Head coach of team Napu, Josh Duenas, is looking to bring paddling back into the limelight, in order to hopefully make the sport bigger than it was, even before the pandemic. “Before the pandemic, the sport was definitely gaining some traction with regards to its growth,” he says. “Things definitely took a turn for the worse when COVID hit.”

Today, the sport of paddling is experiencing what some may call a resurgence, and much of the growing popularity can be credited team Napu and Coach Josh.

“I am always willing to teach people about our sport, especially those who have never tried it before,” says Coach Josh. “I always tell my paddlers that if anybody they know is interested in learning, bring them on down and we can definitely have them hop on the canoe.”                

For the past couple of months, team Napu has been slowly recruiting novice paddlers into the team. They have also been hosting paddling clinics and outrigger paddling races, all because they have a vision that the sport can be as big as it once was.

Team Napu is still a young team. They were founded during the midst of the pandemic back in 2020, but as of right now, they are one of the largest and most active outrigger paddling teams on the island.

Melfred James, also known as “Melo”, is one of the more experienced paddlers on team Napu. He has been paddling for almost 10 years, and he believes that it is certainly possible paddling can be a sport that everyone wants to do. “The sport is definitely something that can be as big as the other sports here, like basketball and soccer,” he says. “Just look at the high school paddling season, every year there are hundreds of kids that sign up to paddle, and all of them come down to the beach every day to practice, and they are always enjoying themselves and having a good time.”

One of the ways team Napu wants to bring more awareness and attention to the sport is by bringing back the “neni division”. In the past, paddling teams had kids and teen programs that focused on training young paddlers, ages anywhere from 5 to 14 years old. During races, the young paddlers would compete against each other, and it was known as the neni division. Melo believes that starting with the youth is the best way to get more people involved with the sport. “I myself started in the neni division way back, and I think it’s kind of sad that we as a community haven’t continued the tradition of providing the future generation of paddlers a way to practice and compete against each other,” he says. “Coach Josh wants to start the neni program back up again, and you know what, I’m all for it, he’s got my support.”

Paddling teams on Guam have been slowly getting back into the swing of things. Every day, different teams can be seen practicing in Tumon or Paseo, and the future looks bright for the sport.

“We definitely got a long way to go, especially if we want the sport to be as big as it is in places like Hawaii, New Zealand, or even California,” says Coach Josh. “It’s definitely an intimidating task, but I’m up for it, cause I know this sport has a lot to offer the people of Guam, and I know my team is up for it as well.”

The post The Outrigger Paddling Club Looking to Make the Sport Cool Again appeared first on The Triton's Call.

As the semester draws to a close, the planning for the next one begins! 

Blue Keys Honor Society held its first in-person induction ceremony since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic at the University of Guam Calvo Fieldhouse on May 1st. The ceremony celebrated its inductees, members, graduating seniors, and BKHS officers. Along celebrating the induction were honorary guests; Sallie McDonald of UOG’s Enrollment Management & Student Success, Professor Ronald McNinch, UOG 60th Student Body Association President Angelo Paule, UOG President Thomas Krise, and many more. Family and Friends were welcome to celebrate as well.

With 30 members at the start of Spring 2022, BKHS welcomed 21 newly inducted members, making it the largest number of members in the organization at 51. “In the beginning of my term, we only had 15 members, so to get to 51 is a big accomplishment and I’m proud,” BKHS President Mia Dulana. 

Following the lighting of the candles and the distribution of certificates to the inductees, Dulana announced the new officers for the next upcoming semester, Fall 2022.

President – Christianna Ebio

Vice President – Jean Bactad

Secretary – Hanna Ocampo

Treasurer – Xiantei Limtuatco

Public Relations Officer – Maeyah Soberano

Parliamentarian – Christian Ramos

Sergeant at Arms – Lidio Fullo

Historian – Jiliane Oliveros 

BKHS is looking to resume active involvement after a challenging two years of little to no in-person events after the breakout of Covid-19. With a new fresh set of officers in place for the upcoming semester, BKHS is preparing for a new beginning. The honor society intends to work with a variety of programs and community groups around the island to further our university’s and community’s goals. “ I’m planning on suggesting a lot of fun activities such as volunteering for GAIN,” Newly elected Historian of Fall 2022 Jiliane Oliveros said. “I would love for us to volunteer and help out fur babies and ease up the workload for the employees.” 

Not only does BKHS value community engagement, but it also wants to see its members flourish. “As Vice President, my main goal for the Blue Keys Honor Society is to not only aid my fellow society members, but to build upon and grow in the four pillars of scholarship, leadership, character, and service, but also to help each and every one of us thrive as well,” New elected vice President of Fall 2022 Jean Bactad said. “I would like to additionally enhance the society’s image by showcasing and highlighting our members for their accomplishments and involvement in the community, as I believe that the members of this organization are the foundation of the society”. 

Bactad’s plans for BKHS are not limited to what she hopes to achieve with the organization, as she aims to create and pursue more goals in the future. 

BKHS recognizes and rewards its members’ many achievements. Intellectual curiosity with a desire to learn, modeling a significant pattern of leadership that contributes to the institution’s student and campus life, service to the community and citizenship, expressing humility through moral character and integrity, and a strong sense of faith in word and deed are among the special qualities of Blue Key members as they model service to others.

“Students should join BKHS as it would enable them to inspire other generations that is possible to be a good person and maintain academic excellence while showcasing positive leaders with significant involvement in serving their community,” Bactad said.

BKHS is the only honor society at UOG that embraces students from all majors with the same objective of volunteering and leadership in the community. BKHS has partnered with the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Animal Rescue Groups, homeless shelters, and the Guam Department of Education, and has begun holding beach cleanups.

This article was written as an assignment for CO-226: Media Writing.

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The Isla Center for the Arts is about to have its exhibit rotation in early to mid-March: “A Retrospective of the Visual Arts at the University of Guam.” It will not only be the new exhibit but will also be a featured part of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Annual Research Conference as well as the 70th Anniversary of the University of Guam.   

“This will be the featured display during the Charter Day celebration on March 31, 2022. The exhibition will feature the works of former and current faculty and alumni,” comments Velma Yamashita, faculty of the Isla Center for the Arts.  

The planning and consideration that went into the exhibit’s release seemed to have had ample thought put towards it as the timing could not be any better to highlight its release. While Yamashita could not give the specific names of any artists yet, as the list is still under consideration, the efforts going towards the exhibit’s progress speak of their hopes and expectations.  

Other than its release being at such an attention-grabbing time, there will be other efforts made to spread the word of the release.  

“We will disseminate information about the exhibition through the University of Guam media team as well as social media (Instagram and Facebook).  We will also send email digital invitations to those on our mailing list,” Yamashita answered.  

The staff of the Isla Center of the Arts are busy with careful planning. Before the exhibit rotation, people are encouraged to visit the current exhibit to enjoy the displayed works of art. 

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Residents of Guam will be facing a new monthly fuel surcharge that will increase from the current 15.08 cents per kilowatt-hour to 17.14 cents. This will be placed in effect starting Feb. 1st with the plan being implemented.  

There was an increase up to 13.04 cents per kWh in August then increased again up to 15.08 cents per kWh in October. By December, it finally increased to 17.14 cents per kWh affecting residents.  

The power increase will leave many families having to find extra money to compensate for their monthly power bills. Local Guam resident Bryant Leon Guerrero of Inarajan said, “I will have to find ways to reduce my power consumption to handle the increased bill.” Many other residents will soon be faced with these decisions.  

 The formal name for this surcharge is known as the Levelized Energy Adjustment Clause and is a part of the consumer’s monthly power bill. Along with what consumers pay for their monthly power bill it also pays for the cost of fuel oil for the power plant.  

GPA was faced with a notable loss as fuel prices increased. The Consolidated Commission on Utilities and the Public Utilities Commission have decided to maintain a loss on fuel purchases. There is an estimate of a loss of $18.4 million since January 2022.  

GPA’s savings can help mitigate the $5 million in capital expenses. Although, if the surcharge is maintained at 17.14 cents per kWh, there is a loss of roughly about $17.5 million by the end of the next six-month period.  

Students and families living in Guam will now have to find ways to adjust to this increase by making tough decisions to reduce their power consumption.  Turning the air conditioner off, opening windows, and drying laundry on clotheslines will all help in reducing their power bill.

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Before going back to sleep, she decides to check how her business is doing through her Shopify shop.

She scans through the inventory for their “Shy Babe” collection. In disbelief, she immediately puts her phone down then picks it up again.

In just three days since the launch of their new collection, everything was sold out. Filled with joy, she calls her best friend and business partner, Jasmine Balajadia, 22, to tell her about the news. The two begin to scream in excitement over the phone about their achievement.

Loyalty Lashes by Leona and Jasmine first launched on May 1.

“Our business was in the making for about a year and a half before our launch,” King said. “We finally decided to launch despite this pandemic, and things have been super good.”

Their business was created solely to provide the island of Guam with high quality, cruelty-free false lashes and lash accessories.

The pair first met in elementary school and have been best friends for about 13 years before they decided to be business partners.

Initially, King was going start the business alone, but it just didn’t feel right to her.

“About a month in, I was like, ‘Loyalty Lashes by Leona… I don’t know,’” King said. “When COVID wasn’t happening yet, and Jas and I were always spending time together, I thought, ‘What could go wrong with two best friends running a business?’”

They reveal that the hardest part about running a business is not having your best friend as a business partner, but it is managing their time because they both have other responsibilities.

Balajadia and King both work and attend school full-time. Balajadia is a high voltage electrician, while King is a financial accountant.

However, when they focus on their business, they feel at ease.

“Believe it or not, when it is time to work on the business, it really does take a load of our shoulders because we love what we do,” King said.

Although it has been a few months since the launch of their business, they are still new to the whole thing.

“For me, it is a learn-as-you-go,” Balajadia said.

Their top priority when running their business is to ensure that they provide good customer service.

Allyana Canete, 20, a customer, said she first discovered the business through Instagram.

When asked about what makes the business unique, Canete said it is their branding and customer service.

Soon, they hope to expand their product line.

Their main goal is to be able to expand their business globally.

“Besides growth, we want to go global,” Balajadia said. “We want to have our line in Ulta and Sephora.”

The post From best friends to business partners: How loyalty lashes by leona & jasmine came to be appeared first on The Triton's Call.

The International Friendship Club assists foreign students visiting Guam and participating in UOG’s English Adventure Program.

IFC belongs to the Global Learning and Engagement Department at the University of Guam.

Junga Mok, 19, who joined in this short-term program for international students in August 2019, said the experience with IFC members were the most memorable in her days on Guam.

Mok currently attends Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea but participated in UOG’s English Adventure Program to improve language skills during summer vacation.

“IFC members helped me adjust well to life in Guam,” Mok said. “They became my real friends beyond the helpers who assist me in the UOG program as a visiting student.”

She also improved her English skills by spending time with club members.

Mok said she felt awkward using English when she first met the club members. However, as she spent time with them doing various activities, she was able to have a comfortable conversation with the IFC members with confidence in English.

“IFC friends helped me a lot in many ways,” Mok said.

Kolbric Diego, who is currently the IFC secretary, said the rule is to communicate only in English during club activities to improve the proficiency of the students participating in the program.

“They can speak English in a more comfortable state if we continue to communicate with them in English,” Diego said.

He said that the proudest moment of his IFC career was when a Korean male student, who could not speak any English at first, came to him on the last day of the program and talked excitedly in English.

“We begin as strangers, but by spending time together, we create and maintain long-lasting friendships together,” Diego said. “The great advantage of IFC is that I can interact and engage with college students from other countries in my age.”

Atsumi Ito, 22, a member of IFC, noted building happy memories with international students is one of the advantages of participating in club activities.

She is also an international student from Japan, but she joined IFC because she wanted to interact with students of various cultures.

“As a member of the club, I was able to make unforgettable memories through fun activities in Guam with many students,” Ito said. “I would like to describe IFC as the true internationalization of friendship in my words.”

Mok and Ito both said it was most interesting to be able to exchange cultures with each other while doing activities.

Mok mentioned that it was most interesting to be able to exchange cultures with each other while doing activities.

She mentioned that she was most impressed when she learned how to make coconut candy on beach day and visited the Chamorro village to learn more about Guam’s culture.

She recalled memories with IFC members, saying that if she had visited Guam only for sightseeing, she would not have experienced these things.

Ito also thought positively about cultural exchange among club activities.

“I always bear the beach day in mind among club activities. It is because beach day starts in the morning and ends in the afternoon, so there are always many opportunities to come across new cultures from them,” Ito said.

If you become a member of IFC, you can not only build international friendships, but also be given the opportunity to study abroad.

Although all IFC activities have been suspended due to COVID-19, the club is asking students to consider becoming a member.

The post IFC, Where International Friendships Can Be Built appeared first on The Triton's Call.

“I think there’s a lot of work we need to do here in Guam,” said Nolan Flores, PSSA president. “It’s a lot about informing the public of advocacy on certain issues.”

PSSA was created in 2010 by like-minded individuals who wanted to form an organization for the college major.

Although the association was created to serve political science interests, PSSA is very inclusive of others who are willing to join.

Joseph Madlangbayan, the association’s current vice president, believes that having a variety of people join PSSA helps keep the association’s goals.

The association’s missions and goals revolve around promoting politics, providing opportunities and enhancing experiences.

PSSA participates in numerous community projects on Guam.

One of these includes conducting legislative forums every election season. The PSSA brings in potential senators and have them talk about their platform and plans if they were elected.

The association was able to have their sixth legislative forum in fall 2020.

This was also PSSA’s first time to organize a congressional forum where the association’s officers were able to meet with senatorial candidates to discuss their campaigns.

Kayleen Concepcion, the current PSSA public relations officer, was moderator for one of these legislative forums.

“For my friends and family, even those who are in the states, they found this forum to be super helpful,” Concepcion said.

Apart from Concepcion’s participation in the forums, she also believes in the importance of promoting political engagement, especially for the young.

“It’s very easy to dismiss the importance of voting and local politics,” Concepcion said. “A lot of people believe if they’re not directly involved, it doesn’t affect them.”

Concepcion also believes PSSA will help reach out to others by informing younger age groups about current political issues.

“If you were to ask me in high school about issues going on in Guam, I wouldn’t know anything,” Madlangbayan said. “Going to college helped me better engage in these issues.”

In order to attract the interests of younger audiences, the association hosts recruitment drives at UOG throughout the semester.

PSSA sets up a table at the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Lecture Hall. The members distribute free tea and donuts, and engage in discussions about the association and politics with others.

However, due to the global pandemic, these recruitment drives have been canceled until further notice.

According to Flores, the association has future plans of conducting recruitment sessions in Zoom virtual classrooms to reach students during the pandemic.

As his first semester as PSSA president, Flores has had a tougher experience in leading and transitioning the association into online learning.

“I’ve had to adapt my leadership style,” Flores said. “As president, I’ve never had an in-person meeting, so it’s harder to make the connections with people.”

PSSA is now currently aiming to increase and maintain engagement during this pandemic. Their goal of promoting decolonization, self-determination, and indigenous rights continues as well.

Apart from politics, PSSA also offers other fun activities such as trivia nights, bar fundraisers, karaoke nights, etc.

They also participate in community and volunteer work such as annual donation drives and feeding-the-homeless events.

Follow PSSA’s Instagram and Facebook page to keep up to date with the association’s activities.

Students interested may contact the association directly at pssa@triton.uog.edu for further inquiries.

The post The Political Science Student Association and their mission to a better future appeared first on The Triton's Call.

“Let the love of learning rule humanity” may sound like the catchphrase of the next biggest superhero league. That is, if you are willing to see the extraordinary in ordinary people.

That phrase is the mission of the University of Guam’s first chapter of The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

UOG’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was established earlier in March of this year. UOG’s chapter is the third chapter personally established by UOG’s 11^th President, Dr. Thomas Krise.

The organization focuses on provided funds for its student members. A large part of the chapter’s work is geared towards fundraising for scholarships and research surrounding academic achievement.

The society faced the challenge of working around quarantine policies the moment it was established.

“We were born in the pandemic – and we didn’t really have any other options,” said Troy McVey, Ed.D., the chapter’s president and UOG’s vice provost for Academic Excellence, Graduate Studies & Online Learning.

The conditions pushed members to put a great amount of thought and planning into how the program would manage virtually. Although their zoom meetings are not frequent, members still take time out of their days to discuss and organize events.

The membership installation ceremony was the society’s first event which took place during Pandemic Condition of Readiness 3 and was adjusted to follow social distancing guidelines.

Although it strayed from the usual induction ceremony that participants were familiar with, the unique experience was a memorable moment for many.

The society then moved onto their next event that took place from September to October of the fall 2020 term.

During their Fall Service Literacy Project, 30 t0 40 members read local-based legends, poetry, and non-fiction stories, which were posted as videos on the Phi Kappa Phi Instagram and Facebook pages.

The videos were distributed to schools and left available as content for students to discuss and review. Guam’s KPRG public radio station also aired the stories.

By the 2021 spring semester, the program intends to sponsor academic conversations, such as the School of Business & Public Administration Dean Series and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Colloquium series.

Phi Kappa Phi does plan activities that benefit certain programs, but it is not disciplinary-specific. Instead of restricting to certain majors, the society welcomes any student who meets the required academic standards.

Juniors, seniors, and graduates who have completed 18 credits are eligible to apply. Undergraduate juniors must be in the top 7.5 percent of their academic major, while seniors and graduate students must be in the top 10 percent.

A list from the Registrar’s Office is usually reviewed to send invitations out to eligible students attending UOG.

Although there are fees that come with applying, college deans, the president, and senior vice president of UOG covered most of the costs thanks to a challenge match funding, easing the financial worries of the first wave of applicants.

“Sometimes members steer away from joining an honor society because of the application fee, but the application fee is lifelong,” said Jestyne Sablan, the society’s current student vice president.

She noted that applying for membership can be daunting, but serving those in the community is all worthwhile.

“I think of always coming back to that,” said Christopher Garcia-Santos, PhD, assistant professor of English and the society’s president-elect. He expressed how there is a constant reminder to focus the organization on the issues that matter the most. “As an organization, we can promote learning across members and non-members and the greater community that the university serves.”

Allowing the love of learning to guide them in the decisions they make remains the greatest motivation for the society.

For more information on The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, you can visit their Facebook and Instagram pages. You can also contact them by sending an email to phikappaphi@triton.uog.edu.

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Ina Wellness Collective, a local company that specializes in holistic wellness events, retreats, corporate programs and health coaching, will host the event.  

The event is open to the public, but organizers have set restrictions related to COVID-19 such as allowing only 20 participants.  

Lissa Sablan-Flores, a certified yoga teacher who has been practicing for over 15 years, will lead the yoga session.   

Melissa Holman, a registered aromatherapist, will provide holistic aromatherapy counseling.  

For more information on the event, you may visit their website at https://www.inawellnesscollective.com/.  

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Le Velle is currently on her last semester at the University of Guam doing two internships and working as a full-time teacher at Tiyan High School.

With this school year being only her 3^rd year teaching, there have been some pros and cons having to transition from traditional face-to-face to online learning.

“It was rough at first, but now with a month into teaching online and having a set schedule for preparing packets and lessons, I’ve created a routine to help me stay on track and also give myself some free time to spend with family and my dog, Hånao,” said Le Velle.   

Le Velle mentioned that one of the cons of teaching online is not being able to connect and see her students regularly.

With her background in Social Work and Counseling, some of her interests include helping others, providing unconditional support to her loved ones and self-care.

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