The student and faculty fellows in the Edwards College Center for Inclusive Excellence (CIE) are traveling to Hawai’i this summer to explore and learn abroad.

The CIE will be partnering with the University of Hawai’i at Manoa during their visit. The fellows will explore various aspects of Hawaiian culture, from visiting the Pearl Harbor Memorial and different historical theaters around the area, to learning about the native music. The focus of the trip is to learn about the reality of Hawaiian culture and rather than its stereotypes.

The new faculty fellows are associate professors Benjamin Sota, Sarah Laiola and Bridget Nolan. The three new faculty fellows all specialize in different fields than the fellows last year and their projects focus on. Sota is a professor of Theatre and got his master’s in fine arts from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Laiola is a professor of Digital Culture and Design and Nolan is a professor of intelligence and security. 2021-22 student fellow Diamond Gaston said the best way to describe the CIE is “the room where things happen.”

Last year, the CIE had a successful year. They were able to obtain all the music composed by Grammy-nominated flutist and composer Valerie Coleman. Members also traveled to Washington D.C. to examine the nation’s monument.