Super Students
Saturday, August 29, 1998
Name: Gayna Nakajo
Age: 17
School: Punahou School
Favorite subjects: English, Social Studies, Japanese
Pastimes: Basketball
Future: International business
Basketball was Gayna Nakajo's pride and joy at Punahou, but has taken a back seat to academics at the University of California at Berkeley. An impressive reflection
"There's so many other things that I want to do," she said. If Nakajo plays the sport at all, it will be through intramurals only, shooting hoops for enjoyment rather than competition.
At Punahou, Nakajo was a three-year veteran of the Division 1 Buffanblu, where she played forward. She actively improved her game by attending a Kalakaua basketball clinic that taught her new skills and honed old ones.
Head coach Shelley Fey said Nakajo was instrumental in the team's winning a state tournament. "It was a play-of-the-year kind of game. She didn't score (the win) but initiated it with her tenacity. She was a great asset to the team."
Nakajo kept busy as a senator for the student government, where she helped plan school activities and suggested changes in the school's constitution. She kept abreast of academic issues as president of the National Honor Society, helped others excel as a tutor at Punahou's mass tutorial center, and worked part-time as a file clerk at an insurance office. She also maintained a 3.8 GPA and consistently made the Dean's List.
Despite all her accomplishments Nakajo remains humble, saying: "My family and friends are the ones that deserve a lot of the credit -- I'm just a reflection of them."
Kimberly K. Fu, Star-Bulletin
