UH athletes hold panel at Kamehameha

Five University of Hawaii athletes held a roundtable discussion about their Polynesian heritage in college athletics at Kamehameha on Tuesday night.

Their audience: a group of nearly 100 Kapalama middle schoolers.

Among the UH athletes were two Kamehameha 2012 graduates — Dyrbe Enos (men’s basketball) and Kory Rasmussen (football). Also on the panel were Tiana Fujimoto (soccer), Hi’ilawe Huddleston (sand volleyball) and Destiny King (women’s basketball). OC Sports analyst and former UH hoops player Kawika Hallums moderated the discussion.

Topics ranged for time management for college athletes to the importance of ohana in their lives, as well as questions fielded from the middle schoolers. The athletes signed autographs afterward.

“The panel discussion featuring University of Hawaii student-athletes was a tremendous event for the boarder and day students at Kamehameha middle school,” said Tim Bross, a Kapalama middle school dorm advisor (and recent administrative assistant with UH basketball) who helped organize the event. “I greatly appreciate Kawika, Dyrbe, Tiana, Hi‘ilawe, Destiny, and Kory for sharing their time with our keiki as they are each outstanding role models for our community.”