Charlie Jokas was returning from basketball practice in the Marshall Islands when he received news from his cousin that he and his family would be moving to Hawaiʻi.
He thought his whole family would come.
"I was really excited, but it wasn't really all of us. It was only me, my grandpa, my mom and my older brother," he said.
The 16-year-old Waipahu High student has lived in Hawaiʻi since 2019. He said his family had to move because his grandpa was sick and there were more health services available for him.
Charlie is one of several students who shared his stories of migrating to the U.S. on a digital platform. Other students are from the Federated States of Micronesia, American Sāmoa, Tonga and the Philippines.
Waipahu and Pearl City High Schools have collaborated with Green Card Voices, a Minnesota-based nonprofit that connects immigrants and their communities through multimedia storytelling.
The goal of the project is to bridge the connection between immigrant and migrant communities with the local community, according to Jeremiah Brown, an English language coordinator at Waipahu High.
"We don't hear the positives and the students' goal for their hopes and dreams," he said. "To have them tell their story in their own words, I think, is pretty powerful."
He also said the project helps people understand students and where they come from, as well as their backgrounds, cultures and experiences.
Green Card Voices has a digital storytelling collection published on its YouTube page. The group interviews students from diverse backgrounds about what it's like to immigrate to the U.S.
Helen Labaun moved to Hawaiʻi from the Marshall Islands two years ago. She said the first things she saw from the airport were tall buildings and paved roads.
"My experience was good," she said. "I'm having a little bit of a struggle because I don't really know people here."
She said she's been trying to make more friends during summer school despite experiencing a language barrier.
Helen wants her classmates to know that people in the Marshall Islands are polite and friendly.
"If you're going to go to the Marshall Islands, they're going to welcome you with a lot of love," she said. "They are also hardworking."
Greg Uchishiba, a Leeward District English language specialist, said the project allows the students to make personal connections by sharing their stories and explaining how the project is embedded in their school curriculum.
Jiamin Ruan, an English and ESOL teacher at Waipahu High, said the ultimate goal as a teacher is to "help the public understand why our students are coming to Hawaiʻi."
"There's a lot of reasons behind it," Ruan said. "They don't want to leave the country but have no choice. People in our community are not aware of that."
Ruan said the school has partnered with Hawaiʻi Pacific University to help high school students open up about their lives by writing essays.
When the students' interview aired on YouTube, some showed it to their parents.
Charlie showed his video to his dad, and his reaction took a turn after he explained that it was for school.
"'Take all the opportunity the school gives you,'" Charlie said of his father. "'Be a good student.'"
Brown said he hopes that more schools will be involved in Green Card Voices to share more student stories.
