HPA launches Alumni Speaker Series

WAIMEA — Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) alumnus Elliot Kastner will launch the series with his talk titled, “Mitigating Sub-Concussive Head Trauma in Contact Sports Through the Use of Improved Technology and Technique.” The event begins at 7 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the school’s Ko Kakou Student Union on the Upper Campus.

The series is free and open to the public, and will include two visiting lecturers multiple days every school year. It is made possible by a generous grant from a long-time supporter of the school who wishes to remain anonymous.

“The Alumni Speaker Series provides us with an incredible opportunity to enrich our community by connecting our students and residents with alumni whose work, knowledge, passions and life experiences will inspire them,” said Patrick O’Leary, HPA’s director of alumni relations.

Kastner, who graduated from HPA in 2009, was student body president, and an academic and All-BIIF standout in football, wrestling and discus. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering and biomedical engineering from Dartmouth College, where he also played football.

His team had no-tackling-during-practice policy and during his senior year in the Thayer School of Engineering, Kastner and his engineering partner developed a robotic tackling dummy prototype for the Dartmouth football and rugby teams. The first Mobile Virtual Player (MVP) was born and in June 2015, Kastner co-founded Mobile Virtual Player LLS. Kastner has made guest appearances on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to promote the it.

Info: Patrick O’Leary at poleary@hpa.edu