July 22, 2026
Get to know the Kamehameha Schools kumu who are inspiring haumāna and helping shape the future of our lāhui.
What inspired you to become a kumu at KS?
I didn’t know I always wanted to be a teacher. I think that Kamehameha always had a really special place in my heart and I always remained connected. Even while I was in college, I would help with speech and debate. And then, when I felt in my naʻau that it was time to move home, I started as a project analyst at KS and I was helping coach at the time.
So that’s where more of the spark to become a teacher came about. I loved working with students at the college level at my previous job and having the project analyst job was interesting, but being a coach, I really appreciated just getting to know the students — seeing them grow, helping to encourage them. From there, when a position became available, I applied and have been here ever since, about 13 years now.
Tell us about a time you saw your haumāna use what they’ve learned to make a difference. What did that mean to you?
Recently, we had the state speech tournament and one of my sophomore students made it to the final rounds and did really well for himself, especially his first year competing with us.
He shared with me later that “ultimately, it was the journey that got me here that I think is worth far more than any place I could get.”
I told him that I feel like that’s probably the highest compliment that any coach or teacher could ever receive: knowing that your student has the maturity and awareness to know that it was the learning that happened — the growth that happened — that was the greatest achievement more than any physical result.
What is something your haumāna have taught you about yourself?
It’s the reminder that we are all teachers. We all have the capability of teaching someone — whether it’s a lesson from a content area or how to conduct yourself properly, being pono, mindful, all that kind of stuff. So, I think the idea that we are always both students and kumu is something that I learned. We are constantly learning from our peers and our haumāna, continuing to grow and continuing to challenge ourselves is what’s most important.
In my earlier years of teaching, I thought I had to be a certain way or that I could never make mistakes — which is exhausting and stressful — but now, I think it’s just as important to be who you are and when you don’t have all the answers, be willing to go on that journey with students to find them. In fact, that’s one of the sayings I often share with my students: your journey is your journey. No need to compare yourself to others.
Where do you see Pauahi’s legacy most in your work?
I see Pauahi’s legacy all around me. I get to work with amazing haumāna who are really taking opportunities, as well as standing up and growing in their culture. Times have changed, and I think students are so much more grounded, embracing our ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and practicing culture in their everyday lives and upholding values.
The other way I see it is just through the work of my peers and colleagues and their constant dedication to upholding the qualities and standards of Pauahi’s will to make sure it’s being lived out for our haumāna. Every time we’re questioning how we make sure this is the best choice for students, how we’re changing curriculum to better support haumāna, how we’re meeting with ʻohana — those are all ways that I get to see her legacy come to fruition through the people I work with.
Shout out a fellow kumu who empowers their students every day!
I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing kumu! I want to shout out my fellow advisor/student activities hui. On top of being kumu or dean, part of our kuleana is to oversee student activities, helping to organize things like Song Contest, prom, senior picnic — a lot of behind-the-scenes work that happens. And these individuals put in so much heart into what they do! Also, a big shout out to my Spamily (Speech Family). The work they do to empower our haumāna and teach them to communicate with empathy and advocate for what they believe in is so inspiring!
But I would also be remiss if I didn’t include somebody super important to me: my husband, Mitchel Reeves. He is a Residential Life kumu at ʻIolani Hale. He just has his heart in the right place always and is constant in uplifting keiki, trying to make sure the boys he works with — as well as other residential life students — learn good character and grow into adults that can live independently and thrive beyond KS. To get to work alongside him in this capacity is such a special opportunity.