HPU School of Social Work

10/08/2026

Special Film Screening in Hawaiʻi - "To Heal the Heart"
Film screening FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C6yfSozAE/

October is Mental Health Awareness Month. This is the North America/Hawaiʻi premiere of director Mojiri Adachi’s acclaimed film, "To Heal the Heart," brought to you with the generous support of producer Sungyang Ahn.

Screened in Japanese with English subtitles.

📅 Date & Time:
Thursday, October 22
5:00 PM Doors Open
5:30 PM Screening Starts
(Running Time: 116 mins)

📍 Venue:
Palolo Hongwanji Temple
1641 Palolo Avenue, Honolulu, HI

🎟 Admission & RSVP: No RSVP needed
Suggested Donation: $20
All donation proceeds will benefit Palolo Hongwanji and the Move4Japan Relief Fund for earthquake disaster recovery in Japan.

🍜 Special Food :
Enjoy Move4Japan’s signature Yakisoba! (Limited quantities available, first-come, first-served).

✉️ Inquiries:
Vince Okada ([email protected])
We look forward to seeing you there!

[Story]
Born and raised in Osaka as a Zainichi (Korean resident living in Japan), Dr. Kazutaka An (Tasuku Emoto) spends his youth questioning his identity. Kazutaka decides to enroll in the medical school and pursue a career in psychiatry. Kazutaka offers warm, empathetic care to patients who travel from all over the country to see him, becoming head of the medical department at age 34.

January 1995. A major earthquake strikes, and the university hospital in Kobe where Kazutaka works is overwhelmed with patients. Searching for ways to help as a psychiatrist, he attempts to listen to the survivors at evacuation centers, but faces initial resistance. The shelters are filled with endless outbursts and weeping, while children play games pretending to experience the earthquake...

In the midst of all this, Kazutaka is diagnosed with cancer. Even while undergoing cancer treatment, he strives to continue practicing medicine. What is the true meaning of "mental care" that Kazutaka ultimately arrives at—?

10/07/2026

We are pleased to invite you to “A More Compassionate Hawaiʻi: How Do We Get There?”, a statewide community conversation focused on dignity, serious illness, and our shared future.

📅 Thursday, October 22, 2026
🕟 4:30–6:30 PM
📍 Hawaiʻi Pacific University – Aloha Tower Marketplace 2F - Sunset Ballroom
💻 Virtual option available via Zoom

This 90-minute conversation will feature renowned palliative care thought leaders and researchers Shirley Otis-Green, LCSW, OSW-CE, FNAP, FAOSW, and Myra Glajchen, DSW, MSW, BSW, ACSW, APHSW-C. The discussion will explore how we can strengthen dignity, connection, and compassionate care for individuals and families experiencing serious illness across Hawaiʻi.

Faculty, students, and community members are warmly welcome to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn, engage in meaningful conversation, and connect with others who share an interest in compassionate care and stronger systems of support.

Please register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DAw75Fols0gIzphwGo8FX3KmNiQwSfao5jw-9BNT3bU/viewform?edit_requested=true

09/30/2026

Found familiar faces in the brochures HPU is handing out at the college fair! 🦈

09/30/2026

https://www.hpu.edu/about-us/the-ohana/article.php?nid=nc09292601

Students in Hawai'i Pacific University's School of Social Work recently participated in the Fall 2026 Culturally Immersive Reciprocal Community Engaged Learning and Service (CIRCELS) program, a required experience for all Bachelor of Social Work students and selected Master of Social Work students.....

09/20/2026

Fall 2026 HPU School of Social Work CIRCELS Completed!🌺

The Fall 2026 HPU School of Social Work (SWRK) - Culturally Immersive Reciprocal Community Engaged Learning and Service (CIRCELS) has officially wrapped up!🤙🏽

Day 1 - BSW and MSW students visited the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. Aunty Hiʻilani Shibata opened our day with a Hawaiian language lesson and ti leaf lei and hoʻokupu making workshop.💝 After learning essential protocols led by Kumu Tammy Martin, we were joined by Hōkūleʻa Crew Austin Kino from the Polynesian Voyaging Society⛵️, who shared about Hōkūleʻa, wayfinding, and his personal huakaʻi and moʻolelo. Students then enjoyed a guided tour of the museum.

Day 2 - Students, faculty and our hosts at the ʻĀina Wellness Academy (AWA) exchanged opening protocols. The morning was filled with hana (work) guided by Kumu Kalā Kawaʻa.💪🏽💦 In the afternoon, Aunty Mahealani Kawaʻa led a hands-on activity where students decorated “Who I Am” bags, exploring who their “village” is and what they carry within their bag.💖

We concluded Fall 2026 CIRCELS with an intensive reflection session. Students shared about their bags, their villages, and how their experiences connect to core social work concepts: engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. We shared some tears and good laughs 😭🤗🥰—we are building pilina, a village, and each one of us is developing our own unique hōkū paʻa, our guiding star.⭐️

🙇🏻 Mahalo nui to the Bishop Museum, Aunty Hiʻilani, Polynesian Voyaging Society, Austin, AWA, Aunty Mahealani, Kumu Kalā, and everyone who supported Fall 2026 CIRCELS. Congratulations to the HPU SWRK Fall 2026 Planning Committee, led by Kumu Martin, on another successful event!

To the students who participated🦈: mahalo nui for showing up (continuing showing up) as well as exercising your engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation skills (and staying late!). We hope this was more than just a class requirement—may it be a meaningful experience that enriches both your social work career and personal development.

The semester continues! ✨

09/14/2026

CSWE's BSW Spotlight Series celebrates undergraduate social work students and recent graduates who are making a difference — sharing their stories, their paths, and their passion for the profession.

If you're a BSW student or know one who has a great story to share, please let us know at [email protected]!

View the latest spotlights: https://www.cswe.org/bsw-spotlights

09/11/2026

https://www.hpu.edu/about-us/the-ohana/article.php?nid=nc09012601

Master of Social Work candidate Renée Rivera, Marine Biology senior, President of the HPU Indigenous Student Alliance, and Vice President of the HPU Asian American and Pacific Islander Club Annalysa Dumlao, Geography and Urban Sustainability professor Serge Marek, Ph.D., Cinematic Multimedia Arts p...

09/09/2026

✨ 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑. 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤, 𝐌𝐒𝐖, 𝐋𝐒𝐖 ✨

We’re pleased to spotlight 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑. 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤, a valued member of the 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢ʻ𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲! 🌺

Here’s a short introduction from Jessica:

💬 “𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘪ʻ𝘪 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2015, 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘈𝘥𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘓𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳. 𝘖𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘗𝘜, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩/𝘖𝘩𝘪𝘰 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯-𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴.
𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘛𝘝!”

We’re grateful for Jessica’s years of dedication to HPU and the experience, compassion, and real-world perspective she brings to our students and the 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤. 💙🌺

09/06/2026

BSW New Academic Year Potluck & Paddling with HPU Nā Manō ‘ō Ke Kai 🦈 Nā Manō ʻO Ke Kai 🦈). 🦈 🛶 💦
Mahalo coaches and crew members for hosting us! 🤙🏽💕

09/05/2026

✨ 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫! ✨

Please join us in welcoming 𝐃𝐫. 𝐄𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐲, 𝐃𝐒𝐖, 𝐋𝐂𝐒𝐖-𝐒, 𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐒𝐖-𝐒, 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐢ʻ𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤! 🌺

Dr. Reevey is a licensed clinical social worker in seven states and a behavioral health leader and educator. She holds a Doctorate and Master of Social Work from the University of Louisville, a Master's in Spirituality from Bellarmine University, and a Bachelor's degree from Berea College. She serves as a clinical supervisor in three of the seven states. As Founder and Clinical Director of a private practice behavioral health organization, she brings real-world practice directly into the classroom, connecting theory to what's happening in the field. Outside work, she enjoys traveling, gluten-free cuisine, bingo, and binge-watching TV series.

We’re excited to have Dr. Reevey join the HPU School of Social Work and look forward to the knowledge, experience, and passion she will share with our students! 💙🌺

𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐏𝐔, 𝐃𝐫. 𝐑𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐲! 🤙