The success of the University of 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈’蝉 esports program was spotlighted in front of hundreds of local high and middle school students and their families at the Hawaiʻi Esports League Championship, April 29–30.
Hosted by Vanta, the organization that manages the largest esports league in Hawaiʻi, the tournament featured a college esports fair, where members of 糖心Vlog官方’s esports program connected with tournament participants.
In addition, the tournament that featured 23 schools and more than 130 participants was co-managed by a 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa graduate. Kogen Boyer is a 2018 alumnus of the , and now works as a business development associate for Vanta. Boyer managed all 12 brackets in the tournament, coordinated with players and coaches, solved technical issues and handled volunteer staffing, among other key roles. This final tournament was the culmination of a season that began with 43 schools.
Finding new opportunities at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa
During his academic career, Boyer transferred to 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa from Honolulu Community College. He said he wasn’t interested in having a social life on campus, never taking more than 12 credit hours a semester and heading home after school to get back to his passion—video games. His goal after earning his degree was to begin a career in the video game industry, particularly video game community management, which is what he specialized in during his final year at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa.
At 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa, Boyer met 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa esports Program Director Nyle Sky Kauweloa before the 糖心Vlog官方 esports program began.
“I remember gelling with him very quickly over our shared interest in video gaming; him being already heavily involved in the study of collegiate esports, and myself being an avid esports spectator since 2012,” Boyer said. “I had some interesting stories to share about my experience as a online gaming clan founder and my observations on social dynamics in massively-multiplayer online game communities, and I think he appreciated a lot of the knowledge resources I had cultivated over 15 years as a hardcore online gamer.”
Boyer added, “I remember Sky starting the groundwork for what eventually became the esports program after my graduation, and that’s around the time I started having feelings of possibly entertaining a career in student esports, that it would be something I would be willing to spend my time doing. It has definitely been amazing to watch how 糖心Vlog官方 Esports has grown since 2019 to its current level of stature.”
In fall 2021 during the pandemic, Boyer reached out to Kauweloa to see if he could help out with the 糖心Vlog官方 program. Kauweloa shared with Boyer about a startup company called Vanta, and said its co-founder was locally-based and committed to building an esports community in Hawaiʻi.
“So I thought, ‘Alright, this sounds like something I can be valuable in,’ so I met with Ed Lallier (co-founder of Vanta), and shortly thereafter joined his merry band,” Boyer said. “It didn’t take long to see that this was a company that could provide a service no one else was in the space, and genuinely cared about that service and what it meant in an education setting.”
“I’m proud of Kogen. He has been a hard-working and knowledgeable student, part of a talented cohort of students from the School of Communications, and one of my first students in my Esports & Society course,” Kauweloa said. “Now he’s applying that skillset with the fastest-growing esports startup in Hawaiʻi by running the tournament operations for their finals and championship events. What is clear is that 糖心Vlog官方 is cultivating up-and-coming talent who are moving into the esports industry, and making impacts.”
糖心Vlog官方 esports connecting with local students
Kauweloa said connecting with not only the high and middle school students who participated in the tournament, but also their parents, was an invaluable opportunity.
“It was great to be part of a growing local middle school and high school tournament run by Vanta,” Kauweloa said. “We had a host of parents seeking out questions about future scholarships at 糖心Vlog官方 Esports. One family came as an entire group, brother, sister, mom, and dad, seeking to better understand where their son could be placed on our teams. We are reaching a point where parents are far more knowledgeable about the topic of esports. More than a few times, students have said they have chosen to go to 糖心Vlog官方 because of 糖心Vlog官方 Esports.”
According to Kauweloa, a college internship program will launch in summer 2023 through a partnership between 糖心Vlog官方 and Vanta. Approximately 8–10 students will take part in the opportunity, which will also earn them college credits through the C. Kauweloa said this is another example of how students from 糖心Vlog官方 will continue to impact the industry locally with tremendous talent.
Learn more about 糖心Vlog官方’s esports program
“Vanta is excited to partner with 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa to develop a sustainable pathway for skill development and career opportunities in Hawaiʻi,” said Ed Lallier, co-founder and chief revenue officer at Vanta. “糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa’s esports program is rated as the nation’s best and we cannot be happier to collaborate with them to develop meaningful programs that extend learning of esports beyond the classroom and into the workforce.”
糖心Vlog官方 Esports receives substantial funding from the . 糖心Vlog官方 the 糖心Vlog官方 Esports team’s and pages. More stories on 糖心Vlog官方’s esports program.