Lifetime of Design

When I Was Yvonne Himan: Early Awards and Opportunities

I have practiced skills for community publication since I was a third grader.

From age 8-18, I was involved in various media productions, including:

Closed circuit producer of Wai'anae 5-4 News, which included managing audio channels, cueing anchors, and running features in real time.
News anchoring and news reporting for a local school community.
VHS manual edit bay editing, narration, research, and writing of three historic documentaries.
Yearbook production - writing, editing, graphic, and single page or double truck layout design.
Newspaper production - writing, editing, graphic, single page or double truck layout design, and interactive presentations.
Documentary - writing, research, editing, filming, narration, searching state archives and microfiche.
Charting a club: BEAR (Beautification, Environmental Awareness, and Recycling)

This early skill building availed me to have some amazing opportunities.

As a reporter for Wai'anae 5-4 News, I interviewed Jason Mamoa across Kahe Power Plant, regarding his role on Baywatch Hawai'i.
For a documentary I helped write, narrate, and edit, I interviewed Professor Lilikala Kameieleihiwa of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The documentary was titled: Sacrificing Life and Land.
At 13, I corresponded with the Mountain Apple Record Label regarding copyright permission requests to use segments of Israel Kamakawiwaole's "Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono" song in a documentary.

2000. National History Day, "Turning Points in History"

Our Sacrificing Life and Land documentary on the 1848 Great Mahele was the Statewide winner.
We travelled to Washington DC to participate in the national competition sponsored and covered by CSPAN.
We were honored to meet the now late Senator Daniel Inouye. He was a solidier of the U.S. Army’s decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team and was the first and only Senator to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The National Archives press release about the event is archived here: https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2000/nr00-81.html

2003. Maui Writer's Conference, Young Writer's Scholarship Winner

I was a district winner and state finalist in a writing contest that allowed me to travel to the Maui Writer's Conference where I met, attended writing workshops from, or received autographed books from authors:
Our group took a photo with author and event coordinator Terry Brooks, as pictured.
The contest article is archived here: https://issuu.com/kamehamehaschools/docs/imua_summer03/5

2004. "Voice of Democracy"

In my senior year of high school, I submitted an essay for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Ladies Auxiliary "Voice of Democracy" scholarship.
Listed as Yvonne Himan, I won third place. I was the highest placed entrant representing a public school that year.
The newspaper clip listing the winners is archived here: https://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/02/28/news/briefs.html
Here's more information about the Voice of Democracy scholarship: https://www.vfw.org/community/youth-and-education/youth-scholarships

2004. "Students explore creative freedom in poetry"

One of the statewide newspapers of the time, The Star Bulletin, published a feature article I submitted as a representative of my high school.
The new feature is archived here: https://archives.starbulletin.com/2002/03/04/features/index3.html

2004. "Overall Co-Winner - 2004 Hawaii High School Journalism Contest"

Our high school tied for the Overall Winner category for our senior year statewide journalism contest.
I was the features writing and layout editor for the newspaper. In collaboration with my photographer, Nick Smith, I created the double-truck layout and mixed-media graphic for a feature called "Peer Pressure" which was a finalist for the Best Photography or Illustration category.
Then current Governor Linda Lingle, visited our newsroom and interviewed me about the Peer Pressure graphic and layout I designed.
Our layouts, including the "Peer Pressure" layout, were also finalists in the Best Layout & Design category.
The contest article is archived here: https://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/04/30/news/index7.html

2007. James & Abigail Campbell Family Foundation 2007 Annual Report, On Behalf of the Future

I was featured for the cover story of the foundation's annual report as the recipient of the James & Abigail Campbell Family Foundation scholarship.
They covered my entrance into the field of Elementary Education, as a hometown resident, turned local educator.

Other highlights not listed among those archived above include:

Stellar canoe navigation with Nainoa Thompson of the Polynesian Voyaging Society as part of the Ethnomathematics Calculus Summer Institute
Speaking at the Safe Harbor Banquet preceeding keynote speaker Pam Tebow in front of a crowd of 8,000.