New Freshman Social Studies teacher, Noa Berry.

New Journalism and Sophomore English teacher, Kara Hisatake.

New Integrated Science Chemistry and IB Chemistry, Maria Prust.

Staff Writer
Steven Aspera

Na Pueo staff interviewed the newest members of the Mid-Pacific faculty by asking these questions: 1) Where did you originally work before Mid-Pacific? 2) What made you decide to come to Mid-Pacific and what is your favorite part? 3) A) If you could be one animal what would it be and why? B) If you could travel to any part of the world, where would you go and why? C) If you could time travel, when would you go and why?

Cindy Kinnear (Freshman Dean): 1) Ms. Kinnear moved to Hawaii three years ago, and taught third grade at St. Andrew’s Priory. 2) She wanted to return to teaching high school, and Mid-Pacific’s arts program intrigued her. Kinnear’s favorite thing about Mid-Pacific is getting to know the freshmen. 3A) When asked what animal she would like to be, she said a koala since she loves Australia, loves their vibe and the fact that they’re always sleeping.

Noa Berry (Freshman Social Studies): 1) Before working at Mid-Pacific, Mr. Berry was a lifeguard and substitute teacher at Kamehameha Schools Maui. 2) He likes Mid-Pacific because of the size of the school. He also had family that previously attended Mid-Pacific, which gave him a connection to this school. 3A) When asked what animal he would like to be, he said a moose because of their large size, and he’s been wanting to go and see one.

Kara Hisatake (Journalism, Sophomore English): 1) Dr. Hisatake taught at Sacred Hearts for two years. 2) She came to Mid-Pacific because it’s a bigger school and there were more opportunities, and it’s co-ed. Hisatake said her favorite thing about Mid-Pacific is journalism. It is her most challenging class and you can discover many things about the school. 3B) When asked where she would like to travel, she said that she really wanted to travel to Seattle because her trip got canceled last year due to COVID-19.

Maria Prust (Integrated Science Chemistry and IB Chemistry): 1) Before teaching at Mid-Pacific Ms. Prust taught at a small private school in San Diego for three years. 2) She came to Mid-Pacific because it’s similar to her old school. She likes the culture, administration, and mission. 3C) When asked if you could travel in time, forward or back, she responded that she did not want to travel to the future because too much is unknown. She later said she wanted to go back to Ancient Greek and Roman times because she really likes the culture and wanted to see the coliseum in action.