LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Lloyd Yamasaki

Position: Retiring Fine Arts Teacher and Yearbook Advisor
School: Wallace Rider Farrington High School
School District: Hawaii Public Schools
City, State: Honolulu, HI

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Music that Describes Lloyd

Lloyd Yamasaki was nominated by his colleague, Glenda Lau.

Mr. Yamasaki has been a public school educator for over 30 years. He taught at Lanai High School from 1989-1991, Ilima Intermediate School from 1991-1993, and Wallace Rider Farrington High School from 1994-2020. Mr. Yamasaki initially taught fine arts and social studies at Farrington. In 1997, he became the yearbook advisor and ceramics teacher. For the next 23 years, much of his free time during lunch and after school would involve taking pictures of students, activities or school groups. He would also need to supervise the work that his yearbook students would do to put the layout of the yearbook together.

If being yearbook advisor was not enough, Mr. Yamasaki was also the golf and bowling coach from 2000-2018. He and another coach would accompany the students to after school practice sessions as well as tournaments and meets. Although coaching took up more of Mr. Yamasaki's free time, he did not mind. He thought it helped students develop character and confidence in themselves.

"We will truly miss Mr. Yamasaki when he retires this school year," sad Lau. "His dedication to producing an excellent yearbook during each of the past 23 years will be remembered by many. His ability to instill a strong work ethic and honesty in students will be hard to replace."

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Comments (4)

Ted Uratani Posted over a year ago

Worked on Hawaii regional Scholastic art competition with Lloyd. Dedicated many hours of unselfish time for students’ achievement.,.enjoy your retirement my friend!

John Yim Posted over a year ago

I was working in Shop 5 as an instructor for Building and Construction and Lloyd worked in Shop 4 Ceramic Arts, Photography, and Year Book. I had the pleasure of picking Lloyd's thirty years of school experiences from simple task like infinite campus grade and attendance set up. Including, plumbing when my sink got clogged. Lloyd had loaned me his personal plumbing snake to unclog my drain. Anyway, I volunteered to help him distribute the School Yearbook in the Library. I think near the end of the day, one of his former student Geraldine Suprepo who had been his Yearbook Editor in Chief a while back had come in to pick up a yearbook for her nephew. Lloyd mentioned that he bumped into her at a market and that she had become a Real Estate Agent . It ended up that Lloyd did business with her and was quite pleased with her performance. The fact that she could send her children to Punahou High School, and she could take care of her brother says a lot. I tried to to point out to Lloyd that he was part of her success because he was her mentor on the Yearbook staff. Being humble as he is, he couldn't believe that he had that much influence on this particular student's life. There can only be one Lloyd Yamasaki. He will be missed.

Christine Ho Posted over a year ago

I have known Lloyd for approximately 26 years, since 1994, when we worked together as fellow art teacher volunteers at the annual Scholastic Art Awards competition. We would collect hundreds of student artworks and prepare them for judging. After the judging was done, we would classify all of the pieces and organize them for return to the schools. Lloyd also helped set up art shows throughout his career. Lloyd is a dedicated art teacher. He is patient and kind. I remember one year, although he was teaching yearbook and ceramics he was working closely with a student with special needs to give him drawing and painting activities. Lloyd worked with a small yearbook staff to create massive and well-designed yearbooks. He encouraged his students to experiment with glazing and experimenting with different forms in clay. Lloyd has a sense of humor, and is laid back in his personality. Yet, he also teaches his students to have a high standard of excellence. He inspires me with his amazing work ethic and numerous years of service as a teacher.

Lisa Joy Andres Posted over a year ago

Lloyd’s additional talent is not only photographer but a ceramicist. His beautiful pieces range from simple to intricate pieces turned and hand crafted. Our decades of Farrington students have tried to replicate his work in their own pieces. He will be hard to replace and we’ll all miss him. Lisa Joy Andres Farrington Creative Arts & Technology Academy Principal 1564 N. King Street, Honolulu, HI 96817 ph 808-305-5024