HPU’s Press Club unanimously elected Cris Saiki-Chaves as its president for the spring 2004 semester.

Saiki, 21, is “very excited and totally committed” to her new position, and hopes to create a fun-filled networking environment for all Press Club members.

Saiki, originally from Peru, came to HPU from Saipan two years ago, a transfer from Northern Marianas College, on an academic scholarship. She is majoring in journalism with a minor in writing, and is looking forward to graduating in winter 2004.

In addition to her duties as Press Club president, Saiki is also secretary of the Creative Writing Club and a Kalamalama staff writer.

Writing is a large part of Saiki’s talent and passion, which manifested when she did an internship at the Saipan Tribune at 16. “All the interns started off with the obituaries,” she said, “but it was a fun learning experience.”

Today, Saiki is doing more than writing obituaries. One of her short stories, “Suede,” was published last year in Wonderlust, HPU’s Student Literary Magazine, published at the end of each semester.

Looking toward the future, Saiki thinks she will naturally transition into print journalism. “All of the things I’m working on, I think will eventually take me into magazines.”

Saiki attends HPU full time, but in her spare time she enjoys creating commercial Web sites, writing fiction, and painting nude bodyscapes in acrylics. She is in the process of arranging to show these at Studio 1 Gallery, 1 North King St., Honolulu, HI 96817.