Students think bigger, seeking huge aftereffect

In the past, high school students may have sold benefit chili tickets or circulated a petition written on folder paper.

Today they form nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations, set up a board of directors and throw their efforts into big-impact, tangible, community- building projects.

Team HoloKai grew out of that Generation Z empowerment and entrepreneurial spirit. Instead of doing a car wash or bake sale, these high school students are organizing a biathlon at Honolulu’s most high-profile beach.

“Community service, especially for high school students, has begun to feel like more of a task than a genuine commitment to the community,” high school senior Mia Schiel said. “We created Team HoloKai with the hope to change this perspective and inspire other young individuals to become engaged in productive and meaningful service. With recent political events, we hope our organization is a sentiment to empowering students and giving young people a greater voice in the community.”

Sisters Mia, who is 18, and Kaile, who is 16, are both students at Punahou. They, along with friend Lillie Jones, started working on this idea a year ago.

“We love competitive running and have been involved with the running community since we were 7 years old,” Kaile said. Many of their friends are swimmers, which gave them the idea to have both events in one race. “We liked the name HoloKai because it joins “holo” (running) and “kai” (ocean), a perfect name for our main event, the biathlon, which consists of an 800-meter swim along Ala Moana Beach Park followed by a 5K run around the Ala Moana Beach Park finishing at Magic Island,” Kaile said.

The teens recruited friends to form a board of directors, filed paperwork to establish nonprofit status and figured out how to use the sports they love to accomplish what they’d love to see.

“Our board members consist of student athletes and outdoor enthusiasts,” Mia said. After hearing a presentation from AccesSurf Hawaii in chapel, they decided to use profits from their race to support that group’s mission. “AccesSurf provides disabled individuals in Hawaii with the unique opportunity to experience the ocean and outdoors through community-based events,” Mia said. “We chose AccesSurf because of our united mission to provide everyone with the ability to be active, regardless of one’s perceived physical abilities.”

The teens worked together to get all the details in place: reserving the park, applying for the necessary city and state permits, creating a website, creating registration forms.

Though their generation is known for its ability to multitask, willingness to speak up and a penchant for collaboration, making this happen wasn’t easy.

“The most difficult part was putting ourselves out into the community and asking for support,” Mia said. But they did, venturing past their own campus, reaching out to students from other schools, asking for financial support from local stores like Mahina clothing store and big businesses like Whole Foods Market.

So far, 100 people have registered to compete in the biathlon. Their goal is to have 200 participants come race day.

“We celebrate every donation and registration!” Kaile said.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.