which is one of the organizations that receives funding from OHA to conduct educational enrichment programs for Hawaiian children. This is the second in a series of articles featuring Nā Pua No'eau students and kumu leading up to the center's 20th anniversary Hō'ike to be held Dec. 11, 2009. To learn more about Nā Pua No'eau programs and the upcoming Hō'ike, call the Nā Pua No'eau office in Hilo at (808) 974-7678 or visit its page on Facebook.