Alumni News

With our beloved island home beset by invasive pests of all shapes and sizes, what is the best way to pool our collective knowledge and resources so we can effectively combat these challenges? A two-day conference on invasive pests is a good start. 

Want to hang out with your fellow CTAHR students, show your college pride, and make a memorable gift that graduates will treasure forever? Then join the Stole Society, a student group of the Fashion Design and Merchandising program, and make stoles for the next graduating class! The group meets afternoons in Heller 204.

Hawaiʻi aquaculture sales leaped 12% from 2021 to 2022. What’s more, this $10M increase helped the industry reach an all-time record high of $89.6 million in production value, reports Cheng-Sheng Lee in the latest newsletter from the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture.

FDM senior designer, Leah Aoki, has been accepted to present one of her garments at the 2023 International Textile and Apparel Association’s (ITAA) annual conference.  The conference will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 8-11. When asked about her achievement, Leah said, “I am very excited to present one of my original pieces at the ITAA this coming November!”  There’s good reason for her to feel excited.  Her garment went through a rigorous blind reviewing process in which the acceptance rate for the undergraduate category this year was a mere 28%.  Leah’s mentor and advisor, Professor Minako McCarthy, and the entire FDM ohana is very proud of her.  -written by Minako McCarthy

Kristin Lencz, the owner of Ku'u Hawaii (company website: kuuhawaii.com) and Aroma by K, visited our campus to join FDM 437 Entrepreneurship in Retail (Instructor: Youngjin Bahng) as a guest speaker on September 12th, 2023.  Ku'u Hawaii provides face and body products made out of natural ingredients with the highest quality. Their Hawaii ocean and garden candle and candle holder series are very popular to both Hawaii local residents and tourists. During the class, Kristin shared her business experience from how she started her business to what her future plans are. She also shared her personal life story as a female entrepreneur and gave students sincere advice. In addition, students had a fun activity time making their own facial toner using natural ingredients and aroma essential oils. We truly appreciate Kristin's dedication to FDM, and her time and effort to inspire our students. -written by Youngjin Bahng​