Author: Chris Takahashi

Hui Hui Guo spent her childhood in China but came to O’ahu by way of the Big Island. After high school graduation on Hawaii, Guo moved to Honolulu to attend KCC and plans to major in hospitality and tourism. This is her fourth semester at KCC. She is already gaining valuable experience in the tourism industry by working at a retail swimwear store in Waikiki. There, she is able to use her bilingual skills when conversing with travelers from China. After completion of her degree, either at KCC or through transferring to UH Manoa, Guo plans to stay in Honolulu and enter the workforce in the tourism industry. Though she seldom is found painting these days – school and work take up much time – Guo used to love painting and was involved in the art club at her high school.

Aster Sarte will be a KCC student in the Fall 2017 semester, returning to school after a nearly 10-year hiatus. Aster was born in the Philippines but moved to Madrid, Spain before he was a teenager. Though he spent much of his youth in Madrid, Aster is a die-hard Barcelona futbol fan, all despite having grown up next to Real Madrid’s stadium and hearing the roar of those fans during home games. At age 19, Aster moved again – this time west to California where he studied filmmaking in college.

After spending time working in film, Aster surprised his friends (and maybe himself) when he decided to join the armed forces. He saw combat overseas, returning to California and filmmaking after his tour of duty. Now, living on O’ahu, Aster will be taking a variety of classes in the realm of sustainability. He has taken a permaculture and design course outside of KCC and wants to increase his knowledge base in that field. On switching from his former role in the armed forces to working with plants and harvesting crops, Aster laughed candidly, “part of it is healing, too. In a way, because of course, all the damage that I’ve done in the military. [War] is the total opposite.”