We were told our names. We were given our stories.
Now we name ourselves.
πΊ University of HawaiΚ»i Maui College
Wednesday, March 4, 2026 Β· 12:00 PM
Κ»Ike LeΚ»a 144
Presentation is free and open to the public.
When you touch a mimosa plant, it folds inwardβa protective reflex born from survival. But mimosa thrives in disturbed soil and spreads through invisible underground networks. Touch one, and the entire forest responds.
This deeply personal gallery exhibition marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War and invites visitors into an archive that is not a tomb, but a garden.
MY NAME IS MIMOSA traces Devaki's journey through the Operation Babylift archives to reconstruct her own origin storyβand the serendipitous connections, magical gifts from the past, and healing encounters that emerged along the way.
Each arrival felt less like chance and more like a summons, as if the archives themselves were choosing their caretaker.
A numbered print titled Babies in Cardboard Boxes by Bill Kurtis. A fat file labeled "Henry's Lists"βand a programmer named Henry who appeared 50 years later. Her own name on passenger manifests. Hand annotations revealing intimate details of her first days of life.
MY NAME IS MIMOSA
Devaki Murch never had a hospital bracelet or a baby book. She had newspaper headlines, news broadcast recordings, and pieces of the C-5A Galaxy plane that crashed with her inside on April 4, 1975.
Then the synchronicities began.
According to his loved ones, Ken passed away peacefully last night. Thank you to everyone who donated or shared his GoFundMe link. Theyβre nearly at their goal.
gofund.me/d15239ea
Here's Ken on stage with his son Jon wearing Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor that Ken built. Ken, his wife Gail and twelve-year old son Jon could use your support during this extremely difficult time.
gofund.me/d15239ea
Ken Quilantang has been an English professor at Honolulu Community College for many years. He is currently fighting stage-four cancer. Ken has been an avid cosplayer for many years.
At the Maui Indivisible protect our unions rally #WeAreUHPA #AFT #MayDayStrong #solidarity #UnionStrong
I always love my Lahainaluna students, but this class will always be extra special to me. They taught me about resilience, empathy, and courage ... all of which you will hear in Cece's speech. Ho'omaika'i e Cece!!
This is the speech that my once and future student Cece Steiner gave at the UH MΔnoa Scholarship Dinner. She was the Student Body President & Valedictorian of the Lahainaluna class of 2024. She is currently in her first year at UH MΔnoa and is a psychology major.
I hope they know that no matter what else is going on in this world, they are never alone. There will always be someone who loves and supports them: me.
And if theyβre ever in a situation β¦ maybe theyβre trying to fit in β¦ maybe theyβre trying to be cool β¦ and theyβre not sure how to behave, I hope they choose to be kind. Nothing is more noble or more important than treating others with care and empathy, and being kind is never the wrong choice.
And if they donβt know how theyβre wonderful or why theyβre amazing, just ask me. Send me a message or an email, even if itβs years from now. Iβll remind them why I am proud to know them and to be their professor.
I told them that they are all going to be wonderful and amazing people because they already are wonderful and amazing.
But even though the bullies probably donβt deserve it, the feeling you should also have is pity because if this is how they make themselves feel better, thatβs really rather sad.
I said that itβs ok to feel sad if someone does this to you because itβs not nice, and it hurts. I said itβs ok to feel angry because they have no right to treat anyone like that.
Their sense of worth is tied to social comparisons, so to feel better, they need to make you feel worse. Odds are, if they bully you, someone bullies them.
I taught about bullying today. I told my students that people who have to put or push you down to make themselves feel important or great are neither important nor great. They make act like they have all the confidence in the world, but in reality, theyβre insecure, and they have low self-esteem.
Itβs the first time weβve had an eclipse, and Iβve had a relatively new phone
Freezing in Philly is more fun with a friend
LamakΕ« (UHβs new LMS) may have its frustrations, but I just graded on my phone and left comments on assignments using dictation, and that was pretty nice.
My problem is that my podcast friends sound eloquent reading the dictionary, so even my best day would pale in comparison
A pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate chip pumpkin cupcakes (before and after the cream cheese frosting and my attempt to decorate them like Christmas lights).
