Editing, Leadership and Team Building
Leadership through Ka Punahou
As the editor-in-chief, I oversee the print edition, website, and club meetings. I edit every article that gets published, focusing on clarity and fluency. I aim to positively reinforce quality work by leaving a lengthy comment on each article I edit, summarizing my main critiques and compliments. I monitor the editing stream/progress of each article, gently nudging section editors and our faculty advisor as needed.
I plan and coordinate monthly meetings for staff members. To accommodate as many student schedules as possible, I make sure to create 2 different meeting times. At the meetings, I guide members through slideshows and Padlets, using creative ways to track progress and keep them on track for the print edition and online website. To ensure that no staffer gets “left behind,” I send recap emails following every meeting and open up a space to answer any questions.
Since Ka Punahou functions as a club, not a class, I have to make sure that independent work is being managed properly and help our staff manage time efficiently. To do so, I frequently check in with writers and staff via email and leave reminder comments on our production dashboard Google Sheet. I also created an FAQ page to help new students get accustomed to the ins and outs of the club.
Outside of the newspaper, I represent Ka Punahou at various school events. By promoting the club at our school’s 9th grade orientation event, I garnered over new participants.
J-Day 2025
“I enjoyed the variety of journalism styles and learning about what my future as a journalist might look like.”
Lunch & Journalism
Moanalua, McKinley, Punahou, Mid-Pac, and UH Manoa journalists share successes and challenges.
Leadership through Student Journalism Leadership Council
Motivated to support high school journalists, I cold-emailed Ms. Reves—the president of the Hawaii Student Journalism Association. She suggested creating a state-wide student journalism committee, and I was fully on board. I then began reaching out to various Oahu student publications. Some didn’t respond via email, so I would even resort to messaging them through Instagram. After months of planning, I led the very first Lunch & Journalism on October 5, 2024.
At the event, I supervised icebreakers, discussions, and facilitated the “lunch” portion of the event. Since then, the event has brought together 40+ students from 9 high schools and universities.
Additionally, I helped revive J-Day, a state-wide journalism workshop event halted by COVID. I organized meetings for the student planning committee, composed of myself and 2 other high schoolers, where we planned icebreaker activities and the final collective group poster for the student participants. Throughout the event, I monitored the flow of activities and ensured that everyone was having a fun, informative time.
“I really enjoyed how organized the event was ... every station was unique and the journalists shared amazing information about their focus. For my first time attending here at Civil Beat, the experience was great getting to hear from students from different schools with a similar passion like me. As a senior in high school, I think JDay helped me consider a specific direction to go down in the journalism industry once I graduate.”
