After years of living and working for HP and Ariba, Inc. in Silicon Valley, local boy Kevin Kawahara got a chance to not only come home to raise his family in the islands, but also to continue a rewarding career in the technology industry. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Now he’s a part of a world-class institution, working as Punahou School’s Technical Solutions Manager. He came on board just as the school was transitioning their IT department from a basic support organization to one that develops and delivers solutions to meet the needs of the school’s board and larger community.

Technology is what Kawahara is all about. His interest in technology began in childhood when he would play home computer games and anything else he could get his hands on. A friend lent him a 300 Baud modem, which got him online at the forefront of the Internet computing craze.

In high school at Pearl City, Kawahara’s teacher, Kelvin Chun, who was teaching one of the few computer science classes in public schools in Hawaii at the time, helped to cultivate Kawahara’s interest in computers and technology — an interest that Kawahara says has become not only his career but part of his life.

Pacific News Bytes sat down to speak with Kawahara about his role in Hawaii’s high-tech world …

Tell us a little about your background.
I was born and raised in Pearl City and I attended public school all the way (Momilani Elementary, Highlands Intermediate, Pearl City High School and UH Manoa, where I received a BS in Computer Science). After graduation from UH, I moved to the Bay Area, (Silicon Valley) to work for HP. From there, I went to a start up (Alliente) that was eventually acquired by Ariba, Inc. After 10 years in CA, I moved back to Hawaii to work at Punahou and raise my family. I’m married to my wife, Jodi, Director of Employment for Sheraton Hotels Waikiki, and we have a three year old daughter, Payton.

What was the best life lesson you’ve learned?
You can’t worry about losing. With all the challenges we face every day, all you can do is do your best work, give your best effort and learn to make the best choices you can. Avoiding the tough jobs (or choosing the easiest ones), gets you nowhere. You still hope to win at everything you do, but if there isn’t even a chance at losing or failing, then it’s probably not worth doing for very long. Ambition and risk are tied closely together.

Who is your biggest influence? Why?
I’m lucky enough to have had many great influences. My entire extended family is a wealth of inspiration. One thing everyone has in common, and which my Dad really embodies, is just the value of hard work. Dad works hard! He still has two jobs! And the payoff is when you want or need something, you can make it happen. I didn’t understand it for a long time, but there is no better feeling than making a dream into a reality for my wife and daughter.

Why did you accept this job at Punahou School?
The job at Punahou was attractive for both personal and professional reasons. I was living and working in California, my daughter had just been born, and my wife and I were really trying to figure out if we could raise her the way we wanted to, and with the values we wanted to (the Island values you could say), where we were. The problem, of course, was there are very few opportunities in Hawaii for the work I wanted to do. The position at Punahou offered us a chance to return home, and continue a rewarding career.

Professionally, you come to learn that it’s very important to work with the best people, at the best places. Punahou School is world class – a world class educational institution full of world class people. You always look hard for a chance to be a part of something like that. It was a great chance to join the team to help bridge that gap and help make the transformation.

How does technology play a role in your duties as Technical Solutions Manager at Punahou School?
Technology is my life there – I’m a technologist. Everything I do involves either mating a technology to a challenge someone has, customizing something to make it fit for the school or helping to fine tune something already here to meet the changing needs of the school.

What do you enjoy most about your job? Why?
The people I work with are great. The diversity and backgrounds they have are incredible – there is always an amazing story to hear. You can’t ignore the kids either. The caliber of the students both personally and academically is so high, you can’t help but be inspired to be more than you are.

What do you enjoy least about your job? Why?
The hours — not the amount of them, but when they occur. Working for tech companies in Silicon Valley, you come to take “flexible work schedule” for granted. I even worked at home for about five years, which isn’t for everyone, but can make you incredibly productive. Being on more of a fixed schedule now is important because I have to be available for the people I serve, but mornings are tough for me! Commuting through traffic doesn’t help either.

What describes a typical day in your job?
A typical day is a battle between getting my work done and helping others get their work done! Our aim is to make most of the work we do become transparent to the users so things like email, ePunahou (our information portal), and other things are just there doing exactly what people need them to do. As technology in general becomes more accessible, people take it upon themselves to start projects that need assistance from time to time. It’s great to support everyone and help keep them engaged, but the window of opportunity for a teacher is quite small, so you often have to drop everything to give them what they need, and they certainly appreciate the effort. None of that work is on the schedule, so balancing it all can be a challenge. The end of every day is then spent closing the loops you can, and rebalancing what’s left. It never ends!

What is the biggest challenge of your job?
Bridging the technical communication gap is always difficult, even at a tech company when everyone should be speaking the same language. When I look at technology, I see it for one thing, and when a teacher looks at that same bit of technology, they may see it as something else. It’s not fair to place the burden of learning IT on the users, so connecting those two worlds is not only difficult at times, it’s very important.

What is the best way to stay competitive in the industry?
Keep learning, keep trying new things, keep challenging yourself. If there aren’t any projects like that in your current job, go out and find them.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Gadget-it is when too much momentum is put behind “the next big thing” that will “solve all our problems.” Technology has a fast pace, but it still requires due diligence. Constant change in direction causes you to lose focus and accomplish nothing. Our goals are bigger than that.

If you could change one thing at your job, what would it be and how would you do it?
I’d love to be able to increase staffing, not only to get more done here but also to help develop the industry in Hawaii. There isn’t a lot of talent in the market right now, and part of the blame for that lies with the employers. It would be great to develop some excess capacity to be able to cast off into the job market (hire interns, recent grads, etc). Without a pool to draw from, the technology market in Hawaii will remain stagnant – no one wins then. Right now, each head we have is so valuable, that we are forced to wait for only the most experienced candidates, and then work hard to keep them from ever leaving.

If you weren’t in the tech field, what other profession or career would you pursue? Why?
Most of the people in my family are tradesmen, or civil servants: printers, carpenters, plumbers, firemen, policemen, etc. I think I would enjoy learning and doing a craft like that. Maybe when I’m done here I’ll learn how to build a house!

Please tell me something unique about yourself.
In my head, I believe I know how to work with wood, so I like to acquire tools for that kind of thing, but I have yet to build anything of significance!

What do you like to do in your spare time?
I’m a father of a three-year-old. I have no spare time!