Inspire 2017 FALL

Kapiolani: Inspiring Spirit

Sho Ishida is a busy young man. The 17-year-old volunteers at a local hospital, plays piano for his temple and works part-time at an attorney’s office. But even when the Iolani student’s schedule is packed, he makes time to walk to Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children once a month with a very special delivery—a donation from him and his mom, Junghyun.

It’s an inspired gift from an inspiring person. When he was 7, Sho’s father suddenly died from a heart attack. Four years later, he and his mother were living near Fukushima when Japan’s largest earthquake left them homeless. The then 13-year-old had just spent a summer studying in Hawaii and decided to move here. As a native Japanese and Korean speaker, it was a big adjustment, one that was made easier by how he was accepted at school.

“Everyone at Iolani School was supportive, so I am not having great difficulties in Hawaii,” Sho said. “It took a while to get used to the weather and having no winter.”

Soon he was thriving, and it was then that he remembered something his mother told him when he was a third grader in Japan.

“My mom said, ‘You’re going to live your life by helping people.’ I took that to heart,” Sho said. “I was saving my money because there was nothing I wanted to buy. Then it dawned on me. It would be more purposeful to donate it.”

Sho thought of his dad’s unexpected death and his mother’s frail health and decided to give part of his small paycheck to Kapiolani and his mother matched it. “I know it’s not much, but I want to give in any capacity I can,” Sho said.

His small gifts have added up. Sho and his mother have now donated thousands of dollars. Soon, the high school senior plans to give even more to help those in need. He plans to become a physician and work in pediatrics.

“Doctors can play a key role in bringing happiness and hope to a family in need of treatment,” he said. “I wish to aid many patients who cannot afford treatment.”

You can be sure Sho will do just that with the same courage, tenacity and generous spirit he has shown his entire life. And through it all, he’ll continue to inspire others with his journey.