One of the most spirited members of our pep squad was cheerleader Lena Inouye Okada (aka Reiko to her Washington Intermediate classmates). At Kaimuki, Lena was also on the Ka Hali’a yearbook staff and a member of Future Teachers of America.
After graduation, Lena went to the University of Hawai‘i; in her senior year, she attended Waseda University in Japan with classmate Wendell Kunimura. She graduated from UH with a degree in secondary education and taught for eight years at Mid-Pacific Institute.
After a one-month courtship, Lena married Norio Okada, a Japanese national who was coaching Colombia’s national wrestling team and off she went on an adventure to Colombia, South America. During her eight years in Colombia, Lena used her teaching skills and worked as an English tutor. After Norio’s wrestling team participated in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, he decided to retire and took a position as a PE teacher at a high school in Japan. So off Lena went to Japan.
Lena’s first job in Japan was with Private Culture Refinement Research in the special events planning group. Because of her fluency in English and, of course, her effervescent personality, she was assigned to host and translate for special guests like Prince Edward, astronaut Charles Conrad and other celebrities.
Lena was then offered a position as a cultural teacher to address “bullying” of students by foreign students and to help bridge an understanding between Japanese and American students. This was also during a time when the Japanese educational system wanted to start teaching English to elementary students. Lena developed two manuals on how to teach English. She also ran workshops on teaching for the Department of Education. This KHS Future Teacher of America became a teacher of teachers who taught English in Japan’s elementary schools. During her career in Japan, Lena taught English to all ages from pre-school to college professors.
After 21 years in Japan, Lena and Norio retired and finally came back home to Hawai‘i. They are now the voluntary caretakers of the Tenri Cultural Center in Nu‘uanu. Norio takes care of the landscaping and Lena is in charge of the library. She also assists elderly Japanese members with reading their mail and helping them to understand what it contains so they don’t get scammed.
Our always smiling, high energy and friendly former cheerleader Lena has been spreading her educational expertise, writing skills and aloha spirit in Colombia, Japan and here in Hawaii. Let’s all get up off the bleachers and give her A GREAT BIG KAIMUKI CHEER!
