University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu features heavily in Papa Ola Lōkahi’s “Our Kuleana, Made with Pashyn,” a half-hour comedy special with internet sensation Pashyn Santos. It premiers 10 p.m. on Oct 7 on K5.

Heather Giugni, ‘Ulu’Ulu Archives Collection Specialist/Producer, served as producer, and Academy for Creative Media at UH West O’ahu alum Kureha Pambid created the illustrations and graphic design for the special.

“Personally I love including students or young people entering the field with opportunities to work with professionals,” Giugni said. “It is my hope to give them meaningful experiences that influence them positively. Kureha’s work is fabulous and her work ethic and ability to be flexible and not miss a deadline is impressive.”

Giugni also involved Kara Abaya, a UH Mānoa ACM student, as a production assistant and craft person.

According to a release, Pashyn tackles vaccination awareness with humor and heart. Her aim is to keep our Lāhui safe and healthy for generations to come. Written by Ty Sanga and Pashyn, and produced by Rock Salt Media, “Our Kuleana, Made With Pashyn” takes aim at breaking down the history of epidemics in our community in a comedic style navigating the viewers through storytelling.

“Filmmakers create, collaborate and hopefully make a difference. This program has been an opportunity for us to address what has become a controversial subject – an epidemic that has torn our community apart. In our creative media landscape, we get to unpack this storyline using comedy as the method to communicate an important message. In the end, itʻs about love, respect and staying healthy,” Giugni said.

Papa Ola Lōkahi Presents Our Kuleana, Made With Pashyn premieres on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 10 p.m. on K5, on K5’s website, and K5’s Facebook. The special also re-airs on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. on KHNL and at 10:30 p.m. on KGMB.