My name is Kaila-LeeAnn Kapualahaole Christine Leilani Kaahu, I was born and raised in Hau'ula. My family and I never left Hau'ula. My parents wanted me and my siblings to grow up in a place they grew up in. My parents are Barbie & Elton Kaahu. I am the oldest of four children, I have one sister, Kalia, and two brothers, Mikan & EJ. I come from the Kahana 'ohana, the Fely 'ohana, the Fonoimoana 'ohana, & the Kaahu 'ohana. Most of my family live on O'ahu & Moloka'i. I now live in Waimea, it is the my first and last year here at HPA. I have been on the Big Island for about five months now. I decided to come to HPA because I needed a change in my life and I wanted to be able to play sports for my senior year. At first I was scared of the idea of moving and being without my family but now I feel great about this year. The previous school I went to was Kahuku High School on O'ahu. One of my passions growing up was playing basketball and softball, I always enjoyed it. My parents always made sure I was active, they always made sure that I was busy. Sports for me was always something that took me away from reality. It gave me a break from everything and was always something that I wanted to actually do. If I wasn't on the court or on the field I would either be at the beach or hanging out with family and friends. I love to fish, my dad always took me with him since I was a child. Being able to eat off the land was always something my family and I, love to do. Hanging out with my family is always a good time. My family are my people and I know they always got me. They have always supported me in whatever I did. I want to be able to give back to my family and everthing they have done for me so I plan to work hard and be successful for my family and mainly my parents. As a child I've always wanted to go to a big time college and play basketball or softball and I still want to pursue that dream. I want to go to college to play ball and study kinesiology to become an athletic trainer because I want to be able to help people and being an athlete myself I feel like I can understand them on a more personal level.

I chose to do No Ku'u Hawai'i capstone because the Hawaiian culture is a big part of me and I want my project to be able to relate to the Hawaiian culture. Growing up I was surrounded by the culture and I can always connect to Hawaii. The Hawaiian culture has been in my family for many generations and I was so fortunate that I had people that have taught me many things about being Hawaiian. The culture is always something that I enjoyed and had a lot of respect for. I want to be able to connect more to Hawai'i and I want to learn more about it. I want to be able to pass down my knowledge to the generation after me and learn more traditional practices.