Category: Voices & Views

From Wahiawa, 20-year-old Ikona Kahana-Sanchez is a nursing major attending KCC. In her first year of school, Kahana-Sanchez said her decision to go into nursing sparked when she volunteered at Wahiawā Medical Center during her sophomore year at Leilehua High School in 2015. Exposed to the medical field and aging community within the medical center, she became interested in how these aspects can be further studied. Kahana-Sanchez said that her grandmother also played a role in influencing her to go into nursing. In 2015 her grandmother went into surgery for a total knee replacement but after it shredded a vein and artery, it prompted a life-threatening situation that required assistance and care from Kahana-Sanchez. Because her grandmother could no longer continue working as a medicist in the office at Wahiawā Medical Center, Kahana-Sanchez asked to fill the position for her. Becoming significantly involved with the duties and tasks that her grandmother's position required, this led Kahana-Sanchez to further pursue medical assistance. As she takes and eventually completes her prerequisites, Kahana-Sanchez hopes to take her schooling to a higher level of education, debating between a school in Oregon, UH Hilo, or Chaminade University.