Chun: Blooms at HPU
May 23, 2019
For Senior Chynna Chun, agriculture has been one of her passions since the seventh grade. Chun has been a part of the MHS agriculture program since her freshman year and has participated in the Future Farmers of America (FFA) since her junior year. On April 18, she was able to showcase her love for agriculture at Hawai’i Pacific University (HPU), when she gave a presentation on sustainable growth in Hawai’i and the Pacific Isles.
“In order to promote sustainability here in Hawai’i, I provided the agricultural aspect such as our food insecurity and even included our call to action which is through advocacy,” said Chun. “The most rewarding part of my presentation was being able to represent my school through the best of my abilities. As the MHS representative, I felt a good amount of pressure to be able to live up to the school’s high reputation and hopefully I represented my school well.”
Throughout her time with FFA she has gained much experience and knowledge on the power of agriculture. Chun was the Mililani Chapter FFA President this school year and will be serving as the Hawai’i State FFA Treasurer for her freshman year in college. “I think what makes agriculture so appealing to me is the lack of interest circulating around it here in Mililani. Agriculture is gruesome work but that’s what makes it so rewarding. You get to see your harvest grow,” said Chun. “You get to reap what you sow. It’s about believing in the future that what we plant will sustain us for many years to come and I think that people should be more concerned on where their food comes from. I think what fortified my passion for agriculture is through FFA.”
Chun also attended the Washington Leadership Conference where she was able to learn new agricultural ideas from across the nation which helped her to prepare for her presentation. One of her focuses for her presentation was the advocacy for more agricultural sustainability. “For one of my responses, I explained that if we want to see change in our community, we must advocate to our local state legislators. Our lawmakers hold a lot of power; therefore, we must use our voice and speak to those who are in those powerful positions. I even accentuated that it is important to advocate for what we believe in sustainable growth because we are the future generation especially since we are stuck with other generations’ mistakes,” said Chun.
For Chun, one of her many assets was her ability to express her ideas in front of a big audience. Those at the presentation included HPU students and panelists. “I may not be well versed with sustainability like the other panelists who have a lot of Hawaiian heritage, but I was able to speak out to an audience and get my voice heard. Likewise, I feel like one of my biggest strengths is public speaking. When I speak in front of a crowd, especially if I am well educated in the given topic, I am able to speak from the heart,” said Chun.
Chun plans to attend UH Manoa with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources to become an agricultural engineer.