NHIS Senior Shandette Namulauti was selected as one of five statewide high school essay contest winners sponsored by The Access to Justice Commission.

“Winning the essay contest, I was in complete shock. When I first received the email stating that my essay had been chosen, I was so happy. I was happy because I had won alongside other students from private schools and it made me feel amazing,” said Namulauti.

Namulauti heard about the essay contest from one of her teachers, but only had three days to complete her essay.

“One of the challenges I had faced was facing the deadline. I had to complete the essay and contest form within three days, which was a real challenge having to do college classes and high school classes. However, I was able to pull through and turn it in on time,” said Namulauti.

Namulauti is the only public school winner on the island of Oahu and one of two public school winners statewide. Competing against other students in the state created added pressure for Namulauti.

“I was having a hard time writing this because I was nervous. There were students from private schools that were entering the contest and I started to doubt that my essay would be chosen. I realized that I want to represent Nanakuli for the good it can give. I wanted to show my classmates that we can achieve just as much as any other school on the island,” said Namulauti.

On Oct. 27, 2022, Namulauti will be attending an award ceremony at the Hawaii Supreme Court and will be live-streamed on YouTube.

“Winning the essay contest, I was in complete shock. When I first received the email stating that my essay had been chosen, I was so happy. I was happy because I had won alongside other students from private schools and it made me feel amazing! It showed me that I had proven to Hawai’i that Nanakuli has so much to offer and we are not to be defined as just bad kids on the west side. This has proven to me I am able to achieve anything and represent the west side,” said Namulauti.