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Ben Yuri Biersach

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

Punahou Bulletin •

Alex Ching - 2026 Punahou Athletic Hall of Fame

by Ben Yuri Biersach

Growing up in Hawai‘i in the 1990s, Alex Ching was small for his age and burned off his boundless energy by playing nearly every sport under the sun. He gradually came to focus on golf and tennis, training privately with his father as his primary coach and competing in diverse tournaments. As he grew into his body throughout his varsity career at Punahou, he gained a foot in height and 50 pounds in weight, also gaining glory with individual and team championship trophies.
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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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 •

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.
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