Twenty students from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and UH West O‘ahu participated in the 2025 Po‘okela Fellows Internship Program, gaining hands-on experience in public service with the City and County of Honolulu. The paid internship ran from January through May/June, placing college students in city departments to apply their academic skills to real-world projects.
Mira Olivas, a senior civil engineering major at UH Mānoa, helped make Honolulu’s roadways safer through work with the Transportation Engineering Division in the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Transportation Services. Olivas helped address public concerns related to speeding, parking and pedestrian safety by drafting updated signage and striping plans. Her projects included enhancing crosswalk visibility and replacing missing signs on streets such as University Avenue, Seaview Avenue and Keahole Street.
“This experience was valuable because it gave me a chance to get my feet in the real world. I was able to see how engineering is applied outside of the classroom and gain insight on the duties and responsibilities of traffic engineers,” Olivas said. “This internship will give you exposure to a wide range of work and connect you with all experienced mentors and departments. It’s okay to not know everything, but be willing to learn and ask questions.”
Briana Lee recently graduated with her bachelor’s degree in computer science in UH Mānoa’s College of Natural Sciences and will be pursuing her master’s degree this fall. One of the key projects she worked on was creating a Data Analysis Incident Trend Dashboard designed for public use at the Honolulu Fire Department’s Planning and Development Division. This dashboard visualizes patterns, making it easier for the public and the department to understand trends over time.
“This internship has provided me with real-world experience in data visualization, analytics and cross-departmental collaboration,” Lee said. “The Po‘okela Program is pretty competitive, and the coordinators do their best to match you with the different departments around the island. My advice would be to have an open mind and a willingness to learn.”
The program focuses on leadership development, mentorship and civic engagement. Applications for the 2026 session will open in September 2025, with the deadline set for October. Participants must be upper-division undergraduates or graduate students in good standing.
2025 interns with UH ties
- Phat Ca, information and computer science, UH Mānoa
- Cameron Cooper, mechanical engineering, UH Mānoa
- Haley Cummings, business administration–marketing, UH West O‘ahu
- Julia DePinto, human resource management, UH Mānoa
- Cassandra Dumaslan, public administration: justice administration, UH West O‘ahu
- Andrew Gresham, civil engineering, UH Mānoa
- Jazmin Horio, management information systems and international business, UH Mānoa
- Tyler Kahmann, management information systems, finance and international business, UH Mānoa
- Yuto Kudo, finance and marketing, UH Mānoa
- Ivan Lee, accounting, UH Mānoa
- Briana Lee, information and computer science, UH Mānoa
- Liberty Lum, accounting, UH Mānoa
- Clyds Bautista Manzano, public health–government and public policy, UH Mānoa
- Sara McGhee, biochemistry, UH Mānoa
- Nanami Mehring, molecular biosciences and biotechnology, UH Mānoa
- Mira Olivas, civil engineering, UH Mānoa
- Allen Palma, civil engineering, UH Mānoa
- Matisse Sremac, sustainability and climate change, UH Mānoa
- William Tam, finance, UH Mānoa
- Lauryn Takanishi, business management and marketing, UH Mānoa
Article originally posted to UH News on June 17, 2025.