Hello, Kauai. First, I’d like to say that I am very excited to serve as your sports writer. I look forward to working with the coaches and student-athletes and I hope to personally introduce myself to all of you soon.
Hello, Kauai.
First, I’d like to say that I am very excited to serve as your sports writer. I look forward to working with the coaches and student-athletes and I hope to personally introduce myself to all of you soon.
I’ve never had the opportunity to come to Hawaii prior to moving here. I’ve always heard how beautiful the scenery is and how welcoming the people are. In the brief time I’ve been here, it has lived up the billing.
For those of you who care to know a little about me, well, here it goes.
I am 26 years old and born and raised in San Jose, Calif. I am a first-generation Filipino-American and the son of two loving Filipino immigrant parents who have unselfishly allowed me to pursue my own career. While moving to the island was the hardest life decision I’ve made by far, having their support, and from others as well, helped put me at ease.
I am also the older brother of a young woman that I’m very proud to call my little sister. We haven’t always gotten along. In fact, we both can be pretty stubborn. Nevertheless, we’ve always had each other’s backs. My father taught me to be her protector. Though I cannot be that for her anymore, I’m sure that she, too, will find her own path as she transitions into adulthood.
Oddly, I wasn’t heavily interested in sports early on. I had athlete role models growing up and cheered for my favorite teams: Oakland Raiders, San Francisco Giants, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Lakers. I even tried out for my school’s wrestling team. It wasn’t until I started working at my first job, however, that I became somewhat of a statistics junkie. My co-workers would always talk about the game that happened the night before, how many points a player scored and about an amazing play. Or they would just talk up their favorite teams and talk trash about their rivals. Naturally, I joined in the conversations and became engulfed in their world.
My journey in journalism began at junior college. At the time, I’ve been attending classes at the school for more than two years. Though it was almost time to transfer to a four-year university, I still hadn’t chosen a major. During the following semesters, I enrolled in several elective classes just to see what would peak my interest. I signed up for a journalism class one semester and I’ve stuck with it since.
I earned my bachelor’s degree in journalism at San Jose State University. During that time, I worked on the student newspaper for three semesters as a staff writer, sports editor and production editor. During my final semester at SJSU, I served as an intern at a local sports news station.
I graduated in May. For a short time, I wrote freelance articles for a website pertaining to professional and college sports teams located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Opportunity has led me to The Garden Island.
As I begin this new chapter in my life here on Kauai, I am also preparing for the upcoming winter sports season. I anticipate a lot of exciting games to write about and talking to players and spectators who are passionate about the games.
I look forward to meeting all of you in the gyms and on the fields.
• Nick Celario, sports writer, can be reached at 245-0437 or ncelario@thegardenisland.com. Follow him on Twitter at @NickAdrian0918.
