My 'ohana comes from Waipi'o and Waimea on Hawai'i island, but I've been hanging out on O'ahu since high school. While at UH Manoa I got involved with the Polynesian Voyaging Society and since then I've had the privilege to participate in a few of Hokule'a's voyages. I'm excited to be able to share voyaging with students at Honolulu Community College through our Ho'okele courses.
Lecturer, Ocean Hawaiian Studies
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-433L; Phone: (808) 845-9157
E-mail: kmurphy@hawaii.edu
I was born and raised in Hawaii and attended Pearl City High School - “Go Chargers!” I attended college in the mainland and have a Ph.D. in psychology from Washington State University. I’ve worked at universities and colleges in Washington, North Carolina, and Texas. A few years ago, my family and I decided it was time to move back to this wonderful place of beauty and culture. I have taught psychology courses at HCC since 2007. My husband is a researcher in the UH medical school, my daughter (Kaitlyn) is in the 5th grade and is serious about figure skating, and I have one cat named Merlin who we brought with us from Texas. When I have free time, I like to watch movies, Top Chef, and America’s Next Top Model (for the drama!).
Instructor, Psychology
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-611; Phone: (808) 845-9160
Email: JHiga@hcc.hawaii.edu
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have also lived in Wisconsin, California, and Budapest, Hungary. Now I live on O'ahu and teach at Honolulu Community College. You will find me always asking the annoying question, WHY? I am always analyzing. I am always thinking. My pursuit in this topic has lead me to get degrees in chemical engineering and chemistry, but my curiosity still burns in me very strongly. My other obsession is to figure out what exactly entails the human spirit, which cannot be quantified or measured but is most certainly felt.
Instructor, CC, Chemistry
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 5-101E; Phone: (808) 845-9491
E-mail: ferguson@hcc.hawaii.edu
I was born in New York City and escaped at an early age. I lived in Colorado (^^^^) where I worked as a software engineer for Digital Equipment Corporation and received my Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Regis University. In 1993 I took a buyout incentive from the company to go into an education field. I received a Master of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Texas at San Antonio and have been teaching since 1996. Teaching is harder work than engineering, but more rewarding, especially during the summer.
Instructor, CC, Mathematics
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-410; Phone: (808) 847-9807
E-mail: stevenm@hcc.hawaii.edu
I’m a 2.5 generation Korean born and raised in Hawai’i—and if you don’t know what that means, come ask me. Hawai’i has always been home to me although I spent thirteen years in L.A. getting my B.A. in Creative Writing and my Ph.D. in American Literature, and teaching in the community colleges there. In 1999, I moved back to the islands and have been a part of HCC’s awesome Language Arts department since 2002, except for one year in 2005-2006, when I was a Fulbright Fellow in Seoul. I’m a writer and spent several years in the slam/spoken word circuit, and when I’m not teaching you why writing and literature are so cool and powerful, I’m doing yoga, watching films, spending time outdoors, listening to music, going to plays, looking at art, and yes...writing.
Instructor, CC, Language Arts
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-510; Phone: (808) 845-9241
E-mail: brenda@hcc.hawaii.edu
Well, I was born and raised in the Twin Cities in Minnesota and did not do much traveling until I was 18. So I wound up at a small college in Ohio, Antioch College. I applied for the college's "study abroad" program and spent a year in Europe at the University of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Cardiff. I cycled around Europe from Sweden to Austria and tried the beer and food all along the way. When I got back to the US I took my first course in anthropology. I have done fieldwork in Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia and lived with families in several Pacific island communities. My hobbies include the Pacific cultures, filming, video and computers.
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-613; Phone: (808) 845-9260
E-mail: rob@hcc.hawaii.edu
In the real world, LeiLani Hinds is an English professor teaching English 100 and technical reading. However, as often as she can, she likes to visit the world of The Lord of the Rings and the wizarding world of Harry Potter. She enters these worlds through the books and films, through dressing up as characters in these worlds, and through trips to England and New Zealand to meet with wizards, hobbits and elves.
Associate Professor, CC, Language Arts
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7-416; Phone: (808) 845-9440
E-mail: leilani@hcc.hawaii.edu
I was born in Tokyo, raised in New York City, Bergen County (NJ), Osaka, and Tokyo.
I have been here in Honolulu since August 1994 and at Honolulu Community College since January 2006. I'm bilingual, bicultural, and very culturally confused. My academic interests are popular culture and Japanese society. My personal interests are hanging out with my partner and three cats, visiting family in Tokyo, playing music with my band, going to hear live music, reading, and watching films.
Instructor, Sociology
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7, Rm. 621, Phone: (808) 845-9152
E-mail: fumiko@hcc.hawaii.edu
Even though I've lived in Hawaii for fifteen years, I grew up in North Carolina, so I talk funny. I want my students to care about their writing and also their thinking. Finally, I have a great job, although precious little remains of my wits.
Assistant Professor, Language Arts
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7, Rm. 518, Phone: (808) 845-9276
E-mail: saviano@hawaii.edu
University of Arizona, 2003) is an instructor of Speech and Communication with an emphasis on culture and deceptive communication, as well as the dark side of interpersonal relationships. She has taught various speech and communication courses at several universities including the University of Arizona, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Kwansei Gakuin University in Japan. Dr. Kam also conducted cross-cultural research on deceptive communication strategies as a visiting scholar and exchange researcher at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, she teaches Speech 151: Personal and Public Speaking and SP 251: Principles of Effective Public Speaking at Honolulu Community College.
Instructor, Speech & Communication
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7, Rm. 624, Phone: (808) 845-9208
E-mail: kamkara@hcc.hawaii.edu
I was born on O'ahu but raised on Maui. She still does not exactly know how to get around Kalihi, but she's learning.
Instructor, Language Arts
Honolulu Community College
874 Dillingham Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96817
Office: Bldg. 7, Rm. 511, Phone: (808) 845-994o
E-mail: gima@hcc.hawaii.edu