Will Weston, a class of 2002 graduate, has traveled quite a bit in the 11 years since graduating from King Kekaulike.  Western Europe, China, New Zealand, Japan, and Vietnam; these are a handful of the countries where he has ventured.  He attributes his love for travel from the fortune and limitation that came from growing up in Hawai‘i.

“We were lucky, yes, and people will remind us that for the rest of our lives every time they ask us where we came from, but it was also challenging to feel as though we were connected to or knew anything about how the rest of the world worked,” he said.

His journey thus far has been filled with balancing conventional decisions about his continued education, with growth and exploration through travel and music.  Choosing to attend the University of Colorado and briefly studying abroad in Europe, he earned his BA in English with a focus on creative writing.  After graduation he traveled across the United States by train and bicycle before settling down in San Francisco to acquire his Masters of Fine Arts with a focus in creative writing.

Will Weston, the traveler.

“It should be said that I really stayed in school more to give myself more time to think about what I realistically wanted to do than to follow a specific career track in writing.”

Since completing his formal education, Will has gone on to pursue a new adventure. This adventure requires more grit, fearlessness and determination than his travels across the globe – entrepreneurialism.

“I made the right connections with the right people and ended up in the right place at the right time working for an older guy who was ready to retire and sell his place,” said Weston.

“I formed a partnership with three other guys, took out the loans, and bought the place. We’ve run it for a year and a half now, and turned it into one of the more interesting, eccentric small live music venues in downtown San Francisco.”

His profession is also closely intertwined with his passion, music.  Having pursued music in various degrees of seriousness since childhood, his current occupation has allowed for continued creative growth.  “I’ve chosen a career path that allows me the freedom to create my own schedule in the hopes of pursuing things like this with as much heart as I have for it.”

Weston released his debut album “Quiet Sirens” in 2012 and has utilized his formal education in creative writing to compose rock/funk/blues/jazz inspired songs with great lyrics.

Will Weston is the owner of Café Royale on the corner of Post & Leavenworth in downtown San Francisco.

When asked about his years at King Kekaulike High School he says that although it now seems a lifetime ago, he remembers it very fondly.  He speaks kindly of retired teacher Mrs. Weeks. Expressing that she, “held people accountable” and “was definitely an extremely valuable asset to a number of people in our graduating class.”

Like many, the details of high school are now obscure, but he recalls fights across the street and playing in his band for pep rallies. The sort of memories many hold on to about that time of adolescence.  Not a lot of particular detail, but memories that speak to those wonderful childhood freedoms.

With combined conventional, as well as real life knowledge, it wasn’t a surprise that he offered a few words of advice for current students to consider.

“Have patience, and not to emphasize too much importance on what transpires in those insanely confusing developmental years. There is so much more comfort in the years ahead, as you learn about who you truly are and who you want to be in the world.  If you’re kind to people, if your intentions are good, it’s rare that you won’t be rewarded in some greater sense in the long run,” he said.

If you would like to hear and purchase some of Will Weston’s music, please visit www.willweston.bandcamp.com, or if you so happen to be in the downtown San Francisco area, stop in to Café Royale, on the corner of Post & Leavenworth, he’ll gladly extend a kama‘āina discount to fellow King Kekaulike alums!