Related: In Good Company: Cory Mau
As the new director of the Wo International Center, Tyler Fujita ’06 believes that one of the most fulfilling shifts we can make is to start living more deliberately – being intentional about how we spend our time, where we are headed and who we are becoming.
This philosophy is reflected in a vibrant life journey that includes time spent as a corporate management consultant, a nonprofit program director and an educator. Collectively, these experiences have led him to a profound realization: the power of leveraging international connections to not only gain a better understanding of one’s unique roots – but to also foster a deeper, more empathetic cross-cultural understanding that drives positive change.
Prior to becoming director at Wo, Fujita oversaw the student travel program for the Pacific & Asian Affairs Council (PAAC), a global education organization with a 70-year history in Hawai‘i. In this capacity, he advanced PAAC’s mission of promoting understanding and empowering engagement on global issues with special attention to Hawai‘i’s role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Fujita began his work in education in 2017 at SEEQS, an esteemed Hawai‘i public charter school. He currently serves on the school’s Governing Board.
He joined the Wo Center as assistant director in 2023 and assumed his current role this past summer. He oversees the Center’s programs, including international and domestic travel, cross-cultural exchange programs, and inbound international visitors. We caught up with Fujita to learn more about where global education at Punahou is headed.
What inspired you to take on the challenge of becoming the director of the Wo Center?
In many ways, global education is about finding our place in the world. The work of the Wo Center is particularly personal for me because as an alumnus, Punahou was my beginning too.
By providing students with opportunities to look beyond Punahou, and beyond Hawai‘i, we help them to better understand where they come from, where they belong, and what their unique contributions may be. I believe wholeheartedly in this process of discovery and it is something I will always continue in my own life.
The Wo Center opened in 1993 to serve as a beacon for educational practices, discussions and learning through a global perspective. More than 30 years later, how is the Wo Center living up to this mandate?
I am proud of where we are today. Over the years, the Wo Center has played a role in so many student stories of time spent abroad, international friendships formed and personal projects reaching the furthest corners of the planet. In particular, I have seen students grow in their breadth of perspective and in their confidence to go out into the world and make things happen.
This is a testament to the Wo Center team, past and present, including so many across campus and throughout the broader community who are a part of our work. Mahalo!
What do you hope to bring to the Wo Center?
When designed thoughtfully, travel is a technology that can spark us to grow in ways that few other things can. While earning my M.Ed in Curriculum Studies, I studied “peak experiences” and the power they hold to awaken in each of us a sense of excitement and optimism about the world and life, as well as a greater appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. This shaped my educational philosophy and I aspire to build what I’ve learned into the design of each opportunity that we create for students.
What inspires you most about the future of the Wo Center?
More than ever, we are caught in the pull between the virtual world and the physical world, between artificial intelligence and human understanding. As educators, a part of our work is to navigate all of this with students and what inspires me most is the relevance of this work today.
Recently, a student named Flora, who is pursuing a Distinction in Global Education, spoke on her passion for cultural preservation. She concluded that this matters so much because culture is the very thing that makes us human. I think Flora is right – participation in culture and community is what life is all about.
