Aloha! I’m Stella Sonali Stake, a senior at Punahou School. I love exploring my curiosities and embracing new challenges, like this summer when I conquered the Mountaineers Route of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United States at 14,505 feet — one year after a major surgery to repair my ACL, MCL, and meniscus. I’ve spent many years playing soccer and have learned a lot about teamwork and leadership as a team captain and team manager, and through the opportunity to represent the state of Hawaiʻi through the Olympic Development Program. A highlight of the past year was being a Division Head for the Punahou School Carnival and raising funds for financial aid.
I was raised in a household that embraced the world’s cultures, inspired by our varied family roots. I was encouraged to understand my own family history, with the guidance, “In order to know where you are going, it’s important to understand where you came from.” On my mom’s side, this included travels to India to learn about my ancestors who marched alongside Gandhi in the Indian independence movement and my great-grandmother, Lily Pandya, who was the first woman to serve on the city council of Mumbai. On my dad’s side, this included interviews to learn about my great-great-grandmother Yetta, whose family only had resources to send one child to America during the pogroms in Eastern Europe. She arrived by herself in New York at age 14 and her Jewish family members who remained were killed.
Experiencing many family stories and adventures in other countries at a young age instilled in me a desire to explore and learn expansively about other people and cultures, beyond the confines of a small bubble. My journey through varied learning environments began in northern California at GATE Academy, Marin’s School for Gifted Education, which was a unique, inquiry-based environment with only 60 K–8 students total. It continued through large public schools in California for a few years, and led me 2,500 miles away to Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. This unique path shaped my approach to learning and ignited a deep curiosity within me to learn and stretch myself inside and outside the classroom.
Moving from the Bay Area to Hawaiʻi further expanded my perspective. It introduced me to the meaning of ʻohana and deepened my connection to community, culture, and the natural world. Those interests have since taken me across 14 countries and six continents and ultimately led me to pursue Punahou’s Wo Center Global Education Distinction. Through cultural immersion in Japan and Senegal, environmental service in the British Virgin Islands and Hawaiʻi, a sustainable agriculture internship at Carman Ranch in rural Oregon, and leadership experiences ranging from Race4Good and COP28 to Punahou’s Sustainability Fair, I have had several opportunities to step outside my comfort zone. I’ve learned from people whose lives differ from my own and turned what I learn into meaningful action. These experiences have strengthened my goal of becoming a compassionate bridge and solutions-oriented changemaker in an era of deep division.