James ‘Jimmy’ Nakatani, whose “life and passion were about promoting and cultivating local agriculture,” passed suddenly last month. Nakatani was a graduate of Waipahu High School who earned a business administration degree from UH. His career in agriculture included becoming the third-­generation operator of his family’s Oʻahu watercress farm in 1978, serving as president of the Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, and heading the state Department of Agriculture from 1995 to 2003.

The 57th annual UH Manoa fashion show was held at the Hawaii convention center on April 30 and, by all accounts, it was an appreciable success. Nine seniors and twelve juniors formed the largest group of student designers at a UH fashion show in over 14 years, showcasing a solid year of hard work on collection concepts, themes, color pallets, and fabrics (Wach a video). The theme, “Supersonic,” was chosen to highlight the extraordinary engagement of the participants, especially the seniors, who came to the project intending to make a meaningful, lasting impression through their efforts. The show was particularly noteworthy since the COVID safeguards that hampered previous events were no longer in place and the venue was sold out well in advance. This year, fashion was clearly able to return to UH at supersonic velocity. As with any hugely successful venture, this year’s event was a broad-based, sincere team effort....[For the full article, click "Read more"]

The Mānoa Experience is an annual preview day that showcases higher education at the University of Hawaiʻi. On April 1, more than 2,000 people attended the Mānoa Experience event, along with more than 130 academic programs and hundreds of UH students, faculty, and staff supporting the event and exhibits. In our program FDM booth, middle/high school students, prospective and admitted students, and their families had the chance to meet current students and faculty members, explore, and learn more about the FDM program. They found this event to be engaging, inspiring, and informative. We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who has made this event possible, including Dr. Kang, Dr. Lin, and dedicated FDM student representatives, Johnell Ladera, Sabrina Weaver, Baylee Elich, and Gio Tomita. (Watch a video.)

--Ju-Young Kang

With our FDM banner nicely displayed along with a beautiful garment on a form, Drs. Reilly, McCarthy, and Cristi-Kim had the opportunity to meet with Farrington High School students during their Career and College Fair on April 6th. Students from the various Academies visited the FDM booth and shared their interests in the different areas of the fashion industry. Many of the students enthusiastically discussed their interest in fashion design and styling, which is a trending area in the industry among the Generation Z cohort. Some of the students we spoke to weren’t sure what industry they’d like to pursue, which is a common theme amongst high school students, but were impressed by the work (from various FDM courses) from our FDM students nevertheless. This was a wonderful recruitment event, and we are grateful to have been invited to share our program with the Farrington High School students and talkstory with them. We look forward to participating in more Farrington High School fashion events, as well as the opportunity for more partnerships with our local high schools. 

--Abby Cristi-Kim and Minako McCarthy

We are very pleased to announce that two FDM instructors, Minako McCarthy and Abby Cristi-Kim, have completed their PhD programs in the College of Education in the Educational Foundations program. Minako McCarthy completed her PhD program in Fall 2022.  Her dissertation focused on biases within multicultural and diverse education environments.  Minako is an instructor of design and teaches design techniques, collection development, and fashion show production.  She was motivated to pursue a PhD to improve her practices inside the classroom.  “For the future,” Minako said, “I would like to expand my research areas to students’ intersectional in fashion in Hawai`i and elsewhere.”  Abby Cristi-Kim completed her PhD program in Spring 2023.  Her dissertation focused on undergraduate mentoring and relational pedagogy, which aligns with her duties within FDM, teaching classes in merchandising, internship, and capstone.  Abby has observed that a strong mentor-student relationship impacts the undergraduate experience in professional, personal, and collaborative ways....[For the full article, click "Read more"]