Meet Desiré
50 year resident (3rd generation)
28 years of service working in Wai'anae Public Schools
2019 American School Counselor of the Year Finalist
2018 Hawai'i School Counselor of the Year
Former Lifeguard, All-American Olympic Qualifier in swimming, professional surfer, stunt woman, and member of most canoe clubs on the coast.
Aloha mai kākou, my name is Desiré De Soto. I was born and raised and still reside in Mākaha. I am the daughter of Bruce and Margit De Soto, who both graduated from Waiʻanae High School. I, too, am a proud product of the Hawaiʻi public school system, attending Mākaha Elementary, Waiʻanae Intermediate, and Pearl City High School (c/o ʻ91) on a district exception to swim.
With my swimming skills, I attended Whitworth College (c/o ʻ96) on scholarship and graduated with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine, secondary education, physical education, and minors in health and special education. I returned home to teach high-risk students at Waiʻanae High and studied school counseling at Chaminade University (c/o ʻ01) to best fit the needs I was experiencing in my school.
In search of ʻōiwi mentorship and discourse after my grandmotherʻs death, I participated in the First Nations Futures Fellowship Program (Papa Ulana 2015-2016). My experience as a Papa Ulana member gave me the knowledge and insight to envision and manifest a Waiʻanae to Whitworth 'Auwai. As a direct result of the ʻauwai, I was the 2018 Hawaii School Counselor of the Year & a finalist for the 2019 American School Counselor of the Year.
I defended my dissertation and received a PhD in organizational psychology from Walden University (I do not recommend) in August 2018. At the same time, I was invited to be a member of a visionary team of respected community educators to brainstorm and manifest Papahana ʻo Kaiona (POK), an alternative learning program, as a Hawaii Department of Education model for other moku. After my time at POK, I became a school counselor at Wai'anae Elementary School, which had not had a counselor on staff for three years before my assignment.
My experiences in our schools and living in our community before and during these unprecedented times have been the impetus for my desire to advocate for the needs of our children, families, and community in Honolulu. We are the change we wish to see. Hoʻōla with Desiré!