What’s the luckiest thing that has happened to you?

Ana White
Age: 19 years old
Hometown: Pearl City, HI
Major: Pastry Arts

“I think I would say getting my first job … cashiering at La Tour in Pearl City. When I first got it, I thought I was really lucky because they were hiring to replace the workers that they had that were going to work at the Kapolei location, and they hired me without any work experience. I didn’t really even apply for the job, someone who was already working there told the guy in charge “oh, you should hire her because she goes to KCC, and she … she’s a pastry arts major so she’s wanting a job in the food industry. So, I really liked it because I was having a lot of trouble finding a job, but because my sister was starting college I needed to get a job. I learned how to get better people skills and it helped me at school with my time management and my baking. It [also] helped me get the job that I’m starting this month, because I applied for a different restaurant in ‘Aiea and they hired me as a [waitress] straight off the bat … I know that if I didn’t have that job at La Tour, like, I probably wouldn’t have gotten it.”

Huy Nguyen
Age: 20 years old
Hometown: Long Xuyên, Vietnam
Major: Software Engineering

“I managed to pass one of my social studies classes last semester. It was really tough, I’m not really good at writing that’s why. I was able to communicate and talk well, my English is okay when I’m talking but when it comes to writing it’s not really good.”

Joel Spears
Age: 24 years old
Hometown: Jackson, Tennessee
Major: Business

“I guess coming to Hawaii. It’s a different scenario.”

 

 

Magdalena Petko
Age: 42 years old
Hometown: Kiel, Germany
Major: Second Language Studies at UH Mānoa

“Definitely starting a family, and being able to have a family. I have four children.”

 

Blake Ferreira
Age: 19 years old
Hometown: Makawao, HI
Major: Liberal Arts

“The luckiest thing, now thinking about it, is that I actually live in Hawaii. I didn’t notice that before but now I do, so I’m grateful for that. [The greatest aspect is] the fact that everybody here shares aloha.”