Aloha! From Hilo, Hawaii to Washington, DC

J. Noelle Hall, Elizabeth Askren, Mariana Romo, and Ryan Ikeuchi show off their new APS shades after presenting posters at the APS 23rd Annual Convention.

In January, when asked by our supervisors from the psychology department at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, “Who wants to go to Washington, DC to present posters for the APS convention in May?” seven of us threw our hands up enthusiastically, not realizing the work we had ahead to make this trip a reality.

After our five research abstracts were accepted, reality sank in. To send all seven of us almost 5,000 miles away to Washington, DC, we needed to raise some money. We kicked off fundraising with a successful Krispy Kreme donut sale, which encouraged another sale where we received a $1000 donation. Such successes came with failures, such as our burger stand where we sold only six burgers, but that didn’t dampen our fundraising fire.

Our most creative success was the 80s dance party we threw at the Hilo Town Tavern, complete with an 80s DJ and live band, silent auction, and raffle prizes. We also sold a staggering amount of locally made candies and cookies.

Our fundraising finale was a carwash held on May 22, just  hours before some of us were scheduled to leave for DC! All this work was well worth our experience at the APS 23^rd Annual Convention. We were amazed by the student hospitality and incredibly inspired by our overlapping daily itineraries of guest speakers and symposia and lastly, we are so grateful to the APS staff and volunteers who gave us directions and insight to the activities and resources available to us. Mahalo nui loa! Thank you so much! See you in Chicago!