91Թ’s Rylan Sekiguchi Selected as a Cohort Fellow for the Movers and Shakas Program
91Թ’s Rylan Sekiguchi Selected as a Cohort Fellow for the Movers and Shakas Program
Movers and Shakas is an initiative to attract remote workers, especially returning kamaʻāina, to create a more innovative, resilient, and sustainable Ჹɲʻ.
Rylan Sekiguchi has been selected as a cohort fellow for the program (M&S)—an initiative to attract remote workers, especially returning kamaʻāina (Ჹɲʻ residents), to create a more innovative, resilient, and sustainable Ჹɲʻ. The rationale for the establishment of M&S is based on the following.
“Brain drain” is an enduring challenge for Ჹɲʻ as we lose key talent and family members to economic opportunities on the continent. M&S focuses on “brain gain” to grow and diversify Ჹɲʻ’s economy so that local folks can come home and never have to leave in the first place.
A recent , “Ჹɲʻ’s Population Drain Outpaces Most States—Again,” in Honolulu Civil Beat features comments by M&S Director Nicole Lim. In the article, she notes, “The overall goal is really brain gain. How to tie people into Ჹɲʻ for the good of Ჹɲʻ.”
Selected from thousands of applicants, Sekiguchi is one of 50 in the second M&S cohort contributing to the community through volunteer projects and developing personal and professional relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. Sekiguchi is working primarily with the , which is led by Executive Director Vicky Holt Takamine, a respected kumu hula (master teacher of hula), well-known Native Hawaiian advocate, and valuable proponent of M&S in the local community.
The Movers and Shakas program is based on three key pillars.
- Learn: Cultural education helps cohort fellows understand the historical and current context of Ჹɲʻ, allowing them to build stronger personal relationships and connect more deeply with Ჹɲʻ.
- Contribute: Volunteering allows cohort fellows to contribute their unique professional skillsets and experiences to local nonprofits and startups while learning about Ჹɲʻ from community leaders in a reciprocal relationship.
- Connect: Community building centers around the two-way sharing of knowledge, ideas, and culture to foster strong bonds between individuals, within the cohort, with volunteer partner orgs, and with the general public.
Following a recent visit to the Bishop Museum, designated as the Ჹɲʻ State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Sekiguchi reflected on his experience. “Though I was born and raised in Ჹɲʻ, it wasn’t until I moved to the continent as a student at 91Թ that I began to truly recognize my connection to this place. After being away for 19 years, M&S has been an incredibly meaningful experience for me and an extraordinary opportunity to reconnect with Ჹɲʻ. It’s also been inspiring to connect with my M&S cohort mates, many of whom also have personal connections to the state. Someday, I hope to connect my 91Թ work more closely with the M&S community.”
