Page 9 - MidWeek Kauai - August 17, 2022

AUGUST 17, 2022
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 9
Book Pick Of The Week
The other week, I went on a Sara Ackerman reading frenzy. I heard great things about her book Radar Girls (inspired by the real Women’s Air
Raid Defense), and was lucky to find most of her novels on the shelf at my local library. I breezed through Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers, The Lieutenant’s Nurse, Red Sky Over Hawai‘i and Radar Girls — all of which take place in the
islands around the time of World War II. They’re fantastic reads, and locals will love how Ackerman, who was born and raised
in Hawai‘i, shares tidbits about her favorite spots on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island. Now, I have to get my hands her latest book, The Codebreaker’s Secret, which came out earlier this month.
The best part of my job is having a platform to shine a light on out- standing people in the com- munity, and I’m constantly blown away by all the things people accomplish when they’re passionate about something and work hard to improve. One of those indi- viduals is recent high school grad Chelsee Sawai, who was recognized as the Hawai‘i High School Journalist of the Year this spring.
itor when she first joined the staff as a sophomore. Taking what she learned along the way, she compiled her port- folio and sent it in to judges from the national Journalism Education Association.
style of trying to get proxim- ity in there as much as pos- sible,” she says. “The longer you wait, the less newswor- thy it is. It pushed me to write with the best of my ability and get people’s input of what should be contained in the story — all within a short amount of time.”
by Nicole Monton
Sawai Proves She’s Got The ‘Write’ Stuff
Sawai led Mid-Pacific In- stitute’s Na Pueo newspaper as co-editor-in-chief her se- nior year, after working her way up from being photo ed-
“I couldn’t believe I had come so far as a journalist,” she says. “I was very much an amateur when I started, but it was exciting because I had an opportunity to look back on how far I’ve come.”
of deadlines, editing and all the pressure that goes with producing a publication — not something most people would find enjoyable. But, as Sawai’s proved with her recent accolade, she’s not most people.
“But I plan to be involved with journalism in college,” she notes, adding that her love of writing will always remain with her.
through your head, even if it sounds ridiculous said out loud,” she says. “What I do is jot down my thoughts or feelings about something and from there I can usually compose something I can be proud of at the end.”
“It took a lot of time,” she recalls. “It was every single piece I’d written, followed by a description of each piece.”
ical sciences and business ad- ministration with an emphasis in accounting. Her eventual goal is to pursue a career in the medical field as an allergist or pediatrician.
time, Sawai offers a few sug-
Hard work pays off, and Sawai’s efforts didn’t go un- noticed by the judging panel.
Chelsee Sawai
She notes that joining the newspaper staff at Mid-Pacif- ic Institute also encouraged her to come out of her shell and interact with people and taught her leadership, writing and management skills. All those traits will help her as she prepares to start her freshman year at Chapman University in Orange, California, where she’ll double major in biolog-
gestions.
“Write whatever is going
nmonton@midweek.com
She has fond memories
“I like writing for news be- cause the timeliness fits my
And, for those trying writ- ing as a hobby for the first
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