Iolani Alumni

More for you to read from the people that you went to school with… Some professional, some not, yet all entertaining in their own way. Enjoy!

Iolani Alumni - Blogs:
• Prep Talk - Wes Nakama ‘86
• Quarterlife Cafe - Kim Fassler ‘02
• Pulpconnection - Greg Yamane ‘90
• Katsuyoshi.org - Clayton Katsuyoshi ‘92
• Life in Vietnam - Greg Nakajo ‘94
• The Diary of an Enginerd - Ryan Kanno ‘96
• RemyOmar - Remy Hiramoto ‘88
• Straying From the Norm - Michael Ni ‘01

Additions:
• How to Change the World - Guy Kawasaki ‘72
• So Necessary… - Jason Genegabus ‘95
• Bytemarks - Burt Lum ‘73
• Olympic Dream - Taylor Takata ‘00
• The Notebook - Peter Boylan ‘97

If you know of any others, please post them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list. Mahalo!

Add an Iolani Alumni Blog »

The 55th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival officially kicked off this past weekend and among this year’s contestants is alumnus Amy Taniguchi ‘01, daughter of Iolani Japanese teacher, Elsie Yoshimura - Yoshimura Sensei to some, Taniguchi Sensei to others (depending on when you graduated).

Throughout the duration of the festival, the contestants will be preparing themselves, through public appearances and fashion shows, to be judged at the annual Festival Ball on Saturday, March 31 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. There they will each be required to “deliver personal speeches in evening gowns and answer impromptu questions in authentic furisode kimono, specificially chosen for them by Sensei Kumiko Sakai and provided by Watabe Wedding, a festival Diamond Sponsor.”

We all wish Amy the best of luck… Ganbatte!

As one of the first graduates of Olin College, an engineering institution in Massachusetts whose mission is to “prepare future leaders through an innovative engineering education that bridges science and technology, enterprise and society”, Leighton Ige ‘01, son of Iolani Japanese teacher Ige sensei, has always been willing to try something new and different. While at Iolani, he was among the first students to work on the schools website, providing early design and layout options before many even knew a site existed. In college, he started Salubrion, a health and well-being products company that produces and sells his own creation, the Salubrion Seat. Now, he lives and works in Hong Kong managing the manufacturing that pumps out his seats which are sold as far and wide as Japan, Britain, Germany, Canada, Austrailia and in many other places throughout the world.

Salubrion, pronounced sah-LOO-bree-on, is derived from the word “salubrious” which means “to promote health and well-being.” Along with his grandfather, Charles Saiki, Leighton designed and engineered the company’s first product, the Salubrion Seat which is a compact meditation chair ergonomically shaped to increase blood flow to the legs which allows for deeper and longer meditation sessions. Since appearing in holiday catalog for Gaiam, a large American distributer of yoga-related products, sales have been steady and the company is looking to expand their product line with new seating options for the home furniture market.

Event Date: Wednesday, December 27th, 2006

Come down to Chai’s Island Bistro and find out what your classmates have been up to for the last 5 years. Food, drinks, and fun… after all you are 21!

Pre-sale (before Dec 12): $5
At-the-door: $15

Ryan Yamamoto ‘97 and Mandy Tomita ‘98 were married early this past summer during a small ceremony which included several of their closest family and friends.

Ryan is a licensed contractor and currently works with his father at their family-owned construction business, RMY Construction. He is also a partial owner of the popular restaurant/nightclub, Osake Sushi Bar & Lounge. His younger brother, Erik ‘99, is in his second year of teaching at Iolani and his youngest brother, Corey ‘01, is employed as an engineer.

Mandy is a financial advisor with American Express and in her spare time is an assistant coach for the very successful Iolani Swim Team.