My Job

Water Slide Tester

Name: Keanu Santana Age: 22 Job: Water slide tester and operations supervisor, Wet’n’Wild Hawaii Start: Santana grew up in Waianae and graduated from Waianae High School in 2014. “What I love about the school is that it’s located right next to the ocean,”…

Protecting Art for Posterity

Name: Cynthia Low Age: 50 Job: Director of collections and exhibitions registrar, Honolulu Museum of Art Start: Low was born in Los Angeles and raised on Maui. She got her bachelor’s degree in art history at UH Manoa, her master’s in architecture from…

Don’t Call Him A Bounty Hunter

NAME: Scot Ling AGE: 56 JOB: Bail bondsman/fugitive recovery agent and owner, 4Freedom Bail Bonds, based in Kailua-Kona, with agents on Oahu and Maui START: Ling was born and raised in Kailua on Oahu but attended UH Hilo. He eventually received his associate…

A Big Help with Little Things

Name: Donna Rodriguez Age: 46 Job: Errands runner and owner, 808-Errands Start: The El Paso, Texas, native once took a vacation to Maui and says, “The aloha drew me in.” She knew she eventually wanted to live here, so in 2003 she closed…

How’s Your Luck?

Name: Cheryl Ohta Age: 58 Job: Fortune cookie writer and treasurer/HR manager, Hawaii Candy Inc. Start: The Mililani resident received her business degree in marketing from the University of San Francisco in 1981. “My husband, Keith, is the third-generation owner. His grandfather started…

My Job: Air Traffic Controller

Name: Alika Parish Age: 28 Job: Air Traffic Control Specialist for Federal Aviation Administration at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport Start: Alika Parish was born and raised in Ewa Beach. He joined the Hawaii Air National Guard after graduating from Campbell High School…

My Job: Giving an Arm and a Leg

NAME: Randall Pang AGE: 51 JOB: Certified prosthetist, C.R. Newton Co. Ltd.   START: Randall Pang was born in San Jose, California, but moved to Kaneohe with his family when he was 8. While at Mid-Pacific Institute’s high school, he…

My Job: We All Scream for Ice Cream!

NAME: Cari Ann Leong AGE: 32 JOB: Owner, Ice Cream Dreamz, an ice cream/gelato truck, and full-time hairstylist START: “It’s a family-run truck,” the Sacred Hearts graduate and Kaimuki resident explains. “We started it about three years ago. It was…

Death Is His Life’s Work

NAME: Charles Clark AGE: 57 JOB: Mortician, Oahu Mortuary START: When he was about 17, Clark attended a friend’s funeral service at Borthwick Mortuary. “The funeral director and I became friendly and chatted, and when I returned to the funeral…

EXTRA: Read All About Him!

Real estate agent’s other job is background actor for movies and TV shows. He's great at blending in. NAME: Jerald Pang AGE: 56 JOB: Nonunion background actor (extra) and full-time real estate agent START: In the summer of 2013, Pang…

My Job: Flying High and Free

NAME: Paul Franco AGE: 40 JOB: Paragliding and tandem instructor, Proflyght Paragliding, based in Kula, Maui START: Franco was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to an American mother and a Brazilian father. His father was an airline pilot and also…

My Job: Everyone Needs a Hug

NAME: Celeste Indvik AGE: 25 PART-TIME JOB: Professional cuddler and co-owner of Aloha Cuddle Co. START: Indvik was born and raised in Orange County, California, received her B.S. in nursing from Hawaii Pacific University, and is now a full-time labor…

My Job: NSA's “Mission Never Sleeps”

NAME: Dan Radford AGE: 37 JOB: Computer network operations manager, National Security Agency Hawaii START: While still a Marine, Dan Radford began his intelligence career as an electronics intelligence operator in 1996. “I broke into the computer network operations field…

My Job: Staying Balanced

NAME: Lealyn Poponi AGE: 39 JOB: Stilt walker START: Poponi, originally from Monroe, Michigan, dreamed of moving to the Islands since she visited Maui with her family when she was 18. “In 2013, I sold almost everything, quit my job…

My Job: Private Flights

NAME: Christopher Ferrara JOB: Jet pilot and director of operations COMPANY: Resort Air LLC, which operates charter flights within Hawaii. START: Ferrara was born in Hollywood. He used to come to Hawaii during summer high school and college breaks to work for his…

My Job: What’s Your Opinion?

NAME: Barbara Ankersmit JOB: Market researcher, president and partner COMPANY: Anthology Marketing Group Research Team START: Ankersmit had been a project manager in California for Arbitron, a radio listener survey company. When she and her family moved to Hawaii, she got a job…

Fighting the Good Fight

For 7 years, Yancy Medeiros has been a pro MMA fighter. NAME: Yancy Medeiros AGE: 28 JOB: Professional mixed martial arts fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) START: Medeiros was born and raised in Makaha, and graduated from Waianae High School.…

Giving Forests New Life

Sheri Mann, Forester and Kauai Island district manager works with the State to conserve nature's wonders. NAME: Sheri Mann AGE: 48 JOB: Forester and Kauai Island district manager, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, state Department of Land and Natural Resources…