By Cameron Enomoto | Staff Writer

Lily Buote is an 18-year-old student in her first semester at Kapiʻolani Community College. She has had her eyes set on becoming a Culinary Arts major after her grandparents introduced her to cooking and baking at a young age. Upon completing her degree, Buote hopes to open a café of her own and continue doing what she loves.

As someone who was born and raised on Oʻahu, Buote knew that there were certain aspects to living in Hawaiʻi that she would not experience anywhere else.

“I initially decided to attend KCC because I wanted to stay on island … to major in Culinary,” said Buote. “I’ve also had a few relatives go through the Culinary program at KCC as well, and I’ve heard a lot of good things about it.”  

When she’s not busy in the kitchen, Buote enjoys collecting “Pokémon” cards, painting small crafts, listening to music, and watching anime. She also shared that she loved “Pokémon” as a child, but she never owned a Nintendo DS so she was unable to play the games. However, “Pokémon GO!” allowed her to experience a hint of the game when it was released as a mobile app in 2016.