HSTA member leaders honored to meet Dr. Jill Biden at pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic

Several Hawaii State Teachers Association leaders met first lady Dr. Jill Biden as she toured a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Waipahu High School Sunday.

The group included HSTA President Osa Tui, Jr., Vice President Logan Okita, Secretary-Treasurer Lisa Morrison, HSTA NEA Director Aaron Kubo, Leeward Chapter President Julie Reyes Oda, Teacher Lobbyist Laverne Moore, Government Relations Committee Chair Hope McKeen, GRC member Sarah Milianta-Laffin, Kauai Chapter Vice President Sarah Tochiki, and former HSTA president Corey Rosenlee.

Milianta-Laffin says she was thrilled to meet Biden, who she considers a hero. “We could have met in the teachers’ lounge, a professional development class, or staff meeting. She’s a teacher’s teacher to the core. It was an honor to spend time with her today.”

“It’s unbelievable,” Kubo said. “As a regular educator right from Hilo, ‘It’s amazing’ is essentially the only words that can come to mind right now as really I would never have thought to have the opportunity to meet someone in that level.”

Kubo says he thanked Biden, a community college professor and longtime member of the National Education Association, for her work.

“As a fellow NEA member, we like to say we support each other, and any way that we can help support each other and in her role as first lady, that would be a huge role for here in Hawaii for our vaccination rates,” Kubo said. “So I’m very thankful, is what I expressed to her, and thankful to everything that she is doing and continues to do for all of us.”

During remarks before an audience that also included state and city lawmakers and Hawaii State Department of Education officials, Biden thanked her fellow educators for their hard work during the pandemic.

“It was difficult, and there were times when you probably wondered if you were going to really make it through all the chaos,” Biden said. “But you did what educators do best. You made something out of nothing. You persevered and you supported your students. You took the uncertainty and the challenges and turned them really into something beautiful.”

Tui, HSTA’s president, said he appreciated the first lady “for recognizing the hard work our educators, especially fellow NEA members, have continued to do throughout this pandemic.

“Mahalo to NEA President Becky Pringle and Deputy Executive Director Karen White for your assistance in making this opportunity happen,” Tui said.

Biden made a brief stopover on Oahu following a visit to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics. Her Waipahu appearance is part of the administration’s nationwide effort to reach millions of Americans who still need protection against the virus and highlight the ease of getting vaccinated.