The No. 2 UH men’s volleyball team is headed back to the national championship match after defeating Big West rival No. 3 Long Beach State men’s volleyball in four sets in the NCAA semifinals on May 9 at Pauley Pavilion at UCLA.

The Rainbow Warriors won 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 in front of a national semifinal crowd in Los Angeles, advancing to the title match for the first time since 2022.

UH used a balanced offensive attack and a dominant performance at the net to control the match. Hawaiʻi hit .337 as a team and outblocked Long Beach State 14.5 to 6.0.

The night saw a career performance from middle blocker Justin Todd, double-figure kill performances from three pin hitters, and a gritty effort from setter Tread Rosenthal, who suffered an injury during the match.

The Rainbow Warriors came out aggressively in the opening set, using pressure serving and strong transition offense to build an early lead. Consecutive blocks and a service ace helped UH pull away for the convincing 25-15 win.

Long Beach State responded in the second set, evening the match before UH regained momentum. The Rainbow Warriors closed out the final two sets behind timely kills, disciplined defense and strong play at the net to secure the semifinal victory.

UH opposite Kristian Titriyski put away a match-high 14 kills and served up two aces. Outside hitter Louis Sakanoko added 12 kills on .360 hitting and Adrien Roure finished with 10 kills.

The win sends UH to the NCAA championship match against UC Irvine, which advanced earlier in the day with a four-set semifinal win over Ball State.

The national championship match will be played May 11 at Pauley Pavilion and televised on ESPN2.

Read more about the highlights from the match at HawaiiAthletics.com.

Tamila “Tami” Alcoran’s college journey began in an unlikely place: prison. This spring, she will graduate from Windward Community College with an Associate in Arts degree and continue to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, building on academic work she first started through the college’s Puʻuhonua Incarcerated Education Program.

Puʻuhonua provides access to credit-bearing college coursework for incarcerated students, helping create pathways for educational achievement both during incarceration and after release.

“I just got out of prison. I’ve been there for nine years, and my journey actually started at the prison,” Alcoran said. “Taking classes sparked my interest in going back to school—that I can do it.”

During her incarceration, Alcoran completed approximately 20 college courses, earned a 3.76 GPA and received certificates in psychosocial development and mental health technician.

“It’s encouraging that you can do it,” she said. “You get the diploma and it’s like, wow, I did it.”

Transitional support

After returning home, Alcoran enrolled at Windward CC to complete her associate degree. She said support from Puʻuhonua and TRiO Student Support Services helped ease her transition back into college life.

“The transition was very smooth,” she said. “The people are wonderful… any question I have, they answer.”

After spending years without access to technology, adjusting to computers presented an early challenge.

“I was a little bit challenged with the computers because I didn’t have a computer for so many years,” she said. “But they were so wonderful and helped guide what I needed to do.”

Paying it forward

Her experiences led her toward social work. After witnessing the challenges many women face after incarceration, Alcoran hopes to help others navigate reentry.

“Knowledge is power,” she said. “Everybody deserves second, sometimes third or fourth chances.”

“Being nine years incarcerated, seeing the comings and goings of women… when they get out, they need something to help them,” she said. “If I can help out in whatever way I can, that’s one of my goals.”

Now preparing for graduation and her next chapter at UH Mānoa, Alcoran hopes her story encourages others to take the first step toward higher education.

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“Don’t be scared,” she said. “It is scary to try and go back to school, but just take one day at a time.”

Windward CC‘s commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. on campus.

Donate to Windward Community College’s Puʻuhonua Incarcerated Education program.

Micah Tutuvanu came to college searching for direction but found something more enduring, a belief in himself. Graduating from Kapiʻolani Community College with a liberal arts degree with a concentration in psychology and a certificate in sustainability, Tutuvanu reflects on a journey shaped by self-discovery and perseverance.

Growing up in Salt Lake and attending Moanalua High School, Tutuvanu described himself as a below-average student who was not involved in extracurricular activities and unsure if college was within reach.

“I had a fixed mindset that I wasn’t a good student, that I wouldn’t succeed,” he said. “Kapiʻolani CC changed that.”

Navigating challenges and finding direction

As a first-generation college student, the youngest of three brothers and a Lunalilo Scholar, Tutuvanu’s transition to college was not easy. In his first year, he commuted daily from Mililani, spending about two hours each day on the bus, using that time to rest between classes and work.

Tutuvanu began without a clear path, initially pursuing biology while trying to find where he fit. Along the way, he stepped away from college to serve in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a dental assistant, returning with a renewed sense of purpose and direction in clinical psychology.

“Kapiʻolani CC taught me how to navigate institutions as a Native Hawaiian, Samoan, first-generation college student,” he said. “My journey has been figuring things out.”

Leadership and campus involvement

Tutuvanu immersed himself in campus life, while also working at Oeno Winery and Milk Market Hawaiʻi. He became involved with the Center for Research, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, rejoined Student Congress, and co-founded both the Sustainability Club and the Rooted Christian Club. He also mentored Pacific Islander students and was recognized with the campus’s distinguished Neʻepapa Award.

Through mentorship, campus involvement and peer support, He became active in Student Congress, contributing to efforts that helped lower summer tuition across the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges.

“Kapiʻolani CC provided me with life skills, time management, leadership, to move into my next step,” he said.

Building a support system and looking ahead

Tutuvanu navigated personal hardships and built a strong network of support through mentors and peers. He credits his parents, mentor Shannon Sakaue and friend Jenny Brown for providing a foundation throughout his time at Kapiʻolani CC.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

“Micah is a determined individual, who knows how to survive through any circumstance,” said Sakaue, Kapiʻolani CC Student Congress faculty advisor and counselor. “He has grit, focus and intentionality behind his work. He is a role model to his peers, and I look forward to watching where his life journey will take him.”

Looking ahead, Tutuvanu has been accepted to several universities and while he decides where he will transfer to, he plans to continue in psychology, aspiring to earn a doctorate in clinical psychology or education.

“The hardships I experienced influenced my decision,” he said. “I want to give back in the way that I was supported.”

In the Hawaiian language, haʻaheo means pride, dignity and self-respect earned through responsibility. For the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa spring 2026 commencement student speaker, it’s also his middle name—and the focus of his message.

Diego Haʻaheo Ortiz will earn his bachelor’s degree in political science and sociology from the College of Social Sciences and address graduates and guests at the morning ceremony on May 16.

“The main thing that I want people to take away is the idea that you don’t have to expect people to be proud of you,” Ortiz said. “As a person that has always wanted to make my parents proud, my mom teaches me and reminds me every day that Haʻaheo is a reminder that they’ll be proud of me no matter what.”

“I always want people to know that whatever they go through in life—the good and the bad—you will always have your support with the people that uplift you.”

Ortiz said he is constantly working with speech coach and PhD student Sanoe Burgess to improve his address.

“I’m very excited,” Ortiz said. “There isn’t a day that has gone by where I haven’t been like, ‘oh, I’m so ready for this.’”

Ortiz also credited his girlfriend, Sam, with inspiring him to focus his message on his middle name.

“She told me that I should write about something that really is a part of me,” Ortiz said.

Balancing school and service

Aside from academics, Ortiz is a legislative aide to State Sen. Donovan M. Dela Cruz. A 2022 graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, Ortiz began working at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol through a Hele Imua internship, a state-funded program that places students in public sector roles.

Originally from Kailua, Ortiz balances his work at the legislature with his studies as he prepares to graduate and pursue law school. He has expressed interest in gaining additional experience through an internship with the state attorney general’s office.

At UH Mānoa, Ortiz credits the College of Social Sciences with helping shape his academic and career path, and describes the university as a “second home” that supported his personal growth.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

“The thing that really stuck with me was the friends that I got to make, especially during my first year when I was in student housing,” Ortiz said. “I got super lucky because my roommate was my high school friend. Both of us getting away from home, getting to branch out and meet new people, I feel like that really provided us with an environment that gave us the opportunity to learn and grow as people.”

For prospective students thinking about attending college, Ortiz encourages them to “give UH Mānoa a chance.”

“It’s a good environment to step yourself into the collegiate life, whether that be finding a program that you like, staying in student housing or even participating in athletics,” Ortiz said. “I feel like a lot of kids in Hawaiʻi often overlook UH Mānoa, and it should be known that it’s a very good university for people to step into their next aspect of their life.”

—By Marc Arakaki

A new exhibit in the Bridge Gallery of Hamilton Library at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa invites the public to play instruments repurposed from ʻōpala (trash). Bike brake cables, SPAM cans, rice bags, and driftwood are just a few of the materials that make up the exhibit’s instruments.

Available through August 10, the “Kani Ka ʻŌpala: Take a Sad Song & Make it Better” exhibit by ethnomusicology lecturer Benjamin Fairfield combines ecomusicology with place-based learning and encourages examination of consumptive habits.

“The idea of accepting a label of trash as worthless primes us to see things as having no further utility and value,” said Fairfield. “This project is getting us to challenge those labels and think, ‘Is it really worthless? Can’t it still have a voice, a utility, be part of our song and part of our creative process?’”

Crafted in the classroom

Many of the pieces were crafted in Fairfield’s MUS311(M) Thai Ensemble class, a sustainability-focused course initially supported by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), where students repurpose found objects into Thai musical instruments. CSEAS has also supported outreach workshops for Kani ka ʻŌpala.

“The class is important as a course that uses an Indigenous approach to sustainable music-making by recycling found objects and promotes craftsmanship grounded in Southeast Asian studies,” said Teri Skillman, CSEAS associate director.

“I was thinking, how can we connect community and music in a participatory way that is also sustainability-oriented? That’s where MUS311(M) brought all of these things together,” said Fairfield. “When students take the class, I wanted to make sure that music isn’t this scary thing that you’re not allowed to do.”

Rooted in tradition and ʻāina (land)

Fairfield’s project is largely inspired by his research as a graduate student and his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where he lived in a village with the Indigenous Karen (Pgaz k’Nyau) people.

“There were these musical traditions that were very interactive, and everyone had a role to play, whether it was dancing and clapping or joining along in some sort of singing capacity. Music wasn’t a presentational sort of thing—it was more participatory,” said Fairfield.

Currently serving as affiliate faculty at the UH
Music Department and CSEAS, Fairfield brings a sense of inclusivity and creativity into his teaching.

“We’re going to celebrate sustainability and connection to the āina, and also repurpose these things as is done in the tradition,” said Fairfield, “Working with these materials is a way to connect people on a personal level to these objects that we otherwise don’t give a second thought to.”

‘Everyone’s welcome’

The exhibit highlights community involvement every step of the way, from collaborative works with local elementary schools to musings from local poets and professors.

“We explore musicality in a way that’s fun, engaging, sustainable, and hands-on,” said Fairfield.

Instruments featured also include those from a previous exhibit displayed in Capital Modern: The Hawaiʻi State Art Museum as part of Fairfield’s selection for its Climate Action Artist Residency. Fairfield’s illustrated children’s book, Kani ka ʻōpala: how can garbage sing? ties into the theme of the exhibit and is on display as well.

To learn more about the exhibit, visit the Hamilton Library website.

—By Josslyn Rose

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo pitcher Blake Saucedo has been named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II West Region Pitcher of the Week following his nine-inning complete-game shutout performance in a 3–0 victory over Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU), May 1.

Saucedo made his second start of the season in the series-opening game against HPU, tossing all nine innings with six hits, two walks and four hit batsmen surrendered while striking out seven batters.

“It’s just the best outing I’ve had in my career for sure,” Saucedo said. “I finished the sixth inning and was like, ‘Okay, let me get seven for a quality start,’ and then I was like, ‘Okay, let me go to eight.’ I struck out the side in the eighth. I was like, ‘Why not one more?’ The coaches asked me how I was feeling—I was like, ‘Coach, you don’t even gotta ask me. I’m ready to go.’”

Saucedo was also selected as the Pacific West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the regular season.

Read more at Hiloathletics.com.

It’s never too late to grow in new directions. For Scott “Uncle Scotty” Garlough, earning an associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Honolulu Community College is more than a degree—it’s planting seeds for the future.

Planting the first seed

Before enrolling at Honolulu CC, Garlough had built a life rooted in service. As operations manager at Hoʻoula ʻĀina, a 100-acre nature preserve in Kalihi Valley, he has spent years helping restore native forests and supporting community health.

“In healing the land, we understand we are healing the community,” he said.

Although education was not a part of his original plan, a turning point came through the Ola Niuhelewai Program and encouragement from Kahale Saito and Kalei at Honolulu CC.

What began as a few Hawaiian language classes eventually grew into a full academic path. Over time, Garlough transitioned into the Liberal Arts program while continuing to take Hawaiian studies courses that aligned with his cultural work.

“Coming to school is my way of planting seeds,” he said. “The seeds will sprout when the conditions are just right.”

Blooming beyond the classroom

At Honolulu CC, Garlough found more than a classroom—he found community.

“I’m surrounded by people that I love who love me,” Garlough shared. As a peer mentor at the Hawaiian Center, he supports fellow students while continuing to learn from them. He also maintained a 4.0 GPA, balancing academics with community leadership.

Despite initial hesitancy about returning to school, Garlough pushed forward.

“All the things—‘I’m too old,’ ‘I don’t know how to use a computer,’ but once you start, it’s not as scary as you think,” he said.

Back to the roots

Garlough’s path to college was shaped by hardship. His mother was incarcerated during his childhood and passed away when he was 13. He spent years navigating homelessness, addiction and trauma.

Meet more amazing UH graduates

Reflecting back, he realizes he had people guiding him—his kupuna leading him toward the community college that has played such an important role in his family.

“It wasn’t until I felt love that I was able to transform myself,” Garlough said. “I listen to what my kupunas are telling me. I listen to the plants. They understand energy and come with good energy.”

The power of community

For Garlough, everything comes back to community.

“Healing a community takes a community,” he said. “We rely on communities in times of trouble, but we also should in prosperity.”

Through his work with organizations such as E Alu Pū and Mālama Loko Iʻa, he advocates for a Hawaiian cultural point of view. Everything he studied in the classroom has allowed him to give back to his community, from making hala sails to repairing the hale. Garlough also practices Uhau Humu Pōhaku, Hawaiian rock masonry, as well as fishing, lashing, and caring for fishponds.

Looking ahead

While earning his degree is a meaningful accomplishment, Garlough sees it as just the beginning.

“This is step one,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there with knowledge, but no pathway to share it. This gives me that opportunity.”

His ultimate goal is to continue planting the seed for others. He is passionate about helping people connect with themselves, their culture, and their community.

“Plant the seed,” Garlough advised. “Wait for it to grow.”

The University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO) has released the Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook 2026, the fourth edition of its annual report offering detailed analysis of the state’s housing market. The report finds that Hawaiʻi’s housing crisis remains severe, despite modest improvements in affordability driven by flat home prices, rising incomes and lower mortgage rates in 2025. The Factbook also highlights growing risks from insurance costs, homeowners association fees, slow permitting, natural disasters and policy uncertainty.

“The data reflects our state’s deep housing crisis. Restoring affordability will require the production of more housing, and confronting the barriers that prevent homes from being built,” said lead author and UHERO Associate Professor Justin Tyndall.

Key findings from this year’s Factbook include:

• Home prices have leveled off, but remain extremely high: The statewide median price of a single-family home was $950,000 in 2025. Median single-family prices rose 1% statewide, while condominium prices declined 2%. Existing-home values, measured by UHERO’s Repeat Sales Index, were flat.
• Affordability improved for a second year, but homeownership remains out of reach for most households: Affording the median single-family home still requires more than 180% of the state median income, putting it within reach for only about one-in-five Hawaiʻi households. Condominium affordability improved more sharply, although rising HOA fees and insurance costs may offset some of those gains.
• Housing costs now include rising insurance and association-fee burdens: New Census data show that 42% of Hawaiʻi homeowners pay monthly HOA or AOAO fees, compared with 25% nationally. Hawaiʻi also had the second-highest median monthly HOA fee in the country at $470. In Honolulu, real estate listings from February 2026 showed a median advertised HOA/AOAO fee of $882. Insurance costs are also rising rapidly, with Hawaiʻi’s aggregate property insurance premiums paid in the state increasing 13% in 2024—well above the national average and the largest annual increase in over a decade.
• Permitting delays continue to constrain new housing supply: County permitting reforms have produced mixed results. Hawaiʻi County and Maui County recorded faster single-family permit processing times in 2025, while Kauaʻi’s delays worsened. In Honolulu, UHERO was unable to obtain records after the launch of the city’s new permitting system, but permits issued in the first half of 2025 continued to show long processing times.
• Lahaina rebuilding is moving unevenly: Two and a half years after the 2023 Maui wildfires, Maui County reported 991 permits to rebuild permanent structures, with 634 issued. UHERO’s analysis finds that single-family homeowners, including vacation-home owners, are receiving permits faster than owners of long-term rentals, apartments and businesses. About 57% of fire-damaged lots showed no permit activity to date.
• Policy changes are reshaping Maui’s condo market: Maui County’s Bill 9, which phases out roughly 7,000 short-term vacation rentals in apartment-zoned buildings, has already cooled the condo market. Maui condo prices in 2025 were down 11% from 2023, while prices for condos on the Minatoya list were down 16%.
• Extreme weather and flood-insurance changes add new housing-market risks: Severe Kona Low storms in March and April 2026 caused catastrophic flooding, landslides, evacuations and more than $1 billion in estimated damage. In June 2026, updated FEMA flood maps will add 3,700 net new parcels on Oʻahu to Special Flood Hazard Areas, raising costs and financing hurdles for 25% more property owners.
• Vacation rentals remain a major share of neighbor-island housing: Hawaiʻi had about 34,500 active advertised vacation rental properties in 2025, up from 33,600 in 2024. Vacation rentals account for 20% of all housing units on Kauaʻi and 15% in Maui County, compared with 2.5% in Honolulu.

The Factbook is based on a wide range of data sources and offers housing indicators at the state, county and zip code levels.

The full Hawaiʻi Housing Factbook 2026 is available at UHERO’s website.

UHERO is housed in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences.

The Kekūhaupiʻo Tech Mentorship Program (KTMP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa completed its spring 2026 program, pairing students from information and computer sciences, management information systems and engineering programs with technology professionals across Hawaiʻi’s tech sector.

The collaboration among the Department of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS), ACM at Mānoa (Association for Computing Machinery) and CIO Council of Hawaiʻi brought together 14 student mentees and 13 industry mentors in structured mentorship relationships focused on career readiness and professional development.

Hands-on opportunities for students

ICS led workshops covering résumé development, networking skills and workplace preparation, helping students build practical tools for internships and early career pathways.

“I had an excellent experience this semester with the Spring 2026 KTMP program,” said UH Mānoa student Isabella Mow. “This was almost entirely because of my mentor (Alan Ito), who helped me meet with people in different industries and guided me through choosing my major. He used his experience in life to give me advice that he would have wanted to hear at my age. He also helped connect me to various people who helped polish my app.”

Ito, UH’s IT workforce development and regulated policy lead, said, “The CIO Council of Hawaiʻi is happy to support the KTMP Mentorship Program and work with our UH students to help prepare them to enter the tech workforce and provide them guidance regarding life skills in general. As a mentor, it’s always exciting to try to view our world today through a mentee’s eyes as they’re embarking on their careers. They represent our future, and it’s really a privilege to have the opportunity to provide some, hopefully meaningful, input. Isabella has been great, and I’m excited to continue to follow her career at UH and beyond.”

ACM at Mānoa and CIO Council of Hawaiʻi coordinated mentor matching and organized three networking mixers throughout the semester for students to engage directly with professionals, build connections and explore career paths in the industry. The program included regular mentor meetings, ongoing communication and monthly progress check-ins.

“It was awesome giving students like me the chance to get their own professional (mentor) to grow in a more personal way,” said ACM at Mānoa operations coordinator Christian Komo. “I feel like building connections is one of the best ways to develop your career, and it’s something they need to emphasize more in computer science classrooms. That’s why it felt great giving back with ACM and bridging the gap between students and the smartest leaders in the tech world.”

The program is expected to continue in future semesters with an emphasis on expanding student participation and strengthening connections between UH Mānoa students and Hawaiʻi’s tech industry.