Nov. 2, 2026

When Selah Fronda KSK’24 was in fifth grade at Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, she wrote a Christian worship song with her best friend. Complete with heartfelt lyrics and choreography, she looks back at the performance and laughs, calling it “emo.”

But almost a decade later, now a sophomore at Grand Canyon University, she sees that early experience differently. Songwriting has become a way for her to share her testimony, including through her original mele “O ʻOe Wale Nō.”

“I think it’s cool that it came full circle,” Fronda said. “I’ve always written music from my faith, and now one of those songs has become something other people can worship with.”

Long before she was writing tunes, Fronda learned what faith looked like at home. After her parents divorced, her mother and grandmother raised Fronda and her two siblings. Through seasons of uncertainty, she watched them meet every challenge with prayer.

“It was hard to navigate. It was five of us in a one-bedroom apartment,” Fronda said. “But my mother was a pillar for Jesus. I think that if she had strayed from that, then our family would have, too.”

As her faith strengthened, so did her love for music. At Kapālama, she sang in Children’s Choir and Concert Glee, where she developed a passion for composing. During her senior year, encouraged by her kumu ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, the former Song Contest student director started putting those experiences into mele.

“My songs are really just conversations with God,” Fronda said. “They’re written from things I’ve walked through and what He’s teaching me.”

Today, “O ‘Oe Wale Nō” is the title track of a live worship album recorded by the Kamehameha Schools Worship Team at Bishop Memorial Chapel. For Rodney Arias KSK’90, Kapālama’s former chapel music assistant, the recording is the latest expression of a decade spent creating opportunities for students to lead through praise, prayer and their own testimonies.

“In the past 10 years, I’ve seen ... their boldness to stand for Christ. It has been inspiring to me, even as an adult on my own walk,” Arias said.

Whether through student-led gatherings, podcasts or worship nights across the community, Arias has watched haumāna step confidently into leadership. The album became one way for students to reflect and express the highs and lows of their own faith journeys.

“It can all look good on the outside, but sometimes when you hear them share about some of the struggles they have, it’s the same struggles a lot of our students have,” Arias said.

Fronda’s own story is woven into her lyrics. Her middle name, Hāhaimakealaiki, came from a vision her mother had of light breaking through the clouds and illuminating a narrow path. That imagery became the heart of “O ʻOe Wale Nō.”

“I wanted to write something ... about following the straight and narrow path,” Fronda said. “Making sure that we focus our gaze on Jesus at all times and pursuing and submitting ourselves and all of our plans to Him.”