Mr. Aiona's Calling to God

Staff Writers: Logan Torda and Andre Abad

With the new school year and Damien’s 60th Anniversary this year, faith in the community is more prominent than ever at this Catholic institution. Mr. Aiona, an advisor for Hui Maluha (Pro-Life Club) and a teacher for Damien’s theology class, talked with Ke Ali`i about what he was like before his faith. 

Although he is now a teacher of theology for juniors at Damien, he didn’t always want to be what he is now. “Nonexistent” was the word uttered by Mr. Aiona when asked to describe his faith in high school. He jokingly said that he had to go to church, but other than that, it was nonexistent for him. “[I] didn’t wanna do it,” Mr. Aiona recalls what he said when he was invited to do youth ministry for a team. Before he was a teacher, he was set on engineering, but unfortunately he wasn’t satisfied in choosing that career choice. In Mr. Aiona’s words, “It was never my passion, I was never fulfilled by it.” 

After discovering he didn’t want to pursue engineering, Mr. Aiona decided to try the opposite when finding his passion for God. He felt like every time he tried to do things right, he screwed up. He finally was introduced to God when he was “volun-told'' to lead a youth ministry team. 

“Ultimately it was just kind of a calling,” Mr. Aiona said in regards to what made him start teaching. Because of this calling, he has worked here for 7 years and has enjoyed teaching the faith to young adults. Because of his passion for Damien, he’s an advisor for Hui Maluha, one of the many clubs at Damien. Outside of school, he spends time with family and his three kids. From time to time, he does retreats for the students and enjoys doing so. Along with the retreats, he enjoys teaching his students the faith of God. Just like Mr. Aiona, anybody can start their journey with God at any time of your life.