It’s one thing to know your school motto, another to act on it, and most certainly another to act on it on a coral atoll some 2,285 miles from home.

Then again, students and alumni of Maryknoll School have long taken pride in living up to the high-minded expectations of "noblesse oblige" — which the school translates as "To whom much is given, much is expected."

And so, was it truly a surprise when junior Jenna Okura volunteered to spend three weeks teaching math and English to rising freshmen at Maryknoll’s sister school in Majuro in the Marshall Islands?

"I’ve always had a passion for helping others and giving back to the community," Okura said.

In fact, Okura’s sense of moral responsibility has been carefully fostered over the years. Through her uncle David Kuni­oka, she has devoted many hours to cleaning highways, painting over graffiti and cleaning school grounds in support of the Pali Lions Club.

Strong in religious faith, Okura has also been an active member of the school’s Living in Faith Experience Team, which hosts monthly faith-sharing meetings.

Okura said she didn’t know much about Majuro before she volunteered. And although she had served as a student tutor at Maryknoll, Okura said the experience of connecting with her Marshallese charges was quite different from what she had expected.

"In the beginning they were super shy," Okura said. "But as we worked with them and built their confidence, they opened up to us. They are really kind and compassionate people."

Okura said she and the students grew so close in their short time together that it was difficult for her to leave.

In recognition of her community work, Okura was named the top recipient of the school’s Keku­mano Scholarship this month.

This summer, Okura attended a leadership conference in medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Her mother, Christine Hama­oka, is an ultrasound technician at Kapiolani Medical Center, and her father, Lane Hama­oka, is an MRI technician at Pali Momi Medical Center.

Huzzah!: Mid-Pacific Institute senior Sarah Spal­ding took first place at the National Shakespeare Competition, held at Lincoln Center in New York over the weekend. She will travel to London this summer to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Spal­ding earned her spot in the competition with a dazzling turn as Rosa­lind in "As You Like It," which she performed in the English-Speaking Union Hawaii Branch Shakespeare Competition in February (808ne.ws/1JMwFOq).

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.