Meet Chris Aguinaldo, education assistant at Mililani High School
Introduce yourself with your degree information, and tell us your current job.
Aloha e University of Hawai’i ‘ohana. I’m Chris Aguinaldo, a Leeward Community College graduate who transferred to the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. I earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech, which is now Communicology. I successfully applied my education in communication-related studies throughout a career in journalism, PR and marketing. Now I’m focusing on special education, as an educational assistant at Mililani High School and aspiring SPED teacher.
What inspired you to pursue a career in education?
I’ve been blessed to discover different career paths, meeting so many people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. I’ve told so many of their stories and eventually helped others to tell their own stories. My wife Mary, a high school teacher and UHM College of Education alumnus, eventually persuaded me to teach a writing class at McKinley Community School for Adults. That’s when I stopped being just a writer. I became an educator, helping students discover themselves.
What’s a lesson you learned at UH that you hope to pass on to your students?
Aloha and diversity matter. The faculty and staff at LCC and UHM made me feel welcome and it comes down to a word – aloha. Aloha extends beyond Hawaiʻi. I met friendly people from around the world at both my campuses. We were all united in a desire to learn. That’s the beauty of a diverse student body – the world doesn’t just open up. It comes to you.
Can you tell us one of your fondest memories from LCC or UHM?
This one is easy! I returned to LCC as its Spring 2024 Commencement Master of Ceremonies. I was just starting my education career. As they walked across the stage for their degrees, I looked at the students' faces … then understood why teachers do what they do. We give opportunity and hope.
How was the transition from LCC to UHM?
I had terrific people helping me and found a major that felt just right. Between my counselor Candy Hochstein at LCC, the transfer staff at UHM and advisor/mentor Professor of Speech William Sharkey (a recipient of the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching), I felt it was one continuous educational experience.
Why would you recommend students interested in teaching to tutor in the Mānoa Writing Program and Writer’s Workshop?
If you want a diverse learning experience, try to tutor English as a Second Language (ESL) students and English Language Learners (ELL). It will challenge you to explain/defend/reevaluate what is accepted as “good writing.” You’ll meet someone that has ideas to share but is from a different culture and you’ll need to help them voice those ideas in English. I have gratitude for Chip Hughes, Joy Marsella and Suzie Jacobs of the UHM English Department who encouraged me as a tutor.
At LCC you were the editor of the newspaper, Ka Mana‘o. What’s one story you still remember covering?
One of my first page 1 newspaper assignments was to cover the planting of an 'ulu tree with then University of Hawai'i Community Colleges Chancellor Joyce Tsunoda. Back then, I didn’t understand why 'ulu and other native plants were so important to our ecosystem. Through the years as a journalist and an educator, I learned that Hawai'i faces challenges in sustainability, food security, climate change and soil degradation. Native plants are part of the solution. At Mililani High School, I’m happy to see students working on 'ulu, kalo, kukui and other plants in our māla. Now when I look at that tree in the LCC courtyard, I am amazed at how tall it’s become. It’s symbolic of my experience in the UH system, that kid who took a page 1 photo of Chancellor Tsunoda planting a tree. We both just needed a place to grow.