![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2019\/03\/StudentsfromHawaiiStoryArena143A9298-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThree natives of Hawaii have each discovered two more reasons to say that Southern Arkansas University feels like home.<\/p>\n
They each chose to come to SAU from different islands at our 50th state. When they recently realized their mutual connection to Hawaii on campus, a fast friendship developed that has brought them together in unique ways.<\/p>\n
Gabrielle Gleason is a junior Elementary Education major from Hilo, Hawaii; Elisa Favela is a sophomore pre-nursing major from Ouahu, Hawaii; and Ryah Kaniho is a junior Elementary Education major from Maui, Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Within minutes of learning their island connection, they felt a kinship.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like we know each other,\u201d said Favela, who along with Kaniho plays on the Mulerider Softball team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already feel like we\u2019re family,\u201d Kaniho agreed.<\/p>\n
Gleason, a member of the Mulerider Rodeo team, can\u2019t wait to do some home-style cooking for Kaniho and Favela. Her two new friends expressed their excitement to check out SAU Rodeo for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to hang out,\u201d Gleason enthused. \u201cThis helps me feel more like I am at home, just having someone who knows all the Hawaiian lingo, expressions and food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though rodeo and softball keep the trio busy \u2013 and on the road \u2013 they plan to deepen their bond.<\/p>\n
Gleason came to SAU in 2016 on an academic scholarship. Having done rodeo in Hawaii since middle school, she was impressed with the facilities that SAU has to offer.<\/p>\n
Kaniho and Favela met and became friends through Mulerider Softball, but neither had met Gleason, who did not know there were other students from Hawaii attending SAU.<\/p>\n
All three agreed on the thing they miss most about Hawaii: the food.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t always get the ingredients, but I learned how to ship the things that can be shipped and then make up the rest,\u201d Gleason said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss the food more than anything,\u201d Kaniho laughed.<\/p>\n
They also joked about accents in Arkansas. \u201cI think the accents are the coolest thing,\u201d Favela said. \u201cBut people back home say I\u2019m sounding so country!\u201d<\/p>\n
Favela plans to become a dental hygienist while Gleason and Kaniho both plan to teach. All three plan to eventually return to Hawaii.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so important to go back home and bring our knowledge and skills back to the people of Hawaii,\u201d Kaniho said. \u201cI want to (teach) in my town. A lot of teachers are coming from the mainland, but I think it is important to instill in our children a sense of our Hawaiian values.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gleason agreed that teaching and respecting Hawaiian cultural values is important. Favela said she already has a job set back home. \u201cWe need a lot more people in dental hygiene school in Hawaii,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to get back home and start to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the girls are enjoying getting to know each other and reaffirming their island connection. Favela and Kaniho were excited to meet Gleason\u2019s horse, Bobo, who was shipped over to the mainland from Hawaii.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three natives of Hawaii have each discovered two more reasons to say that Southern Arkansas University feels like home. They each chose to come to SAU from different islands at our 50th state. When they recently realized their mutual connection to Hawaii on campus, a fast friendship developed that has brought them together in unique… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":7301,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[271,94,32641,7753,195,143],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7299","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-admissions","9":"category-featured-layout","10":"category-homepage","11":"category-rodeo","12":"category-student-life","13":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}