"Old friend and colleague Carl Ackerman is a big man...the shirt size generous, the heart enormous, the mind copious and agile, the enthusiasm enough to power several major cities and all the ships at sea. The cheery voice, the warm regard and respect for all people, the impulse to see good done, the capacity to innovate, the eagerness to follow through; all these are immense as well. If Carl is in the room you know it--and you thank your lucky stars. Punahou School's wonderful PUEO program and the many worthy young people benefitting from it have long known such good fortune: years ago in a community... in a world... too short on equity, too bereft of opportunity, too impoverished of empathy, Carl saw a need and stepped up. The program he created and ran has made a very big difference to many deserving young people and their families for whom undue struggle, frustration, even hopelessness, would seem inevitable. And so it continues. Try to praise him, though, to give him even a little much-deserved credit, he'll chortle and deflect and change the subject. "C'mon, man," he'll imply, "there's still work to do. Let's talk about that." In the pages of this book you'll meet some thoroughly admirable kids and learn their stories. With an innovative and comprehensive program in action you'll see good intentions become effective results. You'll see intriguing models of management and cooperation. You'll see the fine and noble efforts of a very big man indeed." ---David McCullough, Jr.


Dr. Carl R. Ackerman received his scholarship to graduate school from President George Bush, Sr., in the White House as a Teacher-Scholar. He earned his PhD in European History from the University of California at Berkeley and has spent most of his adult life living and teaching in Hawaii. He lives in the majestic Manoa Valley in Honolulu with his wife, Dr. Lyn Kajiwara Ackerman, and his two daughters are both at Arizona State University; Laura Keiko Gilah Ackerman is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at ASU, and little sister Jennifer Xin Ackerman is in the Honors College as a freshman.