Oceanit Hosts Youth Leaders

It has been said that children are our future; we should teach them well and let them lead the way. One such way of doing so is by providing opportunities for youth to explore the various careers and professions available to them as an adult. Job shadowing connects students with business, government, and academic professionals in their field of interest to learn about a typical day in a profession and gain firsthand knowledge of the duties and responsibilities involved. This hands-on experience also helps to build a strong local workforce and develop lasting relationships that contribute to the economy.

On 17 March, Oceanit hosted a reception in honor of the Sustainable Hawaii Youth Leadership Initiative (SHYLI) Third Annual Job Shadow Day and provided the ability for students to accompany Oceanit engineers as they go about their workday. This year’s student participants included Sherry Anne Pancho; Juanito Moises, Jr.; and Cara Phillips.

After a neighbor lost both his legs in Afghanistan, Sherry Anne Pancho became interested in pursuing a career in bio-medical engineering. An Honor Society senior and Vice President at Honoka’a High School, Sherry hopes to one day design prosthetics to help others facing life-threatening situations.

Juanito Moises, Jr., a first year student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is working towards a degree in civil engineering to support Hawaii’s future infrastructure and sustainability. As one of the first students at Waipahu High School’s Design Thinking Academy, Juanito has trained, facilitated, and coached other in the use of design thinking tools.

Cara Phillips serves as senior class president and Editor-in-Chief of Waipahu High School’s newspaper where she aspires to be a broadcast and print journalist. A design thinking facilitator at design thinking bootcamps and SHYLI Forum, Cara was featured in the award-winning documentary, ‘Ike: Knowledge is Everywhere.

For more information about the Sustainable Hawaii Youth Leadership Initiative and their work to train young people to become future and emerging leaders, please visit their website at http://www.shyli.org.