By Gavin Arucan | Staff Writer

What do you like most about Hawaiʻi?

Manny Batinga

Age: 19

Hometown: Salt Lake, Hawaiʻi

Major: Fire (at HCC)

“What do I like most about Hawaiʻi? I guess that everybody’s friendly and everybody has the Aloha spirit, a lot more than the mainland.”

Mike Olson

Age: 23

Hometown: Mililani, Hawaiʻi

Major: IT (Information Technology)

“The thing I like most about Hawaiʻi is, I would say, the people. There is a degree of respect here in Hawaiʻi. It’s definitely the culture too. I like how loving we are. We can have potlucks at Magic Island and hang out with people you may know or not know. The Aloha spirit is here.”

Chasity Vysoky

Age: 26

Hometown: Kaneohe, Hawaʻi

Intended Major: Nursing

“I’d probably say the people. Every time I travel somewhere else, I find myself irritated with other people very quickly. They’re not as conscious as people in Hawaiʻi.”

Mitchell Chamness

Age: 19

Hometown: Mānoa, Hawaiʻi

Major: Liberal Arts

“I like the diverse culture, definitely. It’s a mixing pot of culture. I’ve lived all across the West coast and there’s nothing really quite like Hawaiʻi. There is California, with some diverse culture, but it’s not the same. There’s not as much of the connectivity that Hawaiʻi has.”

Ali Petrucci

Age: 26

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia

Major: Biology

“Besides the beach… one thing I like about Hawai‘i is that if feels a little like home to me because I used to live somewhere else in the U.S. after Colombia. And it’s a little more tropical here and the food is similar to the food where I come from. And everybody here has been so nice to me.”