Middle Level Student Leadership Summit 2026

On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the Highlands Student Council had an amazing time at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for this year’s Middle Level Student Leadership Conference (MLSL 2026), connecting with passionate student leaders from across Hawaiʻi! 🌺 Our Student Government proudly stepped into the spotlight to present their original workshop, “Game On! Gamification.” They wowed the audience by sharing innovative, interactive ways to turn everyday leadership tasks into engaging, team-building games. It was a massive success, inspiring schools from other islands to bring these creative ideas back to their own campuses! 🎮✨ A major shoutout to our awesome MCs, Emmalia and Regan! They commanded the main stage, keeping the entire crowd hyped and bringing unmatched energy, humor, and spirit to the conference. 🎤🔥 From collaborative workshops to making lifelong friendships, MLSL 2026 was packed with leadership, connection, and undeniable school pride. 💙🤝 Congratulations to all of Hawaiʻi’s incredible young leaders for stepping up, inspiring others, and truly leading like Duke! — Herbi Abija, Student Government Vice-President

Pearl City Complex Summit 2026

On January 27th, I got to be part of something really cool called the Pearl City Complex Summit. It was a special event where teachers from different schools gathered to learn about different school stuff in general. Our school, Highlands Intermediate, got the chance to present about our student council. I was really excited because I got to be one of the MCs, along with my friend Reagan Fontanilla. Our job was to explain how the student council at Highlands Intermediate works. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but it was also super fun. We got to talk about all the crazy and fun things our student council does. We told the teachers how we plan events, help our classmates, and even have fun doing it! Practicing my MC skills was a great experience. It helped me become more confident in speaking in front of people. Plus, it was awesome to see the teachers so interested and surprised by how much energy and teamwork we put into our student council. Overall, the Pearl City Complex Summit was an amazing event. I learned a lot, made new friends, and had a lot of fun sharing about our student council life. I can’t wait to do it again next year!  — Emmalia Tuagalu, 8th Grade Class Vice-President

Middle Level Student Leadership Summit 2025

Have you ever been in a room with hundreds of middle school students who are trying to be leaders just like you? Well, our Highlands Student Council would know exactly how it feels! We were just a small part of over 500 students that attended the Middle Level Student Leadership Summit 2025 on March 7 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the heart of Waikiki. This event theme was “Lead Like Duke” and we all worked the entire day to carry on his legacy of service and leadership. The event kicked off with an inspirational speech by our Department of Education Superintendent, Keith Hayashi and a video message directed to the future leaders by Hawaii’s musical ambassador to the world, Jake Shimabukuro! But what we can say is the most exciting part of the conference was the different breakout sessions that were organized by students! Not to mention, our amazing Highlands Student Government ran their own breakout session, “Game On!: Gamification Theory and Student Activities”, which was a huge success as it was sold out! During the final segment of the leadership summit, we got to bond with other students in our district (Leeward) and build bonds that would soon turn into friendships! It was beyond thrilling to share our ideas with other students who in turn were inspired to make their schools a better and safer place to live and learn! Much mahalos to Dr. Sandy Cameli and everyone else who created this epic event! Isabelle Mina, Student Government Treasurer

 

Middle Level Student Leadership Summit 2024

Over 500 students from 46 schools statewide gathered today for the student-led Middle Level Student Leadership Summit on Friday - March 1st. This inaugural event was held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and was an absolute smash success! Student participants were encouraged to embrace the event theme, “Lead Like Duke,” highlighting the life and legacy of Duke Kahanamoku, and integrating his leadership traits and characteristics as the Ambassador of Aloha into the event’s activities and networking opportunities. The event really kicked off when everyone finally arrived (even schools from the neighbor islands) and we had several guest speakers like our Department of Education Superintendent, Mr. Keith Hayashi! The next segment was the part we were all really excited about - the breakout sessions run by middle school students just like us ;) It was exciting to see all the different breakouts available and we were even more excited that we had two breakouts from our very own Highlands Intermediate Student Council! Student Government was first with “Game On!: Gamification Theory & Student Activities” which was followed up by the Dance Committee’s presentation on “How To Make The Best School Dances!” It was so amazing to be able to share what we do at our school with middle school students from across the State. Big thanks to Dr. Sandy Cameli for putting on such an amazing event for all of us!  Jordyn Tolentino, Dance Committee