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Ben Yuri Biersach

I'm a freelance writer specializing in education, athletics, and the arts.

Punahou Bulletin •

The Remarkable Story of Punahou Athletics: Legacy and Lifelong Skills

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Punahou’s initial foray into athletics occurred almost as soon as the School was founded, when throughout the 1840s early forms of baseball were played by Oahu College students and faculty. From these modest origins, we flash forward to 2023. Punahou has been honored twice by Sports Illustrated as the nation’s No. 1 high school athletic program, having won over 530 state championships in its history. The School’s recent graduates are regular fixtures on college sports rosters across the country – not to mention the fact that at least one former buff ’n blue athlete has participated in every Summer Olympic Games since 1972.
Punahou Bulletin •

Course Spotlight: Gaining Perspective Through Food

by Ben Yuri Biersach

"Who’s been hungry before?” esteemed local chef and Punahou teacher Mark “Gooch” Noguchi asks aloud in his Cook Your Heritage senior capstone class. With most students in the room recalling the last time they couldn’t make it to the snack bar before it closed, he goes deeper. “Have you ever been so hungry that it hurts?”

Noguchi’s line of questioning is hard-earned: as a younger man, he was houseless and lived out of his van for a time. A day’s meal once consist...
Punahou Bulletin •

The Arts Issue: Finding Her Forte

by Ben Yuri Biersach

The year is 1991 and Laura Keller, a preschooler in Kāne‘ohe, has made the acquaintance of a musical playmate who would become a dear companion for the next three decades. She doesn’t realize it at the time, but this is one of the most significant days in her life: she has just been introduced to the violin.

The music teacher who presented the instrument in class that day was Helen Higa – soon to become head of the Music School’s recently-established Suzuki Violin Program at Punahou. Their paths would cross again, when Keller was admitted as a kindergartner in the Class of 2006. For the next 13 years, under the expert guidance of Higa and other teachers, Keller’s music brightened the corridors of Montague Hall and established her legacy as one of the most accomplished violinists to be educated at the School.
Punahou Bulletin •

Inspiring Discovery and Purpose: Critical Thinking

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Reid Hayes has drawn scientific inspiration from ka puna hou, our storied freshwater spring, since his days as a Punahou elementary student in the late 1990s. “I spent a lot of time around it as a kid,” he remembers. “We would climb down the rocks and take the nets out and scoop up the guppies. I would sit by the drain next to the Chapel stairs, just watching the water go over that little weir.”
Punahou Bulletin •

The Arts Issue: Drawing Inspiration, One Panel at a Time

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Check out recent DC or Marvel Comics books and there’s a good chance you’ll spot the eye-catching cover art of David Nakayama ’97. His work pops off the page, with attractive superheroes holding dynamic poses while bathed in attention-grabbing splashes of color.

He currently illustrates covers for both Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman at DC, and just wrapped up a Spider-Gwen cover run for Marvel. He’s also drawn art for trading cards, package illustrations for Hasbro toys, and load-screen visuals for the video game Fortnite.
Punahou Bulletin •

Cover to Cover: When Creativity Collides with Algorithms

by Ben Yuri Biersach

In one striking image, Peter Pan gazes out over Neverland, illuminated by the light of a crescent moon. In another, an 18th-century schooner in search of treasure drops anchor in the azure harbor of a tropical island. In a third, Alice tumbles down a surreal rabbit hole past jars levitating from a bookshelf. The visual craftsmanship in these and hundreds of other literature-inspired images is highly detailed, stylistically diverse and bursting with energy. All were cr...
Punahou Bulletin •

The Remarkable Story of Punahou Athletics: The Intersection of Science and Safety in Sports

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Cali-Jo Shigemasa tests her limits every time she takes the court as a defensive specialist for the Punahou Varsity Girls volleyball team. From the moment an opponent’s serve darts towards her, she must pass the ball with reaction times measured in fractions of a second. The cardinal rule for a successful defensive specialist is to remain low to the ground at all times – often in a deep-squat pose that requires complex interactions of hip, knee and ankle range-of-motion. By repeating this pose dozens of times every day in practice and competition, even slight imperfections in movement quality could negatively impact her play and increase her chances for injury.
Punahou Bulletin •

The Arts Issue: From Stadiums to Stand-up

by Ben Yuri Biersach

If you faced off on the gridiron against Tumua Tuinei in high school, the hard-hitting linebacker for the Punahou football team probably made you cry. These days, as an in-demand stand-up comedian, Tuinei is in the business of making you laugh – and business is booming. His brand of irreverent, locally-sourced comedy recalls Hawai‘i funnyman legends like Rap Reiplinger ’68, Frank De Lima and Andy Bumatai, and today he performs to sold-out shows throughout the islands.
Punahou Bulletin •

Award-Winning Facilities With a Broader Purpose

by Ben Yuri Biersach

On a late August day in 2025, luminaries of the tennis world converged on Queens, New York, for the second round of the U.S. Open Championships. As top players like Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic battled on court, Punahou School was celebrating a victory of its own: receiving an Outstanding Facility Award from the United States Tennis Association (USTA), which recognized the Dillingham Tennis Complex as one of the finest in the country, alongside facilities at uni...
Punahou Bulletin •

Touching Base: Bites of Wisdom and Wellness

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Maybe you’ve seen dietitian Kylie Sakaida in one of her wildly popular food videos on TikTok. Or perhaps you’ve purchased a copy of her bestselling cookbook “So Easy So Good: Delicious Recipes and Expert Tips for Balanced Eating.” Month by month, Sakaida’s star continues to rise as she educates a rapidly growing community about healthy diet and nutrition.

Sakaida’s understanding of the link between food and health was developed early in her life. As a child, sh...
Punahou Bulletin •

The Remarkable Story of Punahou Athletics: The Last Classroom of the Day

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Shelby Baron was experiencing a crisis of self-confidence during her Junior year in the Academy – a bout so profound, it kept her from trying out for Punahou’s varsity tennis team. Despite her rising status on the Team USA Junior Wheelchair Tennis Team and solid performances in national and international competitions, she was in a holding pattern.

Baron – who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair – had been comparing herself to classmates who were non-disabled. Despite her successes, she believed she was not at the level required to make the buff ’n blue roster. “I didn’t want to do it because I knew the people in my grade were good,” she recalls. “In my mind I thought, I’m never going to make it. So I made the decision to not even try out … it was something I wanted to protect myself from.”
Punahou Bulletin •

The Remarkable Story of Punahou Athletics: Five Transformative Moments

by Ben Yuri Biersach

President John Fox was instrumental in restoring normalcy post-World War II, following a lengthy occupation of campus by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. During his tenure, which began in 1944, student enrollment tripled to 3,700, resulting in economies of scale and a more diverse student body. It also marked a turning point for Punahou Athletics, as he began recruiting nationally to find faculty with sports backgrounds – and required them to coach to elevate athletic performance. President McPhee, who took the helm in 1968, was also a supporter of sports at the School. He oversaw robust athletic facility capital improvements, which were fundamental in modernizing training and conditioning of student-athletes.
Punahou Bulletin •

Shawna-Lei Kuehu - 2026 Punahou Athletic Hall of Fame

by Ben Yuri Biersach

An ‘Aiea playground legend since the fourth grade who honed her skills at the Kalākaua Clinic, Shawna-Lei Kuehu made an outsized impact on the Hawai‘i girls basketball scene from the moment she set foot on the court as a 5’10” Punahou freshman. Her prolific scoring ability and excellence in every facet of the game propelled her to greatness as one of the most highly decorated prep hoopsters ever to play in the state.
Punahou Bulletin •

Onaona Miller - 2026 Punahou Athletic Hall of Fame

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Onaona Miller's basketball prowess was well-known before she ever stepped on the hardwood in a buff ’n blue jersey. The versatile 5’11” athlete started her prep career at Hilo High, where in 1996 she was the BIIF Player of the Year and led her Vikings squad to an undefeated regular season, the BIIF championship, and a fifth-place finish in the state tournament. Possessing impeccable fundamentals, she could play all five positions on the court.
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