Former Flight Attendant Now Honolulu Hospital VP

The next time you're on a commercial airliner, remember to be nice to your flight attendant. He or she might be your physician some day.

Folks who flew on Aloha Airlines in Hawaii back in the 70s might remember a good-looking local boy flight attendant named Gerard Akaka, now Dr. Gerard Akaka, Vice President of Medical Affairs for the Queen's Medical Center (QMC) in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Speaking recently to a group of 25 visiting high school students at the Smyth Auditorium at QMC, Akaka, the son of United States senator Daniel Akaka, recounted his life as a student with waning motivation and constantly-changing goals.

Akaka said he began college on the vocational track, dabbling in the field of auto mechanics and auto body repair. "I had no passion for it," said Akaka.

Admitting to having an undergraduate grade point average of just 2.3 and being a struggling student who had a "hard time reading books," Akaka righted himself thanks to continued prodding from his parents. "They pushed me to finish college," he said.

Akaka also cited family friends Dr. Richard Kekuni Blaisdell and Walt Ching as being important mentors. "They opened doors wider for me, but I didn't think I was smart enough," said Akaka, a 1972 graduate of the Kamehameha Schools.

Akaka spoke of two turning points in his life. One was not earning a spot to go to flight school to train as a fighter pilot for the Air National Guard. The second was gaining acceptance into Imi Ho'ola, a post-baccalaureate program that provides educational opportunities for individuals whose applications to medical school were rejected. Akaka is one of 148 Imi Ho'ola graduates who have gone on to medical school.

As a result of his success in Imi Ho'ola, Akaka went on to the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii, where he graduated and received his medical degree.

Akaka eventually landed a job at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC), where he worked from 1995 to 2002, his last four years there as medical director.

In 2002, Akaka left WCCHC to accept a position as director of the Queen Emma Clinic, which is operated jointly by QMC and the College of Health Sciences of the University of Hawaii.

In 2004, according to a news story from QMC, Akaka was named the recipient of Ke Kauka Po'okela, the Outstanding Physician of the Year Award for the Center. He recently accepted the position of vice president of medical affairs for QMC, the largest private hospital in Hawaii.

Remembering his struggles and also the support he received, Akaka encouraged his teenage audience. "Go for it!" he said. "Don't just sit and cruise."

"If someone tells you you can do it, pay attention to that," he said.