Mark Ladao is a former staff writer at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He earned two Bachelor's degrees from the University of Hawaii at Manoa — one in biology and another in journalism.

 

Although a graduate of Moanalua High School, he spent most of his childhood around the San Francisco Bay Area, Calif., before moving to Hawaii, where he has lived his entire adult life.

 

Ladao's immediate family has since moved from Hawaii, but he has come to enjoy Honolulu's island-urban hybrid lifestyle despite the expensive cost of living.

 

He considers Hawaii his home, and as a reporter he hopes to understand it more through those who have considered it their home for much longer.