Hawaiian Student Finds Support at UM After Cancer Diagnosis
By Kyle Spurr, UM News Service
MISSOULA – Kaira Kaina, a Native Hawaiian and sophomore at the University of Montana, grew up on Moloka‘i, a small tropical island of about 7,000 people with no chain restaurants and no traffic lights.
She didn’t know anything about Montana and had never visited the mainland before she enrolled at UM in fall 2021. Like many other out-of-state students, she discovered the TV show “Yellowstone” and became intrigued with Montana. She saved up for a one-way plane ticket, packed one bag and took her first flight on a large commercial plane over the Pacific Ocean.
“I watched that dumb show and I fell in love,” Kaina said. “I fell in love with the scenery, the towns and the mountains.”
Two years later, Kaina found a tight-knit community at UM as a member of the Pacific Islanders Club. She also made friends through her communication studies major and working three jobs on campus.
“The past two years have been the best of my life,” Kaina said. “I really got to engage with a lot of people.”
So when Kaina was diagnosed with breast cancer last month, the University community stepped up to support her. Shortly after her diagnosis on March 23, Kaina moved back to her Hawaiian island to start receiving medical care closer to family, but she felt the Montana support from across the ocean.
More than 100 people, many from UM, donated to a GoFundMe online campaign and raised more than $8,100 for Kaina’s medical expenses. The funds will be especially helpful since Kaina had to leave her three jobs with UM Housing, the UM Bookstore and Office for Disability Equity.
Since her diagnosis, Kaina has been understandably scared, stressed and frustrated. But she’s also felt extremely loved by friends and strangers in the UM community. She’s seen old coworkers at the UM Bookstore, former classmates from her freshman year and other acquaintances donate to her GoFundMe.
“It’s just so incredible,” she said. “I feel like I’ve burned all my emotions out recently, but when I would go and check out the GoFundMe, I felt an overwhelming joy and happiness. It’s almost like these people were sitting there holding my hand with me.”
Kaina’s celebrated her 20th birthday five days after her cancer diagnosis. She spent the first half of the day at a doctor’s appointment, but then her friends in the Pacific Islanders Club hosted a birthday party for her in UM’s Branch Center. The theme was a “Pink Party,” to honor the color associated with breast cancer awareness. Kaina’s friends filled the Branch Center with pink decorations and one of her friends cooked Dungeness crab.
“We had so much food and cake and I got roses,” Kaina said. “Everybody really spoiled me on my birthday.”
Before she returned to Hawaii, Kaina joined one last Pacific Islanders Club event called the Ho’ike. The April 9 event was one of the club’s largest of the year and drew about 400 people to the University Center ballroom.
Kaina had a bandage on her chest where a chemo port was implanted two days before the Ho’ike. But that didn’t stop her from showing off her Hula dancing skills and honoring her Hawaiian heritage with her Montana community.
“I was front and center,” she said. “I have a reputation to uphold and there was no way somebody was going to take my spot.”
At the Ho’ike, members of the Pacific Islanders Club took a moment to acknowledge Kaina and wish her well before she traveled back to Hawaii.
“I got to tell everybody how much I appreciate them and how much I will miss them,” she said.
Jessica Ponce, a UM senior on the Griz golf team and former member of the Pacific Islanders Club, met Kaina when she first arrived on campus. The two worked closely together as executive members of the club.
Ponce said the club calls Kaina “Ms. Aloha” because she is kind to everyone she meets and always says hello.
“Kaira is a sweet soul,” Pounce said. “That's something I’ve always admired about her.”
When Ponce heard about Kaina’s diagnosis, she was away at a golf tournament. The news was hard to hear and put life and sports into perspective.
She is confident that her friend will manage the challenges to come and stay positive through the journey.
“The way Kaira has handled this is amazing,” Ponce said. “I’m just hoping she keeps her smile and if it does get hard I hope she knows we are still here and we will always be there for her.”
When Kaina came to Montana sight unseen two years ago, she never expected to find so much support from a club like the Pacific Islanders and other friends on campus. However, Kaina did have one connection to UM prior to enrolling.
Kaina discovered her aunt, who died of breast cancer about six years ago, was a mentor and friend to Amy Capolupo, the director of UM’s Office for Disability Equity. Capolupo grew up in New York state. While in high school she met Kaina’s aunt, who was a positive influence.
“When I met Kaira, I felt like this is my opportunity to pay that forward,” Capolupo said.
Capolupo helped Kaina get on a residency track with the Registrar's Office since she could not afford out-of-state tuition. The residency track required Kaina take six credits a semester and establish residency in Montana.
Capolupo said her office is happy to assist students like Kaina navigate those processes. The Office for Disability Equity also works closely with students who have serious medical issues such as a cancer diagnosis.
For Kaina, she has a long year ahead. Her plan is to start chemotherapy this summer and have surgery to remove the grape-size lump from her chest this fall. Doctors have told her she should be able to return to Montana by the end of the year to start radiation therapy.
Kaina is focused on beating cancer and plans to return to UM to finish her degree in communication studies. The thought of rejoining her friends on campus keeps her motivated.
With her degree, she wants to find a career and make a difference on her small Hawaiian island.
“That’s my plan,” she said, “to come back home and try to help people the best I can with my degree.”
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Contact: Dave Kuntz, UM director of strategic communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu
