HILARY HOSIA
In the Marshall Islands, socializing with a National Football League player over dinner is not something you do on a daily basis. Or ever. But for the folks who joined US Ambassador Karen Stewart at a dinner reception for last week’s visit by US Department of Energy officials, such was a reality: Those gathered had the opportunity to rub shoulders with former New Orleans Saints linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha.
And whom do we have to thank for this grand but short visit? Dr. Holly Barker, one of the RMI National Nuclear commissioners. Turns out Kikaha was a student of Barker’s at the University of Washington and decided to “cruise” with Barker on her trip to Majuro for the annual DOE dialogue.
Kikaha was named a consensus All-American after his senior year at the University of Washington in 2014. He was drafted by New Orleans after this, but his three years with the Saints were hampered by injuries.
Read more about this in the May 24, 2019 edition of the Marshall Islands Journal.