Welcome to the Ohana

In Fall 2021, Baylor’s incoming class had a record number of students from Hawai’i. Brianna Tancinco, a senior social work major with a minor in dance, was inspired with fellow Hawaiians to start an organization with the hopes of sharing the Hawaiian culture and aloha spirit with the Baylor community. 

“We’re trying our best to represent Hawai’i to others who are willing to know more about it, even if they’re not from there, because we love our roots,” Tancinco said. “We’re also here to be a safe space where people who are from Hawai’i can connect with one another and share this special place we call home!”

The Hawai’i Club is continually looking for ways to share parts of their home with the community with a focus on finding creative, respectful ways to do so. Last spring, the group hosted a lū’au on Baylor’s campus that included hundreds of guests, including some of the students’ family who traveled from Hawai’i. 

“It was such a proud moment for us because I think in Hawai’i culture, you want to bring honor to the history, to the culture — the things that Hawaiian people fought for,” Sophomore and Club Secretary Sheilyn Subia said. “So, to be able to look out at a sea of a diverse group of people sharing that connection — it was incredible.”

The organization also was recognized in the spring as the 2022 Outstanding New Organization at the Excellence in Student Leadership Awards and is looking forward to the 2022-23 school year.