From December 16th to 22nd HawaiiAthletics.com will be providing exclusive coverage of the Rainbow Warriors football team as they prepare for SoFi Hawai'i Bowl. The entire week will give fans an opportunity to peer inside the football program and to fully enjoy the build-up of the 'Bows second appearance in the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl in three years. UH, and Louisiana Tech will kickoff at 5:30 p.m. HT on Saturday the 22nd at Aloha Stadium, and the game will be televised on ESPN.

 

A special visit to Waianae Elementary for "Extra Yard for Teachers". We were just as excited to see them as they were to see us! 😀📚✍️ pic.twitter.com/aS8ldfM3qh

— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) December 22, 2018

HONOLULU – As a member of the University of Hawai'i football team and in life away from the field, Noah Borden is not someone who seeks attention for his accomplishments and contributions.
 
A four-year starter on special teams, Borden plays the important yet unglamorous position of long snapper - making sure the special teams operation goes off without hitch so the kickers and punters can complete their jobs. The senior will suit up for the Rainbow Warriors for the final time for the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl on Dec. 22 versus Louisiana Tech.
 
Off the field, Borden – a graduate of nearby Kamehameha Schools-Kapālama – has spent countless hours volunteering to serve his Native Hawaiian community with projects that restore ancient fishing lands and taro patches, among others.
 
"It's not about getting glorified yourself, but it's about helping out any way you can," Borden said. "Helping out the community, helping out with the football team - it's really not about me. It's about things that are bigger and more important. Being able to focus and be the best I can be, it just helps out those around me even more."



Borden believes it is his "kuleana", his duty, to take care of the land for generations to come. His work with the land is focused on making Hawai'i more sustainable and less dependent on imported food from the continental U.S. by using Native Hawaiian practices and traditions.  He devoted time to building a traditional Hawaiian "hale" (hall/building) near his home at a local community college so that the community and students of Windward Community College would have a Native Hawaiian place of learning.
 
"The Hawaiian culture itself is unique, and being able to be involved in serving our culture and helping at the fish ponds and things like that, or even just trying to speak the language, just being part of it helps you learn the culture better," Borden said. "Being involved in the community and serving the community helps me develop an identity as a Hawaiian."
 
Part of his work in the community is through the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club – an organization that raises scholarship funds for Native Hawaiian children. When events such as national conventions are in Hawai'i, Antoinette "Toni" Lee – the Immediate Past President of the Club – knows she can count on Borden and his family to assist with demonstrations on making poi or tī leaf leis.


 
"He always very humble and always there to assist and be part of something great," Lee said. "He doesn't hesitate to step up and help. The Bordens are all like that."
 
Borden's family has been a mainstay in the community and with UH athletics. His older brother, Kawika, played on the football team, and his younger brother, Kamuela, is currently a freshman on the team, while his older sister, Anika, was a member of UH's track and field squad.
 
At the age of 18, Borden served a two-year mission in Las Vegas, Nev. volunteering over 2,000 hours to serving others. Upon completing his mission and enrolling at UH, he continued to be active in the community. He has also twice been nominated for the Wuerffel Trophy, college football's premier award for community service. This season, he advanced in the process and was one of 11 semifinalists for the award.


 
As one of the leaders of the UH football team, Borden has earned the respect of his teammates. The senior was elected as a team captain prior to the start of the season.
 
"That speaks volumes about what kind of man he is," UH Special Teams Coordinator Michael Ghobrial said. "He's a husband, he's a father, he's a great teammate, he's a brother. I think all those considered, when you put them together and just the way he lives his life, people see that, and that's what helped him be elected as a team captain because of those qualities that he shows."
 
For his work in the classroom, Borden has been named to the Dean's list every semester as an undergraduate for a total of six semesters while maintaining a 3.82 cumulative grade point average. Per the academic advisor for the Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences Department, Borden is one of the "best students" in the KRS department. He earned straight A's for three semesters, most notably during the fall 2017 semester while in-season, earning four A+ and an A while enrolled in 15 credits.
 
Borden is a three-time scholar-athlete for the Mountain West Conference and at UH. With his current GPA, he will earn scholar-athlete honors during his upcoming senior year. Borden will complete his bachelor's of science in kinesiology and rehabilitation sciences in four years. He will graduate in May 2019 and will be nominated to serve as a student marshal for the College of Education to represent the KRS department at the commencement ceremony.
 


Balancing football, school, volunteering and family life is something Borden works at tirelessly. Borden and his wife, Shayna, hope to pass down their love for helping others to their two daughters, Lawealani and 'Ale'alani.
 
"A quote we go by from our church leaders is 'wherever thou art, act well thy part.' Basically wherever you are, do the best at what you're doing," Borden said. "When I'm at school, do the best at school. When I'm at practice, do the best at practice, but when I'm at home, do the best at being the best father and husband that I can."