Obama Had Multiethnic Existence in Hawaii

This 1976 photo provided by The Oahuan, the yearbook of Punahou School, shows Barack Obama, in front row, fourth from right, poses with his 9th grade class outside of Punahou School in Honolulu. Punahou is a prestigious private school in Honolulu, that attracts the island's wealthiest, and most accomplished students. (AP Photo/The Oahuan, yearbook of Punahou School) (AP)

Teachers and fellow students at Punahou said even though Obama wasn't a straight-A student, they had high expectations for him. His keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention prompted Eric Kusunoki, Obama's homeroom teacher for four years, to pull out a dusty maroon scrapbook stored away since 1979.

There among the clips and photos he had collected of all his students, Kusunoki found the teenage Obama _ carving pumpkins, volunteering for class activities, celebrating birthdays, even writing a nice goodbye note to his teacher.

"I knew he would do well," said Kusunoki, who has taught at Punahou for 33 years. "He was very gifted, and I knew he'd do great things. But this well? On this stage? I never expected that."

Obama still spends most Christmas holidays in Hawaii visiting old Punahou friends, his grandmother, 84, and his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband.

In an essay for the Punahou Bulletin, published in 1999, two decades after his high school graduation, he wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered _ to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect _ became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear."

___

On the Net:

Obama Presidential Exploratory Committee: http://www.barackobama.com

Punahou School: http://www.punahou.edu