Author: Sam Ehrhart

Isaiah Johnson is a 20-year-old Mechanical Engineering major at KCC. Johnson is a freshman who is originally from Long Beach, Calif. His dream is to start his own business to fix cars.

“I want to have my own business where I fix cars and help others,” Johnson said. “I want to expand my mind in the process and help others fix cars too. I want to learn more about how cars are engineered and designed.”

Johnson decided to pursue this career path since he has multiple family leaders who are already a part of it.

“I actually have some family members who are already chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineers,” he said. “They’ve helped me know more about their fields. My aunt in particular is a mechanical engineer and I love what she does.”

After he graduates from KCC, Johnson does not yet know where he will attend university. He does have interest in Cal-Poly Pomona, which is a engineering college in California. However, Johnson also has interest in joining the military–specifically the army and navy–after his graduation from KCC.

“I have a lot of family members who are part of the army,” Johnson said. “I have interest in doing a mechanical engineering program in the army and I’ll get paid a lot for it too. I’m still pondering if I’ll do this though.”

Yasuharu Kagami is a 23-year-old Liberal Arts major at KCC. Kagami is a graduate student who is originally from Tokyo, Japan. He already has a bachelor’s in law from University of Keio in Tokyo. While he was at University of Keio, Kagami joined the track and field team along with helping to manage “Hakone Ekiden”, a Japanese relay race held by universities every year. Kagami is currently attending KCC because of how cheap the tuition is and to gain some needed credits for his associate’s diploma.

“You know, UH Mānoa and Japan have tuition that’s way more expensive than here [KCC],” he said. “I’m just trying to save some money before I transfer into another university.”

After receiving his associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from KCC, Kagami wishes to transfer into UH Mānoa’s graduate school next year to obtain a master’s degree in accounting. He is currently self-studying for his accounting USCPA exam. Kagami grew up in a business-like environment, so he wishes to become a businessman himself. He wishes to involve himself in business transactions between the U.S. and Japan which will make people happy. Kagami’s main dream in life is to own his own business when he gets older.

“My father and my grandfather both owned a business back in Japan,” he said. “I respect my father and my grandfather … [and] I want to own my own business company. I want to follow in their footsteps.”

For other students or people who wish to follow his path, Kagami gives some important advice. He believes that a strong work ethic and that studying hard can propel you forward in life. Additionally, for international students, Kagami stresses the importance of learning English to communicate with others efficiently in financial situations.

“Just keep studying,” Kagami said. “Learn your business, accounting, and English skills. These things are very important for the future.”

Justin Nguyen is a 22-year-old Biology major here at KCC. As a native from Kaimukī, Nguyen is in his senior year of college. Having already completed most of his college credits on the mainland at Creighton University in Nebraska, Nguyen came back to KCC to finish his bachelor’s degree.

“A lot of healthcare jobs are associated with this major [biology]”, Nguyen said. “I also have a lot of friends being biology majors, so I thought that we could help each other study and stuff. Biology is really interesting, too, though, I really enjoyed science in high school.”

Nguyen plans on returning to Creighton University after he receives his bachelor’s of science in biology. At Creighton, Nguyen wishes to enter dentistry school. His dream is to become a pediatric dentist, and he has held this dream for an extremely long time.

“I remember when I was four or five, I went to the dentist for the first time,” he said. “I got really excited, and I told my mom that I wanted to be a dentist. I always enjoyed my dentist —his name was David Sumikawa — he was super kind and nice to children. He really cared about his job, and that got me interested in this profession.”

For other people who wish to follow the biology or dentistry path, Nguyen encourages students to study and work hard and to not slack off. Additionally, Nguyen believes that by reviewing old school work and notes, you can build your knowledge up and be able to do well in more difficult classes.