Inspiring Hawaii's Students To Become Engineers

Hawaii Engineers

The purpose of this list is to show our local students the faces of Hawaii born engineers or engineers doing work in Hawaii. The goal is to inspire them to go for an engineering degree. If you want to help out send us your advice to the students, what high...

Zak Sakata

Waipahu High School Arizona State University DevLeague Intern / Aspiring Full-Stack Developer “I discovered coding in my junior year of high school where I learned basic front-end web languages and later in my senior year, back-end/serverless development. What really captivated me about coding was the technical challenges that really forced...

Jimwel Aguinaldo

Waipahu High School Oregon State University Software Engineering Intern, Mentor Graphics - Wilsonville, OR “Started college as a computer science major and fell in love with coding after my first CS class. I had no coding experience prior to entering college which made the experience a lot more fun. And...

Taryn Wong

Taryn Wong Sacred Hearts Academy Johns Hopkins University Student & USINDOPACOM APAN J322 Fellow When I was younger, I thought engineers just solved super difficult math and science problems all day. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Engineers create and innovate. While engineering does involve logic-based thinking and solving problems,...

David Tupper

James Campbell High School Studying Computer Science at University of Southern California Native Stories Intern I started college without any formal coding experience; it was tough. However, the steep learning curve I faced taught me to rise to the challenge. These sort of challenges present themselves often (see debugging). Engineers...

Justin Hernandez

Aiea High School Circa Victor - Co-Founder PBS Kids - Senior Software Engineer I love Hawaii. I am so proud to have been born and raised in Hawaii; from an early age we are taught the value community and how to live and work together. Good tech is invisible and...

Aaron A. Kagawa

Aiea High School University of Hawaii Principal Engineer, Project Omni - Honolulu, Hawaii “Become an engineer and help change the world.” “Technology is changing the world. It allows you to be creative and think differently. It isn’t just math and nerdy stuff. If you have passion to explore then you...

Tommy Yoshida

Kapa’a High School, Kaua’i University of Hawaii & Honolulu Community College Network Engineer, Microsoft - Seattle, Washington “ I was passionate about what I did and it showed in my work and in my grades.” “I went to the University of Hawaii and got a Finance degree. After working for...

Steven Miyakawa

Castle High School University of Hawaii at Manoa, Computer Science Software Engineer, Lyft - SF, California “I work as a Full Stack Web Developer … Best job I’ve ever had.” “I was born and raised in Kaneohe, HI. I went to Castle High School and then continued my education at...

Stephanie Shinohara

Iolani School University of Southern California Electronics Engineer, Northrop Grumman - Manhattan Beach, California “Being an engineer is not just rocket science, it’s developing innovative technologies that are much cooler.” “Engineering to me is all about puzzles and how we, as engineers, figure out how to solve the puzzles that...

Sam Craig

Harvard University Founder, Retail Data Partners Managing Partner, Transeo Solutions CTO, Natural Health Sherpa “Do great things and don’t settle for what somebody else tells you those things are” Building things - whether they be software or companies or a tree house - has always been something that satisfies a...

Ryan Kanno

Iolani School University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Taking some time off Isaac Asimov once said, “science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world”. There are very few careers that will challenge you to constantly be learning to meet the demands of the future -...

Robert Brewer

University High School (Urbana, IL) Reed College (BA Physics) University of Hawaii at Manoa (MS, PhD Computer Science) Co-founder LavaNet Engineering Manager, Tableau Software Inc. As you pursue your education, think about how you will separate yourself from everyone else applying for jobs. Independent study, personal projects, an contributing to...

Olin Lagon

Pearl City High School University of Hawaii Founder and CEO of Shifted Energy Co-Founder/President/CEO/CTO of three venture backed tech companies including ChipIn, the first commercial crowdfunding service which drove about $100 million to causes worldwide “The tech industry will welcome the real you. Come as you are!” I was raised...

Mikey Fujihara

Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science Software Engineer, Apple - Honolulu, Hawaii “i make computers do what i want” “you know the apps on the iPhone you play on in class? yup, i wrote that. not really though, but someone like me did. it’s fun, we get...

Michele Shimoda

Moanalua High School University of Hawaii at Manoa, Electrical Engineering Software Engineer, Revacom Inc. - Honolulu Hawaii “even Disneyland would never have been possible without engineers! So never stop being curious, never stop asking questions, never stop looking for a better way” “Being an engineer, at its core, is understanding...

Michael Miranda

Maryknoll High School Gonzaga University School of Law, Law Degree University of Hawaii at Manoa, Information and Computer Sciences University of Central Florida, English Cybersecurity Consultant, SPARTIX University of Hawaii – West Oahu, Assistant Professor There are two things that I have learned over the years that will open more...

Marifel Barbasa

James Campbell High School University of Hawaii at Manoa, Computer Science Software Engineer, Sudokrew - Honolulu Hawaii “When starting out, don’t be afraid to fail. It’s normal to fail at first. Fail enough times so you can shoot for the stars later.” “Developing software is what I do, and at...

Man Chon Kuok

Moanalua High School University of Hawaii, Computer Science Software Engineer, Oceanit Laboratories, Inc - Honolulu, Hawaii “In order to take on such a fun job, keep learning. Embrace the opportunities that are presented in front of you … you will never know if your solution will be next “big thing””...

Kaleb Loo

Hawaii Baptist Academy Seattle University Firmware Engineer, Spirent Communications - Honolulu, Hawaii “Engineers are problem solvers and the world needs more problem solvers.” “In the field of Engineering, you are challenged by problems that often no one else has solved before. You get to take part in developing a solution...

Joslyn Wong

University of Northern Colorado Regis University Quality Manager, Manu Kai - Kekaha, Hawaii Founder, NanoByteLabs - Waimea, Hawaii “Be the engineer that makes life easier.” Going to a mainland college was a crazy idea in my low income town…SO I made it my first choice Money was non-existent…SO I applied...

Jason Sewell

High School Dropout/GED Arapahoe Community College University of Hawaii at Manoa Co-Founder/Solutions Architect at Sudokrew Co-Founder/Curriculum Developer at DevLeague Tech has been a great enabler for me brining opportunities in life that I never thought I would have had as my younger self. It was kind of a redeeming force...

Jason Knight

Maryknoll High School (Waipahu Elem, Waipahu Intermediate) Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineer, ALTRES Inc. - Portland, Oregon “It’s about building a cool anything.” The really great thing about our field is that we can apply it to almost any industry, in nearly any location. My career has led me to...

James Pierce

Pasco Comprehensive High School Hawaii Pacific University IBM Senior State Executive- Hawaii & Guam Global Digital Technical Engagement Community Leader “Be the disruptor, not the disrupted”Information Technology allows for the betterment of society when ethically applied. My advice to all students going into the field is to embrace change and...

Jake Ross

Waiakea High School Hawaii Pacific University Section Chief, Computer Network Defense (CND) HQ U.S. Pacific Command Director, Cyber Hui “Why not you” “I went the non-traditional route. I joined the US Air Force after high school to pay for college. The Air Force got me me started the IT field...

George Lee

Kamehameha Schools Kapālama University of Washington University of Hawaii at Mānoa Software Engineer, myhobnob Inc. “Find friends that are also interested and learn together. Help each other out and don’t let your friends get discouraged. ” “Programming is awesome but it’s certainly not easy in the beginning. Find friends that...

Estefan Ortiz

High School Dropout/GED St. Joesph High School, Victoria, Texas St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas (BS-Electrical Engineering, BA-Mathematics) University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu Hawaii (MS-Electrical Engineering) University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame Indiana (PhD-Computer Science and Engineering, MS-Computer Science and Engineering) I feel that working in engineering and mathematics...

Erik Yamada

`Iolani School Rice University Software Engineer Intern, Facebook Inc. - Menlo Park, CA I started off college as a pre-med major, but switched my major to computer science during my sophomore year because I enjoyed the introductory CS course at my school so much. My favorite thing about this field...

Eric Nakagawa

Radford High School University of Hawaii Founder of I Can Has Cheezburger? and Simplehoney Mentor, 500 Startups Facebook “Include everyone you know on your journey and you will realize that people want to help you, but only if you let them.” “Don’t be shame. Ask for help, help others, and...

Daniel Leuck

Valley High School, West Des Moines, Iowa University of Southern California CEO, Ikayzo - Honolulu, Hawaii “There are never enough good engineers to fill all the positions available.” “There are never enough good engineers to fill all the positions available. Not locally, not on the mainland, and not even internationally....

Daniel Fong

Kailua High School University of Hawaii at Manoa, Electircal Engineering Graduate Researcher, MicroNano Innovations Laboratory at UC Davis “Besides, Tony Stark was an engineer… And so should you!” “We are turning the stuff of dreams into reality. I’m an engineer because I wanted to help people by building new technology...

Chad Kumabe

Punahou High School (Niu Valley Middle) Washington University Principal Engineer, Co-Founder, Second Wave - Honolulu Hawaii “I know it’s only going to get better” “Maybe you’re like me and all you wanted to do was create something new. I got lucky. Being part of the technology industry gives me the...

Caroline Paulic

South Anchorage High, Alaska University of Hawaii at Manoa, Computer Science Software Developer, Front End Software Engineer - Honolulu Hawaii “Engineering isn’t always about crazy math problems and serious stuff; I have a lot of fun at work every day.” “As a kid, I really enjoyed puzzles and I spent...

Caine Jette

Maui High School Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computer Science Software Engineer, Microsoft - Seattle, Washington “huge demand, great pay and benefits, and a real sense of worth” “Engineering isn’t the easiest major (by a long shot!), but you’re literally helping build the future, be it roads, cities, toys, or software....

Brian Dote

Waipahu High School University of Hawaii Hawaii Pacific University SVP and Director of Digital Commerce + Mobile, Bank of Hawaii - Honolulu, HI Owner, Tapiki LLC, a mobile and web app development company, Honolulu, HI Multiple patent holder, iCloud and Internet Services Software Engineer at Apple, Inc., Cupertino, CA Bioinformatics...

Benjamin Trevino

Science Academy of South Texas (Sci-Tech) Stanford University University of Hawaii - Shidler School of Business Sustainability Planner - HART “What is the most important thing thing you could be working on in the world right now?… And if you’re not working on that, why aren’t you?” “Once I realized...

Auston Stewart

Brown University Software Engineer and Engineering Manager, Twitch Interative, Inc. The attitude with which you face seemingly impossible requests and incomprehensible bugs matters. I would turn to my teammates and say, “Well, we’re about to learn something interesting!” “I spent my childhood in a semi-rural area outside of Nashville, Tennessee...

Austen Ito

Damien High School University of Hawaii at Manoa, Computer Science Software Engineer, Digital Ocean - New York City, New York “having the liberty to do whatever I want is the absolute best part of being an engineer.” “I don’t write software because I want to strike it rich and make...

Amy Takayesu

Mililani High School UH Manoa Software Engineer at LiveAction When I was in high school, I thought only “super smart nerdy dudes” could do computer science, because that’s what I had observed. There was no way I was nearly smart or patient enough. When I was a freshman in college,...

Aline Tran

Sacred Hearts Academy University of Hawaii at Manoa Sr. IT Operations Analyst Application Administration A common misunderstanding is that in order to work in the technology field, you have to be really good at programming. There are actually a lot of different things you can do that relate to technology....