 Hey, I'm Rusty Komori, and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness. Today's special guest is a woman that I've known since I was in high school, and I have great respect for her and her family, and she's the author of her new book titled Leading with Aloha. She is Jan Iwasse, and today we are going beyond leadership. Hey, Jan. Hi. Thank you so much, Rusty. Great to see you. Oh, well, I'm thrilled to be here. You've seen me grow up. I've seen you grow up, and I'm very proud of all you've done. I'm proud of you and your family. Oh, thank you very much. Now, I read your book over the weekend. I loved your book, and we're going to talk about that, but I had no idea that you grew up in Whitmore Village. I did. How was it? Well, I spent my first 17 and a half years in Whitmore Village. My dad worked for Dole. It used to be a Hawaiian plantation company, and it turned to Dole, and we lived in a little cottage, two bedrooms. There were five of us kids. It was a great place to grow up. I mean, honestly, you talk about village. It takes a village to raise a child. Well, I literally lived in a village, and I learned so much about empathy, about perseverance, because my parents and their friends and our neighbors were all hardworking people. They worked in the pineapple plantation and started off as laborers, and they never complained. We didn't have much. I looked back, and I think we probably could be considered poor, but we never felt that because we had so many other experiences and riches that I think helped to make me into the person I am today. For sure. I grew up in Waihewa until I was around seven years old before moving to Mililani, so I know Whitmore Village, but you worked in the pineapple fields. I did. How was that? I worked in the pineapple fields for five summers. It was hard work, and I do talk about it in my book. I think that's where I really learned about teamwork. You know, our gang, we were led by an older woman, a grandma type of person, and it was a mixture of old-timers who were working as old-time workers and us newbies who'd never worked in the pineapple fields before. When you think about it, after struggling and learning from them on how to persevere and how to continue, I think it made me such a strong person. I learned about teamwork because those ladies, they just really helped us to persevere and to continue. I owe them a lot. It didn't matter if you were male or female working in the pineapple fields, I mean everyone was pretty much treated the same. Yes. I think it was hard work, but I think that there's a sense of pride in being able to get through the summer, the whole summer. Like I say in my book, we were earning $1.40 an hour. When you think about it, it's not a lot of money, but we really worked hard. It gave us an inspiration to continue our education because we didn't want to do what our parents had to do to survive in the Philippines. Let's talk about your parents, Jen. Okay. I mean they're amazing people. What's the biggest thing you've learned from your parents? Well, my parents are amazing people, and I think that anybody who knows our family knows that it started with them. They made us believe that we could be anything we wanted to be, and they encouraged us along the way, and I think we all blazed our own path. There's nobody who has ... I mean, my sister was an attorney and a judge. My other sister works for a development company. She's their government affairs officer. My brother is the Dan O'Lello for a while, and now he's with actually the city managing director. My youngest brother actually, like I say, he could have been a musician, but he actually is a professor at the University of California, Merced, and I'm an educator. I think we all felt very fulfilled in our jobs. We all feel that we did good for our communities, and it started from our parents instilling in us. I completely agree. Let's talk about your family now. Your husband, Randy, your three sons, Justin, Jared, and Jordan, your two grandsons, Jason, and Jaden, you are surrounded by boys. I am. How, and you are the glue. You are the glue. How did you keep everyone together? Well, I enjoyed being a parent. I enjoyed, like I enjoyed teaching, but I enjoyed being a wife, and Randy had goals in his life, which required him to be out of the house more than me, and I was, I did be more than my share, I guess, but you know what? I loved it. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed picking them up and taking them places, and I enjoyed being their soccer coach or helping them going out and playing tennis or whatever. I think that having boys really helped me to be a better teacher, actually, because boys are not as, I think, especially in elementary school. Sometimes we expect our students to be like us, and if you're a female, you're a good student, probably, and sometimes boys are a little more active and antsy, and it helped me to really be a better teacher, I think, because I was keeping in mind that we needed to do things differently for all of our students. And, Jan, you became an educator, a teacher, for 45 years. Yes. What do you like about teaching? You know, I look back at all the students I've impacted, all of the teachers and staff that I worked with, and I think that it's such an important job, and I really liked knowing that I had a positive impact on kids and maybe helped them to believe in themselves so they could move forward and do great things themselves. And I think that is what we are teachers for, to impact the next generation and make them believe that they can do good things for our state and our country. And the last 15 years of those 45, you were a principal, and what did you like about being a principal? Well, you know, I never thought about becoming a principal until my principal kind of put that thought in my ear, and then I realized that I would probably be able to impact more people as a principal than as a teacher, because as a teacher you have your classroom and you impact those kids, you impact the parents, you know, and help them to realize that they are the biggest support for their students, their kids, but as a principal you can impact more people, you impact the teachers who then impact the students in their class, and you impact all of the parents at the school as well as the community. So I think that's what I enjoyed most about being a principal. And now you're going to impact more people because you wrote a wonderful book titled Leading with Aloha, and I read it over the weekend, and I loved it, and you have a big book signing this coming Saturday, August 3rd at Barnes and Noble at Alamoana, 1 p.m., so we want everyone to come out there and buy a book and buy multiple books and get it signed by you. Why did you write this book, Jen? Well, when I was getting ready to retire after, you know, and please understand that I still loved doing what I was doing, but there comes a time when you just have to say, well, it's time to move on and try something different, and so I had made up my mind that I was going to retire at the end of the last school year, and at that time I was trying to think of what I could do next to impact education. I had a blog, I mean, I'm still keeping my blog. It's about seven years now, and I still add to it, and it's about education issues, things that I'm concerned about, and things that our school did, and just to spread the word that good things are happening in schools, and the book was an opportunity to share my message with a wider audience and to maybe elevate the discussion about education, because everybody says that education is a priority for them, but we don't really see it happening. Schools are still, you know, having difficulty providing the basic services for their kids, for their students, things like the arts and physical education get sent. Sometimes put on the side because there isn't enough funding for it, and I really believe that we, as educators, we need to tell our stories, because all these educators have outstanding stories about how they became an educator and why they became an educator, and the impact that they've had on kids. And the general public doesn't always hear that, so I really want to impact more people by writing this book, and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. You know, you wrote a book. I respect all offers now after writing a book. I remember what you said when we were having brunch last year. And you said, I thought I was finished with my book, and then I spoke with the publisher, and he said, you know, you really need to kind of change things around, and so you needed to kind of rewrite your book. And you said, I didn't want to do it, but I knew that he was right. And that's exactly how I felt about my book. I mean, just, you know, Randy said, even if you don't get it published, it'll be there for our kids and their kids. But I really wanted, I was hoping that it would be published, because I really want to make a bigger impact on education. And you are, Jen. And, you know, there's in your book, you talk about an Apple analogy, which I really enjoy. Can you tell us about that? OK, so I had an activity with them, and I really don't remember what I was, why I was doing it. But I brought a bag of apples, and each group of a couple of kids took one apple, and they examined it very carefully. And we talked about, OK, everybody has an apple. Are they all the same? And they didn't know what I was actually going to be doing with those apples. But what I did was I collected them and I put them all out and I said, OK, which one is your apple? And, you know, they examined them very carefully and they all found their apple because each one was a little bit different. And I think what that experience really showed them, but it also showed me was that, you know, everybody is different. And you can't expect to treat every child the same way. And that's why relationships are so important in any any classroom, any school, you know, that relationship between the teacher and the student, the principal and the teacher, the principal and the student, the principal and the parents, you know, it's you can't it's not one size fits all. And we kids quickly came to realize, wow, you know, I thought that it was just an apple, but it's not special. It's special and they kept it. They wanted to keep it because it was theirs. And, you know, I think the biggest thing is you don't know what's on the inside and we need to get to know kids on the inside, not just the outside. And that was always my passion as a teacher and as a principal to get to know kids. I loved I loved reading that part in your book because, you know, people just look on what's on the outside without really knowing the story or what they're dealing with on the inside. Exactly. And the beauty that they have. That's right. Jen, before we go to break, I want to ask you. I mean, you've dealt with tons of military families and special needs, you know, students. And you included everybody in the classes and you've included the input and involvement with not just the parents, but the community. Why was that so important for you? Well, first of all, when I became the principal, it was Hale Kula Elementary School came Daniel Kane away in 2016. But it was it is a military school. And, you know, there is a perception from military families that schools in Hawaii may not be as good as they want for their students. So it was very important for me to really get to know the community and to really include them. I really feel that all students need to be included. You know, it doesn't matter if they have special needs because they also have special strengths. Which we need to know. And many times we overlook that because we label kids. And I'm saying that we shouldn't be doing that. We should look at their strengths first, because when you do that, you can you find that they can really contribute to your classroom or to your whole culture of your school. And it was very important to really include everyone because we had students coming and going throughout the year. One third of the kids were new. One third of the kids left. So, you know, basically in a classroom, you had to you had to have this culture of acceptance and including because otherwise those kids who are coming in later will not feel like they are a part of the classroom. And they need to feel that they're a part if we're going to teach them and if they're going to be learning what we need them to learn. And I think that many times in the school, it's not just the academics that we're teaching. We're teaching that social, emotional. We're teaching them about getting along with all people and caring and respect for not just each other, but for our schools, our community, our planet. I love it. Jan, we're going to take a quick break. And then when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond leadership. Thank you. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Jan Iwasi. We will be back in a quick minute. Aloha, I'm Mellie James, host of Let's Mana Up. Tuesdays, every other Tuesday from 11 to 11 30. This show is meant to dive into stories of local product entrepreneurs and how they're growing their companies from right here in Hawaii. I'm so thrilled to have our show kicked off. And so please join us on Tuesdays at 11 o'clock as we talk to local entrepreneurs and hear their stories. Aloha, my name is Wendy Lo and I want you to join me as we take our health back. On my show, all we do is talk about things in everyday life in Hawaii or abroad. I have guests on board that would just talk about different aspects of health in every in every way, whether it's medical health, nutritional health, diabetic health, you name it, we'll talk about it. Even financial health will even have some of the Miss Hawaii's on board and all the different topics that I feel will make your health and your lifestyle a lot better. So come join me. I welcome you to take your health back. Mahalo. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. My special guest today has been an educator for 45 years, a school principal for 15 of those years. And she's the author of her new book, Leading with Aloha. She is Jani Wase. And today we are going beyond leadership. Jen, I know you read my book. I want to know what your thoughts are about my book. I have actually read it three times. Rusty. Oh, yeah. Wow. I read it when I first got it a few years ago, I guess it was. And I just reread it this past weekend, because I knew I was going to be on your show. But I really like your I like how you've done. You're looking to a real nice order for anybody to learn your leadership lessons. And I think what I really liked was little stories you had because those were people. Those are kids that. Justin and Jaren grew up with. Oh, yeah. And they played against them and they played with them. And so I really enjoyed those stories. But what I really liked, what I remembered a lot of was your first time going to Creighton. Yeah. And your stories about your blister. Oh, yeah. And the cold weather playing in the cold weather. And I think that those incidents showed me that you didn't give up. You know, you realize that you needed to change your mindset and that you had to not make excuses. And I think I saw that throughout your whole career. And you're still doing it today. So I really I think that, you know, our life experience is really dictate how we lead others. And those incidents really. Paid it. Yeah. And, you know, I was Justin and Jaren's private tennis pro for many years. Yes. From when they started high school. Yes. And you've seen me in action with them. Yes. What are your thoughts about that? You were always and I know you're still are the same way. Very, very organized. So your lessons were very planned out and it wasn't just, you know, on the fly. You you knew what you were doing. And I think that really helped make the lessons go well. I liked how you always had a quote and you always ask them what they thought about that quote. I think that it made them think. So you were more than just a tennis teacher to them. You were really kind of a life coach for them that going ahead, you know, they knew that you were somebody that they could emulate and that you were a friend as well as their coach. Yeah, my world's famous quote of the days. They all love that. Well, I liked it because it helped me as a teacher and as an educator. So I like that. And the parents would love listening into those quotes. Yes. All right. Now, I know, Jan, I know what the biggest adversity of your life is. And your second son, Jaren, passed away last year from chronic kidney disease. He was 38. He's I feel like I'm his second father. I feel like I'm, you know, he's one of my boys. Yes. Tell me about Jaren. Well, Jaren was our middle child. So he was, Justin was not quite two years older and Jordan was eight years younger than him. He was in the middle. He was a special child. I think that of my three boys, he was the most he had the most empathy. He was aware of people and of their feelings. And he knew how to get them over their front, if anything, you know, he did that multiple, multiple times with me when I would just be feeling maybe a little bit down and he could sense that and he would come and talk, talk with me. And and I appreciated that. He was very well aware of people. He remembered them. He we were surprised at the number of people whom he knew and impacted and he passed away. You know, we had no idea. Jaren was a very good, I mean, he had to work hard for what he accomplished, not just in tennis, but in school. And when he decided to move to Las Vegas, it was kind of sad because we're used to having him around. And so when he came home that for that winter break and he went to the. His optometrist to have his last contact lenses renewed and she saw that his eyes were hemorrhaging. He she sent him immediately to emergency room and they ran a series of tests. And when they told us that he had chronic kidney disease, stage five caused by high pressure. I mean, we were just we had no idea. I don't know if he had any idea that he was sick. They said it's the call it the silent killer because people don't feel any different when they have a disease. But in true Jaren fashion, he changes lifestyle. He changes diet. He he was much more aware of his body. And we were here and he was there. So we couldn't really talk to him that much about it. But, you know, he was keeping us updated. And, you know, May 19 he called us. He had gone on a Pokemon go raid with his nephews and his brother and some friends. And he was on his way home and he called us and he said. I have an appointment tomorrow. I told Jase I'd be at his afternoon soccer match. And we told him we loved him. And that was the last we heard from him. He didn't show up for his appointment. And his brother, you know, his boss called Justin and they went over and he was already. He had already passed. So it was very difficult. It was very difficult. But I think we chose to remember how he lived. And all the people who shared with us the stories that they had about Jaren and the kind things he did. It helped us to it'll never help us completely heal. But we can we've gone on with our lives. Yeah, I you asked me to speak at his celebration of life. And there must have been a thousand people there. I mean, it was so there are so many people. And then I went with you and your family to the city council when they had the vote unanimously to name Central Oahu Regional Park, the tennis complex for Jaren. And that's that's amazing. I mean, Jaren was such a likeable boy. So much fun, so genuine. I mean, he just made everybody feel better about themselves. So yeah, I mean, I miss him tremendously. And I I know Rusty that throughout, I mean, he would tell us when he saw you. He was very proud of all that you had done. And you were the coach for an opposing team. I mean, you were Punahou. He was Yolani, but he was still very proud to say that you were his teacher, his coach. Yeah. And I think he learned a lot from you. I know, at that time, I had, Jen, I had I was privately coaching five of the Yolani top boys on their varsity and the number one Yolani girl. No, but Jaren's legacy is going to live on forever. Yes. Jen, I want to ask you so, you know, resiliency. I mean, obviously, you and your family have to be resilient. Obviously, you know, military families through the years, they have to be resilient. How important is resilience? Resilience is very, very important. And I think I learned that from my parents, you know, they never never, never let us get through the easy way. You know, they made us realize that anything worth doing was worth working hard for. I think I learned resilience from our students, actually, especially my military students. Well, also with my Head Start students, you know, because those parents, even if they were from low income, underachieving families, they wanted the best for their kids, which is what our parents wanted for us. I'm sure your parents wanted for you as well. When I think of our students and the challenges that they went through, having to move schools, sometimes in the middle of the year, sometimes moving several times in the middle of the year. When I think of a parent being deployed, you know, and in harm's way, and the parent who was remaining, if there was a parent, sometimes it was a single soldier who was deployed and that child was sent to live with neighbors or something. Those kids had to be resilient, and they were. I learned it from them. They were strong. Those parents were strong. I know that they were having challenges, so we were trying, we were there to support them. But ultimately, they were the ones who were living it. I don't think I could ever understand that until Jordan was deployed to Afghanistan in the Air Force, and he wasn't in combat, but you know, you worry. And so I learned resilience from them. I learned that you can be strong, and that being strong, even crying is not a sign of weakness. Yeah, I agree. And so, I know. Let's just have everybody be resilient and be authentic. And, Jan, I got to say thank you so much for joining me on the show today because you are such a positive person. You have great energy. I mean, your whole family, you know, and I'm just amazed how through all of these years, you're the one woman surrounded by all the men. I really want to thank you for your insights, and best of luck with the book. And again, everyone can come and meet you this Saturday, August 3rd. Barnes & Noble Alamoan at 1 p.m. Thank you so much, Rusty, and I have learned so much from you and keep doing this program because I enjoy it a lot, and I'm sure a lot of people do. Thank you, Jan. Okay. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii, and a special thank you to my clothing sponsor, Eolani Incorporated. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com, and my book is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Jan and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.