Each week, Hawaii's teenage reporters and photographers tell us about their high school. Baldwin High School Thirst for business Aspiring authors meet pros Dirt bike races You asked Address 1650 Kaahumanu Ave., Wailuku, HI 96793 Phone 984-5656 Principal Stephen Yamada Enrollment 1,700 Faculty 140 Nickname Bears School colors Maroon and blue About the school's newspaper: Name: Baldwin Courier Faculty adviser: Linda Coleon Next week: Kailua High School

ANDRALIA LI / BALDWIN HIGH SCHOOL Junior Shauna Biggs buys milk from a machine donated to the Baldwin chapter of the Distributive Education Clubs of America. Proceeds from the machine go toward helping members attend a conference on Oahu.

A thirst for business

Students operate a drink dispenser
to learn entrepreneurial skills

Three years ago, Meadow Gold Dairies launched a business program at Waiakea High School in Hilo that would teach Distributive Education Clubs of America student members about business, marketing, finance and how to run their own small business. Out of this, Project Healthy Business was born.

Meadow Gold distributes portable drink dispensers to various schools around Hawaii to teach students the value of marketing and how business affects almost everything in the world. The goal of the milk machine is to provide a healthier alternative and to incorporate business-oriented ideas.

Baldwin's DECA chapter adviser, Lisa Kakiuchi Gima, uses the Project Healthy Business program to support her DECA and Entrepreneurship classes. She was approached by Meadow Gold Dairies two years ago.

Meadow Gold offered her a donated milk dispenser machine that she could use as a classroom tool to teach students about the world of business. Kakiuchi Gima is the head of the business department, and she teaches classes that include entrepreneurship, marketing and accounting.

"The students have a chance to work hands-on with the milk machine and have the opportunity to learn through real-life situations rather than from only books," she says.

Students have responsibilities that add to the success of the milk machine project. They assume roles such as manager, supervisor, stock clerk and accountant. Profit from milk and juice sales help support the DECA Club with their annual Oahu conference. DECA students all receive an equal share of the profits, which relieves them of some of the expenses.

The milk machine reopened for business on Oct. 1 and sells POG (passion-orange-guava juice), iced tea, orange juice and strawberry, chocolate and regular milk.

"Being in DECA and using the milk machine as a learning tool has resulted in a lot of positive feedback," says DECA President Elise Fujimoto.

Maui Writers Conference
inspires seniors

Students rub elbows
with famous authors at
the Wailea Marriott

For many students, summer reading books assigned by teachers and teen magazines are the only things they read, and class essays are all they spend time writing. Often, these essays allow little room for creativity, and students obtain the mind-set that writing is tedious and boring.

The Maui Writers Conference focuses on all aspects of writing, whether it's poetry, fiction, nonfiction or cookbooks, and the young-author program offers students an opportunity to interact with successful authors and see how enjoyable writing can be.

Students are selected by their schools through a writing contest, and they receive a scholarship to attend the conference held at the Wailea Marriott during Labor Day weekend each year. The students join several hundred adult attendees from around the world.

Thirty-seven students, including Baldwin seniors Emberlyn Alcantara, Nicholas Vaky and Kaitlin Luther, attended this year's conference. Alcantara said she was encouraged by English teacher and author Wayne Moniz to participate in the event.

Workshops provide insight into the craft and business of being a writer, and guest speakers provide motivational words for authors young or old, published or unpublished.

One major plus of the Maui Writers Conference that other conferences do not have is the frequent interaction between speakers and attendees.

"I can't believe I got to eat dinner with a famous author!" said Alcantara after New York Times best-selling fantasy author Terry Brooks joined her table at the Young Authors' Benefit dinner.

Authors covered all genres. Well-known editors and literary agents also provided useful information. Aside from teaching sessions on submitting manuscripts and becoming published, they provided aspiring authors with one-on-one consultations, giving attendees the chance to pitch their books and get the attention of decision-making figures for some of the major publishers.

None of the agents, editors or authors were ever too busy to offer words of advice and encouragement to the young authors. They frequently approached students for casual conversations and to praise them for taking the initiative to write at such a young age.

Regardless of whether a student is an aspiring writer, the conference is an amazing opportunity. It's not every day that students, or anyone for that matter, can mingle with authors at a five-star resort.

"People should really try to go. It's an experience of a lifetime," said Alcantara.

Dirt bike races lure
3 eager speedsters

The sun beams down on their heads. Sweat drips down their faces, and the sound of dirt bike engines roar as riders fly in the air. On Oct. 9 some Baldwin students raced in the Maui Motocross Association race.

Baldwin juniors Robby Moss, David Durr and freshman Andrew Baraque participated in the contest. Senior Chad Nishikuni also rides dirt bikes but didn't participate in last month's race.

Races are held almost every month at the motocross tracks in Kihei by the humane society. It's an all-day event that lasts from morning to late evening. Some races are even held from night to early morning.

There are many different types of categories and classes to race. The classes range from beginner to amateur, novice and expert.

Because of the expenses, many dirt bike riders are sponsored by companies. Moss, sponsored by Maui Built, is the only high school student who races with the experts.

This year will be his first year racing with the best riders on Maui.

Moss raced four races earlier this month, finishing third in the expert division.

"I race because it is fun, and I am very competitive when it comes to racing," says Moss, who has been racing for 3 1/2 years. "I am also not afraid of getting hurt. It sucks when I crash, but it is all part of the sport. The only thing that intimidates me is the fact that I have to race against grown men who have been racing longer than me."

Durr and Baraque raced each other in the beginner class. Baraque finished first, with Durr third.

"I have only been racing one year, but every time I ride, it is fun and I get an adrenaline rush," Durr says. "This race was my first race, and I was very nervous but I know that next time I will do better."

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