Communication

Courtney Matsuki MA COM Student

Courtney is the Fall 2011Graduate Valedictory speaker.

I chose the HPU MACOM program primarily because HPU had rolling admissions. At that time, I didn't know that I wanted to continue with pursuing a Master's Degree until about three or four weeks before the Spring semester began. I spoke with an academic advisor, and they helped me secure all of my paperwork within two weeks of applying. Overall, the advisors were really friendly and easy to work with and I would not have applied to HPU had it not been for the easy and quick application process. I also appreciate the convenient location of the downtown campus because I work in that general vicinity, so attending classes throughout the day was extremely convenient for me. Most importantly, I opted for the MACOM program at HPU because they offered a Mediation and Conflict certificate program that one could get in addition to a Master's degree. I always had a passion for law, but when I decided to pursue a Master's degree instead of a Juris Doctorate's degree, I thought I would have to forego my legal dreams temporarily. However, I was pleased to discover that I could get a certificate in an area that was interrelated with law and communication. Overall, I lookat the MACOM program as giving me the best of both worlds.

Sommer Meyer ADPR Student

Successful Entrepreneur Graduate

The simple idea of organized shoe boxes turned into a business for Sommer Meyer of Closet Fetish. Meyer was enrolled in a Hawaii Pacific University Advertising/Public Relations class in which students were tasked with drawing up a business plan. At a loss for an idea, Meyer reflected on her long-standing practice of taping photos of her shoes to shoe boxes for easy identification. It worked, but it always bothered her that "all the boxes were different sizes and different colors, so it never looked organized." She decided to create standardized boxes, ordered three sample boxes from China and sent out a press release to see whether anyone might be interested in buying them. "In one week, InStyle magazine, Oprah and Traditional House all
called and said they were going to feature the shoe boxes.” These days, she counts celebrities like Michelle Obama, Halle Berry, Kim Cattrall, and Denise Richards as her clients. Richards showed her Closet Fetish boxes in an episode of her TV show, It's Complicated. She been on Oprah's 0 listand InStyle twice. Sommer specifically and constantly credits her classes at HPU as being the origin of her business. Her business is a direct result of a business plan assignment and press release writing leaned at HPU.