Kauai youth summit draws 220 students for leadership, careers, civic engagement

More than 220 high school students from public, private, charter and home-school programs filled the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihue for the 2026 Ka Pewa Youth Summit, a student-led gathering that put youth voice ahead of speeches about youth. Backed by the County of Kauai as presenting sponsor, the summit centered on Kupu Kelakela, a theme organizers described as meaning “to rise in glory” and “to grow in greatness.”

The half-day event ran from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and was shaped by the Ka Pewa Youth Pulse Survey launched Feb. 25 to identify what matters most to young people. That survey fed the programming, breakout sessions and resource fair, turning the summit into a test of whether county leaders, employers and educators are prepared to respond to what students said they need.

Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami opened the program and framed the gathering as part of a longer civic investment. Giving youth the chance to shape the conversation helps them rise to the occasion and strengthens the future of the island and state, he said. The summit’s design matched that message: it was organized by KKL Collective with help from student interns Zyra Mariquit of Kauai High School, Lasaya Albite-Ruiz of Kapaa High School and Rianne Cariaga of Waimea High School. Maui student interns also traveled to Kauai to share lessons learned from the inaugural Ka Pewa summit held on Maui in 2025, making this the second summit in Hawaii.

The event mattered because it was built around practical access, not just inspiration. Students met educators, community partners, employers and county officials in one place, creating a rare countywide network for job leads, mentorship, service and postsecondary pathways. For Kauai, where young people often weigh whether they can build a future at home, that kind of direct exposure can shape how they see opportunity on island.

The summit also fit into a broader county push to bring students closer to decision-making. In August 2025, Waimea High School senior Swede Sandblom became the first student representative sworn onto a County of Kauai board or commission, a milestone that showed youth participation can move beyond one-day events and into government institutions themselves.

Mariquit, Albite-Ruiz and Cariaga said helping plan the summit showed how powerful youth voice can be when students are invited to lead, share ideas and support one another. Their work made the message of Kupu Kelakela concrete: Kauai’s students are not waiting to be handed a seat at the table. They are building it.