| Hawaii Hispanic History In 1794, Francisco Marin -- a Spaniard -- became the first Hispanic resident of Hawaii. Francisco Marin planted the first pineapple in the kingdom of Hawaii on January 2, 1813. |
| Hawaii Hispanic Community Statistics: |

| Latino coordinated Hawaii state boards and commissions recruitment |
HONOLULU, Hawaii – Daniel Alberdeston lived in various parts of the world prior to settling down in Honolulu. Until the end of June, he worked in the Governor’s Office of Boards and Commissions. Alberdeston was born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, while his father was stationed there in the Army. Both his parents were born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Two years after he was born, his family moved to Alabama. A few years later, they returned to Puerto Rico. Before his parents divorced, he spent about seven years of his childhood, including his high school years, in Puerto Rico. The rest of the time he spent on military bases in Germany, Alabama, Kentucky, etc. His college-educated mother always worked and, when they lived in Puerto Rico, she worked for the Border Patrol. He graduated from high school and attended Adelphi University on Long Island for a year, but struggled to make ends meet on his own as a college student, so he moved back to Puerto Rico to live with his mom. There he attended the Inter American University of Puerto Rico - San German. Then in 1991 his mother got a diplomatic posting to work in the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, as the Administrative Officer for U.S. Immigration. So Alberdeston, his sisters and his mother lived four years in Mexico City as diplomatic personnel and families. At the end of that tour, his mother was transferred from Mexico City Embassy to Washington, D.C., where she retired three years later. In 1994, Alberdeston joined the Marine Corps, but an accident cut his military paralegal service short. During a rappelling training exercise, he fell from a 40-ft tower and the resulting head injury caused him to be in a coma for a week. After recovering, he was placed back on active service. He started having seizures, however, which Marine Corps physicians attributed to his head injury. So after having served about 18 months, they gave him an honorable discharge.
veteran’s benefits I completed my bachelor’s in International Relations and master’s in Peace and Conflict Resolution (cum laude) at the American University in Washington, D.C. Upon graduating, however, I tried to find work but the job market wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I got pretty frustrated.” He continued: “Since I couldn’t find work, I decided to take a year off and travel on my own. I went to Europe. I went to Mexico and I made my way here because a year before I graduated, I had been here and really liked it. Hawaii reminded me a lot of Puerto Rico. So I got here in December 2004 and have been here ever since.” One of Alberdeston’s most notable qualities is his propensity to volunteer. When he first arrived in Hawaii, he lived on the North Shore. While there, he taught seventh- and eighth-grade English for a year, as a volunteer, at Sunset Beach Christian School in Haleiwa. He also volunteered from ’06 to ’ 07 as a night shift board operator and campaign assistant at Hawaii Public Radio. Currently, he volunteers a couple of days a week as a criminal/misdemeanor probation assistant with the State Judiciary.
offered a part-time position helping coordinate the recruitment, background investigations and appointment of individuals applying for state boards and commissions. Two months ago, in his spare time, he translated the recommended H1D1 procedures from English to Spanish and his translation was used by the Dept of Health is their statewide advisory. Now, due to the state budget cuts, he was just laid off. How was his experience working in that office? He is still a strong supporter of the program. He said: “My experience there was excellent. The crew I worked Eric, Justin and Mark are great people to work with. There are approximately 180 boards and commission in the state and they are always looking for volunteers. The application process is on-going. Many board and commissions have members whose terms end June 30, so there are quite a few vacancies. I highly recommend that members of the Hispanic community serve on a board or commission.” What were the most frequently asked questions he received from individuals inquiring about serving on a board or commission? He said: “They usually ask if there are any positions available, what the appointment process is, how long they can serve, etc. Some applicants are referred by members that are serving currently. The process is pretty convenient. A lot the basic information and the application are available online at: http://hawaii.gov/gov/team/boardscommissions. But, I would also encourage anyone that has questions to call 586-0026.” Alberdeston is not sure what position he will take on next, but, based on the work he’s done so far, we know it will another adventure for this multi-faceted, multi-talented young man. |
| 1994-2012 (c) copyright all rights reserved |
