Sharing Wine’s Diverse Delights
Name: Chuck Furuya Job: Master sommelier Experience: More than 25 years Start: Furuya started drinking wine while…
Careers
Mixing Love and Business
I grew up in a home where mom and dad successfully owned and worked together in a business for over 25 years. As a child, I helped in the business over the summers and learned some of the most enduring…
5 Steps to Position Yourself for Promotion
A new year is a good time for reflection and renewal, including on your professional self. High emotional intelligence helps differentiate between average performers and stars, so executive coach Alison Zecha explains how to improve your EI and position yourself…
Got Life Experience? Maybe It’s Worth College Credits
One woman used UH’s new program to help change careers. But a word of caution: The program is still a work in progress. For working people struggling to find the time to get a college degree, the University of Hawaii…
Your Voice Says One Thing, But Your Body May Say Something Completely Different
Like many others, Susan Szabo feared public speaking. But unlike most people stricken with that fear, she took a job where standing in front of an audience is common. She needed help, so she took a group class with presentation…
Defense against Disease
Name: A. Christian Whelen Job: Administrator, state Laboratories Division Experience: 28 years in healthcare Responsibilities: If the Ebola virus somehow found its way from Africa to Hawaii, Chris Whelen would lead the local analytical testing to help the national Centers…
She Shares Her Love of Ballet
Name: Vivienne Lim Job: Owner and artistic director, Royal Academy of Ballet Experience: Three decades in ballet Start: Born in Malaysia, Lim was just 3 when her parents enrolled her in a ballet program certified by the esteemed Royal Academy…
Stunts? “Sounds like fun!”
Name: Katie Wright Pere Job: Stuntwoman Experience: 14 years Start: While Pere attended Florida State University, she trained two to three hours a day, six days a week, as a competitive swimmer. She also rode Jet Skis and water skied.…
How to Ask for a Raise
Thirty-nine percent of Americans believe they are underpaid – 42 percent of women versus 33 percent of men, according to a survey this year by the career website Glassdoor.com. If you are in that group, be aware that there are…
More than just a Bartender
Name: Mike Hall Job: Mixologist Experience: Two years Start: When Hall moved from Maryland in 1999 to attend Hawaii Pacific University, he did what many college students do: He worked at a restaurant. It wasn’t until he got a…
Retiring and Starting Over at the Same Time
When veterans retire or separate from the military, they leave more than their jobs, they leave a way of life. What makes the transition tougher is their skills sometimes don’t seem to translate easily to civilian jobs or running businesses.…
How to Earn a Promotion
The keys to getting a promotion are not what you say when asking for one, but what you do to make the promotion more likely. Some of those actions may be obvious, but others might surprise you. Earning a promotion…
Job-Hunting Advice for Young People
Alec Brownstein didn’t want to join the millions of young college graduates who settle for jobs they don’t want, because they fail to grab the right person’s attention. Instead, he acted boldly and it paid off. Brownstein hoped to get…
My Job: Weather Anchor
Name: Guy Hagi Job: Weather anchor at Hawaii News Now Experience: 15 years Hagi will never forget his first day as the weather anchor at KGMB. He had just returned from a family vacation to New York City. It was…
China is the Land of Opportunity
Hawaii-born Russell Leu loves working in China, though he recognizes living there offers challenges. The Hawaii attorney wears a top quality, high-tech, air-filter mask on the street on days with heavy air pollution, and has a phone app that tells…
Creativity in Their Business
Roberta Oaks, Fashion Designer and Retailer Oaks did not start out to be a fashion designer. She majored in photography and art history, and then worked in restaurants for 10 years. Not until her late 20s did it hit her:…
Not Your Parents' College Degrees
The world will always need people trained in traditional fields such as education, medicine and law. But many college students today are looking to emerging fields where the number of jobs are growing, not shrinking, or careers that seem more…
5 Steps to Becoming a Better Public Speaker
Public speaking is a great way to build your business by educating the community on how you can serve it. Motivational speaker and speaker trainer Annette Lynch shares these steps to help you overcome nerves and engage your target audience.…
Wild Days of Tree Trimming are Dying
PHOTOS BY ELYSE AND MATT MALLAMS Back in the mid-1970s, when Abner Undan started working for a tree-trimming company, the standard method was to lop off branches randomly and use spikes to climb palm trees. “Those were the old…
Parting Shot: Surf Photographer Zak Noyle
Swell Shot Wednesday, 5 P.M. North Shore, Oʻahu Photo by Nate Lawrence Zak Noyle positions himself as he prepares to photograph surfers at Pipeline. Noyle has been shooting surfers for eight years, the past six professionally. The time he spends in…
Entrepreneurs Inspired by the Ocean
It’s no surprise the same ocean that inspires surfers, paddlers and swimmers has also inspired entrepreneurs to make a living off what they love. They start surf schools, design canoe paddles, cultivate marine livestock, run fishing charters or develop technology…
Caring for Kahoolawe
Name: Michael Nahoopii Job: Executive director of the Kahoolawe Island Reserve Commission Experience: Five years at KIRC QUALIFICATIONS: In many ways, Nahoopii has prepared for this job his entire life. He first visited Kahoolawe at age 15 during a trip…
Former Career is Still a Passion
If you look at John Thielst today, sitting in an office in downtown Honolulu, you would never imagine his previous career. The managing principal of Coffman Engineers, a Honolulu-based engineering consulting firm, once worked almost entirely underwater. For about three…
Helping Clients Develop a Personal Style
Name: Summer Shiige Job: Personal Stylist/Shopper Years of Experience: One year STARTING OUT: Shiige had always wanted to own her own business and, last year, after working in the retail industry for more than a decade, she started Summer Style,…