Author Archives: Dina Yoshimi

HLC: The Language Journey in All of Us

by Tihaniremaria Quartero

“Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going” – Rita Mae Brown

Language is the primary tool for expression and communication. Through language and
language learning, we can all better understand not only ourselves, but also others. For many of us who also grew up in Hawai’i, it is not uncommon to know someone who is multilingual. Many grew up speaking another language other than English or learned a new language either through school or through classes at school, through bilingual friends, or through personal interest. We all use language as a cultural and social tool in our everyday lives. Whether we realize it or not, we are all on our own language journeys.

I had the opportunity to meet three student interns working with the Hawaiʻi Language
Roadmap (the Roadmap) who were willing to share their own language journeys with me. These interns develop meaningful curriculum and workshops for the Roadmap’s Path-to-Success School Outreach programs. They visit classrooms either in person or virtually, bringing their passion for language and sharing how they have used their language abilities in the community and workforce. Interns spend the sessions leading students in meaningful discussions, covering topics such as multilingualism, language anxiety and multilingual job interviews.

When talking to Amanda Grant, Laridel Basillio, and Janette Lee of the Path-to-Success School Outreach programs, I never expected to find so much of my own journey in theirs.

Amanda Grant:

Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. There, she began studying Korean
language and, after graduating, even taught English in Jeju-do, South Korea. Amanda is
currently pursuing her Master’s in Korean for Professionals at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She has a great deal of experience using her language skills in both the classroom and the workforce. Her experiences include but are not limited to non-profit work with North Korean defectors, language tutoring, and creating and organizing language events.

When I asked Amanda to describe her language journey, she first mentioned her multicultural roots. Amanda’s mother is from Brazil and her father from Minnesota. Growing up, she didn’t pick up Portuguese from her parents. However, during middle school, she developed an interest in Japanese culture and Korean popular culture. Amanda’s language journey resonated with me. Growing up as a multicultural person, I didn’t pick up any of my heritage languages, but found myself excelling in Japanese language courses.

As our conversation continued however, Amanda shared that working with the Roadmap had allowed her to connect with others with similar stories to hers, just as she did to me. Amanda had shared that a part of her language anxieties is the anxiety of not knowing her heritage language. In that moment I felt very connected with her.
Working with the Roadmap brought on a point of reflection on language anxiety for Amanda. She emphasized that language anxieties are something important and should really be talked about. She described it as a conversation she believed should be incorporated into language teaching and learning.

As we wrapped up our conversation, I asked Amanda what she has learned about her own multilingualism. She replied,

“Whether you learn it on your own or at school, it’s so much more than a skill you’re learning… It’s so multi-dimensional.”

Laridel Basillio:

Laridel was raised in the Philippines and moved to Hawai’i in 2018. Laridel is fluent in Tagalog, Ilokano, and English. He graduated with the Seal of Biliteracy in Tagalog and attended Maui Community College where he studied accounting. When Laridel began his studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, he placed into the 4 th level of Ilokano language classes. Laridel explained that he was able to learn new perspectives through learning Ilokano culture and language. He has experience creating and writing informative newsletters in Ilokano, describing it as an opportunity that allowed him to enhance his writing skills and awareness.

Laridel expressed that he wanted to use his language skills for community service. Through the organization Filcom Cares, he has made flyers and translated questionnaires and guidelines for information on COVID-19.

Laridel’s passions for accounting, language, and serving communities, manifest in the
curriculum he is currently designing. He explained that he wants to promote financial literacy in Ilokano communities; this has led him to create resources and materials in Ilokano that are geared towards that goal. These language resources are valuable tools for self-sustaining community success. He also shared that this semester, he worked on creating a multilingual children’s story that introduces financial concepts.

It is apparent through his extensive language work that Laridel champions his languages and cultures. He is sensitive to the importance of promoting languages and encourages newer generations to continue to learn and speak their native languages. He expressed that his languages are the connection to his parents and to members of the Tagalog and Ilokano speaking communities.

On the topic of language anxieties, Laridel described his anxieties as an English speaker. These anxieties mostly revolve around mispronouncing sounds and letters. However, as he learned, these mix ups are nothing to be ashamed of, and is something that just comes with being a multilingual.

Laridel explained that the Roadmap has revealed to him the “myriad of possibilities of
multilingualism and incorporating it into work”. For Laridel, he is able to combine both
accounting and multilingualism. He emphasizes that accents are nothing to be ashamed of.

“It’s a part of our identities.”

Janette Lee:

Janette is currently pursuing her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Originally from Los Angeles, She studied cultural anthropology and human rights at University of California San Diego. She works predominantly with Asian and multilingual communities. Janette is fluent in both English and Korean. She holds conversational proficiency in Spanish. Janette grew up surrounded by Spanish speaking communities and even spent a full semester abroad in Madrid. Last year, Janette spent time working at COVID-19 vaccine clinics, serving vulnerable, multilingual communities in her hometown, Los Angeles.

In her work with the Roadmap, Janette emphasized her focus on language access. Despite having no official language, the U.S. is lacking when it comes to providing resources in languages other than English. Through the high school outreach program, Janette covered topics pertaining to championing multilingualism and culture, career options, and addressing cultural conflicts.

When asked to describe her language journey, Janette shared a meaningful learning experience she had on a Navajo reservation. She explained that her time on the reservation was her first experience with Indigenous communities. She noticed that amongst the community, only primarily older people were speaking the Navajo language. Struck by curiosity, she asked why only the adults were speaking the language. The person she asked explained that the younger generations didn’t find speaking Navajo “cool”. Janette explained that this saddened her. The lack of use of language can cause disconnections between generations and with one’s heritage
and eventually lead to languages dying out.

As our conversation continued, it was apparent that conserving languages and cultures is important work to Janette.

I asked Janette to describe what her work with the Roadmap has taught her about her
multilingualism. To that she responded,

“It is as useful as my parents said it was going to be.”

Janette explained that experiences are not one dimensional. She realizes how important the work is. Janette wields her language skills along with the cultures that come with it. During our conversation, it was clear that Janette’s compassion for language and culture go hand in hand, as they should.

“If you don’t have someone to reassure you that your cultures are valuable, then that’s how they get you.”
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Sometimes when you’re looking too closely at something, you miss the bigger picture. That’s how I was left feeling after speaking to Amanda, Laridel, and Janette as they graciously shared their language journeys with me. Moments I had overlooked in my own path and language journey received a second look as I reflected.

Their stories left me feeling a number of things: excited, heard, curious, and most of all,
inspired. Everyone’s stories offered a different background, a different experience, and a different journey. Despite our differences, I found paths I’ve traveled in the stories they had to share. I could relate to Amanda’s exploration of languages outside of her heritage, Laridel’s passion for using language to connect with his community, and Janette’s determination to conserve language and culture. Being able to connect and hear these stories about language and language learning are the very essence of being a language speaker.

My main take away from these conversations was clear as I reflected on the inspiring stories. Multilingualism is more than just a label. Learning and speaking a language are not just decontextualized mechanical activities. Becoming a speaker of a language comes from doing, being, reflecting, inspiring, and imagining. There’s a whole continuum of opportunity that comes from harnessing language, socially and professionally. Knowledge of language opens so many doors.

I’m happy to have been able to meet and speak with Amanda, Laridel, and Janette along my own language journey. Speaking and learning with them have become key moments on my language journey. I hope these journeys inspire others to reflect and think deeply on their own language journey. Language is the roadmap and there are so many places to go.

Check out more stories on the Hawaii Language Champions Blog page.

Author: Tihaniremaria Quartero is a Senior at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa majoring in English. She grew up with a love for multiculturalism and multilingualism, surrounded by friends and family members that spoke many languages other than English. She has spent the last 10 years studying Japanese and hopes to build proficiency in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and Korean. Tihani enjoys travelling and hopes to one day visit South Korea, Aotearoa, and Mo’orea.

HLC: Lessons learned from Barbara Tom, the Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights (HCIR) and the Joint Filipino Legislative Caucus

HAWAI‘I LANGUAGE CHAMPION: BARBARA TOM

by Tihaniremaria Quartero

In the year 2020, I found myself overwhelmed with great uncertainty and despair as the world seemingly shut down before my very eyes. My mental and physical health spiraled after losing employment and falling ill during a time of heightened health anxiety. Receiving healthcare was nearly impossible. I found myself in an endless loop of phone tag with health service providers and doctors as I tried to apply for health insurance and other social services. As the days went on, I found myself growing frustrated and began to lose hope for any improvement in my situation. Fortunately for me, after a lot of phone calls, I finally was able to speak to the right people, complete the proper paperwork, and receive health care services. These circumstances would have been difficult even outside of a pandemic. Despite having public information and health resources accessible to me, it was still not a linear path to the services I needed. 

My whole experience trying to get access to health care is something I hadn’t really reflected on until recently. My whole experience was done in my first language, English. Despite growing up in a monolingual household, I was no stranger to my grandparents’ stories of misunderstandings and language barriers that my Papa had experienced after moving to Hawaiʻi from Tahiti as a young boy. My favorite story of Papa’s was his first day of elementary school. As a new student, who looked like a local boy, many were quick to approach and speak to him. Papa grew overwhelmed. He only spoke Reo Tahiti and French. Unable to understand his classmates or teachers, he ran into the school yard and climbed the nearest coconut tree. He stayed there until his older sister was called to ask him to come down. Although I find Papa’s stories endearing and I hold them close to my heart, they exemplify how nerve wracking and confusing barriers created by language can be. I began reflecting on my experience trying to receive health care. If I struggled to find information on health care services and pandemic resources, completely in my first language, I cannot fathom how much bigger and deeper these barriers would be for others looking for answers with limited English proficiency. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has further accentuated the importance of providing language access to basic resources for heath and well-being, including but not limited to, digital access, translators, and interpreter services. This access is necessary so that communities with limited English proficiency can understand what exactly COVID is, and what they can do to protect themselves. In the state of Hawaiʻi, 1 in 9 people have limited English proficiency (LEP). This is a statistic often cited in the pursuit of language accessibility and equity. Despite knowing this statistic, it wasn’t until I attended the virtual “Talk Story” session held by the Hawaiʻi Coalition for Immigrant Rights (HCIR) and the Joint Filipino Legislative Caucus that I truly began to unpack and understand the deep complexity of who and what it meant to be 1 in 9. 

Many of the panelists who spoke at this session work closely with the 1 in 9, coming from state agencies and community organizations who experience firsthand the importance of language access. Panelists also included individuals from immigrant communities who shared their stories and experiences regarding language barriers. These stories and voices really began to shift my perspective and made me take a closer look at 1 in 9. 

Prior to attending this session, I thought I had a fair amount of knowledge and awareness regarding language access and language barriers. The stories Papa shared were stories told warmly, but they also resonate strongly with the anxieties and language barriers of today. And despite my close proximity to LEP individuals and individuals who did not use English at home, there were very large gaps in my understanding of who and what it meant to be 1 in 9. Many of the panelists expressed deep concern for the communities with LEP individuals that were disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It was not until I heard the words of Barbara Tom that I began to recall Papa’s stories and deeply reflect on language access. From his early age, my Papa had grown a deep mistrust of Western medicine after experiencing language barriers when trying to receive care after arriving in Hawai‘i. Trying to receive care in an unfamiliar place and in a new language was an unbearable and overwhelming experience for my grandfather, and an experience he carried with him until he passed. Barbara’s testimony echoed that of my grandfather’s language anxieties and struggles, especially in regard to language access. 

Barbara Tom is an amazing force. As the director of Waipahu Safe Haven, she works with diverse immigrant and migrant communities, leading an organization focused on improving the success of the community and helping individuals and families out of poverty. One of her most important tasks is providing holistic programs and services with language access. 

Pictured above is the Marshallese Community Steering Committee at Weed and Seed’s Waipahu Safe Haven Immigrant  Resource Center, Directed by Barbara Tom and organized by Eola Lokebol, during a special visit by Consul General Neijon Edwards who was invited to tour their site.
Picture source: Consulate – General of the Republic of the Marshall Islands

During her presentation, Barbara detailed the accessibility to language resources and services and how difficult they were to obtain even if they were available for vulnerable migrant and immigrant populations and communities. Barbara explained that in the beginning of the pandemic, Safe Haven’s four interpreters were overwhelmed by a barrage of calls from individuals requesting advice and assistance regarding quarantine, wraparound services, unemployment, and isolation. This moment really resonated with me, reminding me of my Papa’s language barriers and his difficulties trying to receive care or answers from health care and service providers. 

“Many of the families did not speak English, cannot use technology, cannot use transportation, and sometimes not even a phone. These families were living well below the poverty level. Although there was translated material on the city and some of the state websites, as well as others, it was not accessible to these families,” explained Barbara during her testimony. These experiences are not uncommon amongst immigrant and migrant communities, especially within large communities of LEP individuals. 

The panelists at the session all shared their first-hand experiences with language barriers and language access. Barbara’s testimony clearly speaks to the fact that there is a dire need for translators and interpreters for these communities, as well as meaningful change to provide equitable accessibility to these communities living below the poverty level. Waipahu Safe Haven strives to be a guiding resource for success and empowering children and families to be self-sustaining. 

I was able to speak with Barbara after the virtual session. After our conversation, it was clear to me that Waipahu Safe Haven champions the diverse communities and cultures that they serve. Currently, the center provides services to Samoan, Filipino, Marshallese and Chuukese communities. I was eager to ask Barbara all about the programs and services they had to offer. I learned that Waipahu Safe Haven offers a variety of services, from assistance with health enrollment, rent, and utilities, to after-school tutorial services for keiki.

Waipahu Safe Haven partnering with We are Micronesia to weave baninnur for the University of Hawaii Art Exhibit
Picture Source: Waipahu Safe Haven

Barbara emphasized that tutorials were not just home-work and schoolwork focused. Their programs focus on literacy and incorporating cultural knowledge. This really spoke to me, and clearly displays the ways which Waipahu Safe Haven values language and culture. Safe Haven goes beyond assimilation and finds a path that enables communities to maintain cultural practices and identities while navigating through new environments.  

Hearing about these programs made me feel so seen and heard, as a multi-ethnic person. My grandparents never taught my parents any other languages besides English. It gave me the impression that you could not have both. I grew up with the mindset that I spoke English at the cost of my grandparents first languages and cultures. Learning about Barbara and Waipahu Safe Haven and how they continually fight for accessibility and development of language resources and culturally sensitive services to build self-sustaining skills and success for these communities, calmed that doubt in my mind. You CAN have both. 

I also couldn’t help but imagine how much services like these would have positively impacted my Papa and his family when they came from Tahiti. Even if there were services and resources available like the amazing work that Waipahu Safe Haven offers, they were not readily or easily accessible for people like Papa at the time. The difficulties that Papa faced while trying to receive care did not last as he gained fluency in English. However, he carried the experiences with him. Papa passed at an early age, not wanting much to do with Western medicine. Papa’s experience’s speaks volumes on the importance of these services that Waipahu Safe Haven provides. 

This overall experience of learning and reflecting have left me with a big question looming in the back of my mind. These barriers have existed long before the pandemic and they don’t seem to be going away. Learning about the great services that Barbara and Waipahu Safe Haven provide revealed to me how much great work is happening. However, it is evident that there is still a long way to go. 1 in 9 to me, is more than just a statistic now. I now know, my own Papa and his experiences are represented in this number. When this much of the population is not thriving, the rest will feel it. The hard work ahead must done, and without it we cannot succeed. 

Author: Tihaniremaria Quartero is a Senior at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa majoring in English. She grew up with a love for multiculturalism and multilingualism, surrounded by friends and family members that spoke many languages other than English. She has spent the last 10 years studying Japanese and hopes to build proficiency in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi and Korean. Tihani enjoys travelling and hopes to one day visit South Korea, Aotearoa, and Mo’orea.

HLC: Your Language Matters

 

HAWAI‘I LANGUAGE CHAMPION: UYEN FREITAS

by Narin Lee, Hawai‘i Language Roadmap Initiative Intern

Uyen Freitas graduated from the University of Hawai’i-Manoa with an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry. She is currently working on a doctoral degree in Nursing (Doctor of Nursing Practice) at UHM.

As a Korean-American who moved from South Korea to America, I was shaped to think that English was more important than other languages. When I moved to Hawai’i at the age of three, I dreaded going to preschool because it required me to talk in English with other students. For the first few months, I vividly remember my mother dragging me to preschool as I demanded with tears falling down my cheeks to stay home. During that time, I did not know how to speak English fluently nor did my peers know how to speak Korean. Whenever I spoke in Korean, no one understood me and in some way that made me feel as if what I had to say in Korean was insignificant. Even as a preschooler, I felt out of place in preschool because of the existing language barriers. Eventually, I unconsciously learned that I must learn English to fit in, and the Korean language was not necessary.

As time passed, I fortunately learned that Korean is equally important as English. I had many opportunities to meet various people who taught and reminded me of the importance of all languages existing in our world. One of the people who proved how powerful language can be is our Language Champion, Uyen Frietas. She is a High Honors Biochemistry graduate from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, who is originally from Vietnam. Despite coming to the United States to learn English and explore educational opportunities, she did not forget about the importance of her native language. Instead of hiding her language skills, she chose to hold on to her language deeply with her strong belief that her Vietnamese skills held value. This belief opened doors in her life to opportunities that would not have been possible without her language skills.

As a junior in her collegiate career, Uyen was deep in thought about what she would study for her Senior Thesis. She knew in her heart that she wanted to do a senior project on DNA because she was always intrigued by DNA work. Uyen states, “I was always fascinated by DNA work I had learned in my biology classes and all the work my professor, Dr. Haymer did… it was just fascinating to look at DNA from a microscopic level.” Dr. David Haymer, a Professor of the

From left to right: Dr. Le Van Vang, Dean of the College of Agriculture at Can Tho University; Dr. Le Quoc Dien, Director of the Technical Transfer Center at Southern Horticultural Research Institute of the South; Dr. David Haymer, Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i-Mānoa.; and Uyen Freitas, our Language Champion. The photo was taken at the Southern Horticultural Research Institute (Tien Giang, Vietnam).

Cell and Molecular Biology Department at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine, whom she respected had worked closely with during her academic career, reached out to her in regards to a research project. For many years, Dr. Haymer intensively researched the DNA of oriental fruit flies known as the Bactrocerta dorsalis. According to Uyen, oriental fruit flies attack more than three hundred kinds of fruit and vegetables including: mango, avocado, banana, coffee, guava, and many others. For that reason, they are known for being a major agricultural pest in the Asia-Pacific region. For Dr. Haymer’s research, one of the tasks he focused on was the collection of information from several different countries in the region to find out if all flies were under the same species umbrella. He traveled to multiple countries in the Asia-Pacific region, collecting information from each country. He was able to compare fruit fly specimens and prove how each fly was closely related to each other in five different countries — Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Okinawa –, but Vietnam was not among them.

For a long time, Dr. Haymer had wanted to step into Vietnam to conduct a study. He stated, “There was a gap within my study and in order to fully understand the fruit flies that originally came from Southeast Asia, data from Vietnam was of critical importance.” Until he met Uyen, he had refrained from planning a scientific excursion to Vietnam because of his lack of knowledge in the language and culture. He did not want to find himself lost by entering into an unknown country without a local connection who knew what they were doing. Dr. Haymer bridged the gap in his research with the assistance of Uyen who was able to utilize her depth of knowledge on the culture and language of Vietnam and the training that she received from Dr. Haymer to gain access to Vietnamese expertise on fruit flies in this region. In the long run, her knowledge opened doors to allow her to collect and legally bring back specimens to America. The project was known as “Molecular Taxonomic Identification of the Oriental Fruit Fly and the Melon Fly”, which became a two-year long study our Language Champion undertook as her Senior Project.

With Dr. Haymer’s guidance and the University of Hawai‘i’s approval, Uyen began her bilingual Cell and Molecular Biology project, bringing her Vietnamese and English language together to accomplish the challenging international research. Before Uyen began her project, she emailed various universities in Vietnam. Instead of writing her emails in English, she wrote her emails in Vietnamese to increase the level of communication with them. After writing and waiting for replies, the use of her language established a relationship with Can Tho University. Through the exchange of emails, Uyen was able to find a reliable connection that gave her a place to conduct her three-week research in Vietnam.

During Uyen’s time in Vietnam, she had the opportunity to collect fruit flies and conduct various experiments to identify and help fill gaps in knowledge about the fruit flies from this region. However, in order to begin the process of experimentation and research of the fruit fly DNA, Uyen needed to capture flies first. Through her connection with Can Tho University, she was

Dr. David Haymer (JABSOM, UH-Mānoa) demonstrates how to make a fly trap as Uyen and Dr. Le Van Vang (College of Agriculture, Can Tho University) look on. Dr. Le Van Vang was instrumental throughout the specimen collection process, helping with trap placement, preserving the fly specimens, and completing the paperwork to take the flies from Vietnam to the US. The photo was taken in My Khanh, Phong Dien, Can Tho, Vietnam.

able to learn about the hot spots to go to find fruit flies. She was kindly introduced to different sites from the Can Tho University members where she was able to place her tiny fly traps. Uyen went to a bitter melon farm, a mango farm, and other farms where she placed fly traps every five miles. The traps that she set up for such complex research were surprisingly simple, however, and consisted of paper cups containing fly attractant to lure in male flies. She collected specimens to take back to Hawai’i where Uyen and Dr. Haymer were able to prove the similarity between fruit flies from Vietnam and other oriental fruit flies.  Uyen’s project was highly recognized and the data she collected was added to the GenBank database, a collection of publicly available DNA sequences by the National Institute of Health. Even as Uyen looks back to her impactful study she conducted during for her Senior Project, she states, “I could not believe that I did all of it. Now looking back at all the work I did, I was impressed. We had our DNA sequences up on [the] GenBank database. The project was time consuming, but the result was fascinating.”

Uyen continues to demonstrate that her Vietnamese language plays a significant role in her life as she balances work and school. She is currently a student in the DNP program, which is a graduate program of  the Nursing Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Along with attending school, she is working at Leahi Hospital near Diamond Head as a nurse where her language makes a difference in various people’s lives. Within the hospital setting, she states that being able to converse and help others both in English and Vietnamese is what she enjoys most about her job. As a nurse, Uyen has the opportunity and time to interact with her patients. One of her interactions included a conversation with a Vietnamese speaking patient who refused to take cough syrup. The patient was in pain because of his cough, but chose to eat chocolates over his medication to ease his pain. When Uyen saw the Vietnamese speaking patient deliberately choosing to eat chocolates over proper medication, she conversed with him in Vietnamese. Through her conversation with him, she learned that he was choosing to eat chocolate because he truly believed that consuming chocolate would help lessen his cough. From that small conversation, she was able to explain that taking cough syrup is necessary because it will clear his mucus and help his symptoms. By connecting with the patient in his native language, she was able to make an impact on another person’s life.

Along with the daily conversations she holds with various patients, she continues to show the importance of language in the hospital by being there to help when least expected. For instance, in a hospital setting, if an interpreter is needed, the hospital must call the interpreting service to schedule an interpreter for a meeting ahead of time. In situations such as these, patients understand what is being told to them due to the presence of an interpreter. However, interpreters are only present during important meetings and must be scheduled ahead of time. Yet, there are many situations in which bilingual personnel are required but oftentimes, these situations cannot be foreseen.

For instance, one such unforeseeable circumstance arose during Uyen’s time at the hospital. A nurse found a Vietnamese speaking patient  sitting on the bathroom floor. At that moment, the hospital staff were filled with worry because they did not know what had happened. Since they were not aware of what happened prior to finding the patient on the floor, and since, in the absence of an interpreter, they could not properly communicate with him to get this information, they immediately assumed the worst: the patient needs emergency care. As everyone was hurrying to take care of this patient, Uyen noticed him. Uyen recognized that the patient was a Vietnamese speaker, conversed with him in Vietnamese, and learned that everyone’s assumption was wrong. From that simple conversation, Uyen was able to learn that the patient was not in critical condition. He did not faint, but was simply sitting on the ground to rest, after having experienced a dizzy spell. As a result of this communication, the call for an emergency response was cancelled, and both the patient and the staff were spared a significant amount of unnecessary, and costly, medical procedures.

The power of language can clearly be seen in the life and experiences of our Language Champion, Uyen Frietas. Her stories of her life and journey where  Vietnamese has played a critical part illustrate that the popular opinion that English is the only valuable language is false. People like Uyen remind me, a Korean-American who once believed my Korean language did not have value, that whatever your language may be, your language has the ability to impact others. Your language helps bring clarity to others. Your language opens doors to scientific discovery that could not have been accomplished without someone like you. Your language has the power to inform others in moments of great need. No matter what level of proficiency you are at, your language holds value. As our Language Champion, Uyen proudly states, “It is amazing to speak another language. Language is important. Language shapes the way you think. When you speak the same language, people begin to share almost the same values, beliefs, and culture. It allows people to connect with each other and build trust. You can help other people with that.” Your language matters.

Author: Narin Lee is a Senior attending the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa as an English major. Her normal day starts off with a good cup of coffee, without it she will not be able to function well. If someone were to see her on a day without coffee, they would be able to immediately recognize a difference in her persona. With her daily dose of coffee fulfilled, she is like day, someone who is attentive and full of energy. Without her daily dose? I’d rather not talk about it.  Other than her serious dependence on caffeine, she has an enormous soft spot in her heart for dogs.