Aloha! My name is Lia Kananipuamaeole Kamana and I’m from Kaneohe, O’ahu in the beautiful state of Hawai’i. Growing up in Hawai’i gave me a childhood that most never get to experience and stories that never fail to make people want to visit the 50th state more than ever.

As much as I love my island home, being on a rock in the middle of the sea made me want to get out and explore the rest of the world. This desire to break out led me to Michigan State University.

I became a Spartan alumna in May of 2015 where I graduated with a degree in Journalism with a concentration in Sports Broadcasting and a minor in Jewish Studies.

Why sports you may ask? Well, I have wanted to be a sports reporter since I was in the 5th grade, at the ripe age of 11. My love for sports in all ways is what led me to my "what I want to be when I grow up."

So far my career has allowed me to experience things that my 5th grade self would have never imagined. In January of 2014 I embarked on a semester study abroad to Jerusalem, Israel where I studied at Hebrew University. During my semester I fell in love with the country and decided to extend my stay from five months to nine and took an internship at the Jerusalem Post. 

My time in Israel is what led me to add a Jewish Studies minor in my senior year. My eyes were opened to all the amazing opportunities the world has to offer and working at the Post solidified my dream of being a journalist. 

As I move forward in my journalism career I am open to working internationally and I even have my eyes on war reporting.

 

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