Hawaii’s Super Students




Saturday, February 22, 1997

Name: Tracie Kajiwara
Age: 13
School: Iao School
Favorite subject: English
Pastimes: Playing flute, exploring the Internet
Future: Band teacher

"It sounded different, a very interesting place," said Kajiwara.

Kajiwara's essay on Kalaupapa through her father's eyes received honorable mention in the Grove Day Writer's Prize this year. The contest was judged by Hawaiian novelist O.A. Bushnell and University of Hawaii associate professors Gay Sibley and Robert "Chip" Hughes.

Kajiwara, 13, the daughter of Wayne and Evelyn Kajiwara of Wailuku, carries her enthusiasm into other endeavors as well.

She has a grade point average of 3.5 and participates in the school's Renaissance Kealahou program, which encourages students to participate in community service projects every quarter.

Kajiwara was recently selected as second seat flutist on the Maui County select band.

Outside of school, she is a member of a 4-H Club and the Maui Gold Swim Club, where she qualified one year for the state finals in the backstroke.

Kajiwara enjoys reading romance novels and young adult magazines, such as Seventeen.

"She's a hard-working girl, and she gets along well with her friends," said Wallace Arine, her seventh-grade social studies teacher. "She's also a well-rounded kid."