Local girl earns mathematics degree

Jill Kikue Dobashi of Lihu‘e, a transfer student from Portland University (Oregon) and Emory University (Atlanta, Ga.), recently graduated from Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla. with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

She is a 2000 graduate of Kaua‘i High School. Attending her graduation were her parents, Myron and Jean Dobashi of Lihu‘e, and her uncle, Daryl Dobashi, attorney at law, also from Lihu‘e. The family extended their visit with a short vacation to South Beach, Miami.

A luncheon in Jill Dobashi’s honor, and to thank her friends after the graduation ceremony, was hosted by her parents at a popular Chinese restaurant in Miami Shores.

Jill Dobashi’s initial motivation to attend Barry University was to play volleyball. Barry is a NCAA Division II school, often nationally ranked in the Top 20, and the 2002 Women’s National Champions. Jill is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, and played back row on a team that featured quite a number of tall and talented players from Brazil.

While at Barry University, she was fortunate to spend the summers of 2002 and 2003 as a member of a Polynesian performing group under contract to the Department of Defense’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation program to entertain U.S. military forces stationed throughout Europe.

During the academic year, she held a part-time position on campus as a math tutor, and also worked part-time off-campus for the Sylvan Learning Center as a tutor in math and reading, including SAT preparation classes.

This fall, she will be attending Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., in the master’sdegree program, majoring in math. She recently moved to Boca Raton. She is the youngest of three children of Myron and Jean Dobashi. Her two older brothers are Corey, a graduate of Lewis and Clark University in Portland, Ore., who now lives in Lihu‘e, and Kyle, a graduate of Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore., who lives in Portland.