The newest students to complete the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program celebrated with their family and friends in a ceremony on June 16 at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM).
Eight women and two men completed the 2014-2015 program, an intensive 12-months of intensive study. They have earned automatic admission into the medical school’s next class (The MD Class of 2019), and have officially become a part of the “JABSOM family.”
During the ceremony, the students expressed their love and gratitude for the support they received from their family members, each other, and the ʻImi Hoʻōla faculty and staff.
Watch our video by Janelle Guerrero-Miguel (UH Med Now Student Journalist) above, or, watch it directly by clicking UH Med Vimeo.
ABOUT OUR NEWEST ʻIMI “GRADUATES”
Ailea Apana was born in Wailuku, Maui. Of Chinese, Japanese, German, and Hawaiian descent, she attended Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus, and graduated in 2008. Following graduation she furthered her education at Pitzer College, where in 2011 she received a BA in Biology, with a minor in economics. She wanted to express her gratitude to her mother, father, grandma Ellen, and grandpa “Blackie, for always supporting her financially, physically, and emotionally.” She said they shaped her into the person that she is today, and provided the encouragement needed to reach her career goals.
Aiwa Ono was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. She is of Japanese origin, and has moved to Honolulu with her family when she was four. She attended Kaiser High School, graduating as the class valedictorian in 2010, and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry in 2014. She said she has “the greatest appreciation for her family, as well as her ‘Imi Ho‘ōla classmates and faculty for their continuous support throughout her academic journey.” Following her years of medical education, Aiwa looks forward to practicing medicine with Yuho, her older sister, a member of the MD Class of 2017.
Ashley Kiana Morisako is from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She is of Chinese, Japanese, Okinawan, and Hawaiian descent. She attended the Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus from the 4th grade and graduated in 2008. She subsequently pursued a Bachelor’s of Science in Public Health and Psychology, with a minor in Biology and Sociology from Santa Clara University in 2012. She continued her studies and earned a Master’s in Public Health degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2014. Ashley is the first in her family to finish college and consider obtaining a professional degree. She said she is grateful for the opportunity that the ʻImi Hoʻōla program gave her in becoming a future local physician. She is driven, she said, “by the sacrifices that her family has made to support her in fulfilling her dreams.” Ashley also thanked her family, friends, mentors, classmates, faculty and staff “who have supported her over the years and throughout the ʻImi program.”
Carlthan Ling was born in Honolulu to Kristie and Nathan Ling. He has two older sisters Theresa and Sonya. Of Chinese and Korean descent, Carlthan attended Kalani High School and continued his education at the University of Hawaiʻi receiving a BA in chemistry. He said he “thanks God for all his blessings, his family for their continued support, and the ʻImi Hoʻōla program “for giving him the opportunity to pursue his goal to become a physician.”
Erika Noel was born in Kanagawa, Japan to Rie and Geoffrey Noel. She is of Japanese and Caucasian decent and moved to Hawaiʻi at the age of eight. She graduated from Kaiser High School in 2006 while playing competitive tennis, and from Soka University of America in 2010 with a BA in Liberal Arts, concentrating in Social Behavioral Sciences. Erika thanked the ʻImi Hoʻōla program, her classmates, boyfriend, friends, and family, particularly her mother, “for bringing out her highest potential to be where she is today.”
Florence Kan was born in Mililani, Hawaiʻi. She has one brother, and is of Chinese descent. Florence moved to Honolulu at a young age, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2008. She received her undergraduate education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she received a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and a minor in Spanish in 2012. Florence enjoys cooking, baking, traveling, pole dancing for fitness, hiking, and eating. Her thanks were for her “family, friends, boyfriend, mentors, and her ‘Imi Ho’ōla classmates, faculty, and staff, for all their support.”
Jenny Liu was born in Honolulu. She is of Chinese ancestry. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 2010, and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Biology degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Spring 2014. Jenny is motivated by her parents, who emigrated to Hawaiʻi from Southern China and have instilled the virtue of perseverance. She said she is grateful to the Hawaiʻi Public Housing Program for keeping her family off the streets. She said she is also inspired by her experience working with homeless families. She is dedicated to promoting the health and advancement of underserved communities. Jenny also thanked thank the ‘Imi Ho’ōla faculty and peers, mentors, friends, and family “for their guidance and support in her journey to become a physician.”
Naomi Alina Liang was born in Honolulu to Sinhlee and William Liang. She has two younger brothers, David and Hubert, and spent much of her early life raised by her grandmother. Naomi is of Chinese descent. She attended McKinley High School, graduating in 2008, and Swarthmore College, graduating in 2011 with bachelor of arts in Philosophy and a minor in English literature. Her future plans are to work as an OB/GYN in underserved communities in Hawaiʻi. She also hopes to volunteer globally. Naomi thanked her “friends and family, particularly her mother, for teaching her the value of hard work and the importance of giving back, as well as for their support throughout ‘Imi.”
Roderick Olivas is of Filipino and Chinese descent, and was born in Wahiawā, O’ahu. He then moved to Waipahu where he lived for most of his life, and graduated from Waipahu High School. In 2014, he graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with a Bachelors of Science in Molecular Cell Biology. He said his grandmother, Jerilyn, is his greatest inspiration, and thanked his mother and family, for their “endless support” to become a physician. Roderick also expressed thanks for the John A. Burns School of Medicine, Department of Native Hawaiian Health, and ‘Imi Ho‘ōla Post-Baccalaureate Program “for their generous support throughout the year. He said he is proud to be a member of this year’s ‘Imi Ho‘ōla graduating class, and even more, honored to share this milestone with his classmates.”
Kathryn Marie Roberts was born in Honolulu and is of Hawaiian, Portuguese, and Caucasian descent. She grew up in Kaimukī with her mom, dad, and two others-Daniel and Christopher. She graduated from Sacred Hearts Academy in 2004 and received her Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2011. She enjoys traveling and visiting big cities such as New York City, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. She expressed “tremendous appreciation to her family for their continuous understanding and support throughout this journey to achieving her dream of becoming a primary care physician in Hawaiʻi.”
About the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program
The ʻImi program, in its 41st year, selects up to 12 applicants per year from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds or communities, including rural towns in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific. Those selected have the opportunity to earn admission to the University of Hawaiʻi medical school through a challenging one-year premed course. They are able to focus solely on their learning through generous stipends provided by The Queen’s Health Systems. Graduates of the ʻImi program have gone on to earn their JABSOM degrees and achieve great success. Alums include Gerard Akaka, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of The Queen’s Medical Center, Naleen Andrade, MD, the first woman psychiatrist of Native Hawaiian descent in Hawaiʻi who is now the Designated Institutional Officer of JABSOM’s Graduate Medical Education, Chiyome Fukino, MD, former Hawaiʻi State Director of Health, and many physicians who are helping provide top-notch care to communities throughout Hawaiʻi. ʻImi is not limited to students of Native Hawaiian descent, but many have been, along with students of Filipino, Chamorran, Micronesian and Samoan ancestry. So far, the program has successfully nurtured 248 MDs. About 40% of the graduates are of Native Hawaiian descent. And a strong majority of the ʻImi graduates practice medicine here in Hawaiʻi when they complete their MD and MD graduate medical (“Residency Training”) education.