Na Hoku Project
Participant Success Stories
and News

Molokai

Hoʻokuʻi participant, Keaaokahonua Davis received an early Christmas present. She was accepted into Stanford University for Fall 2016, and the Hoʻokuʻi Project was a team member in her educational journey to one of America’s prestigious teaching and research universities. Davis wisely rounded out her high school education with academic courses, sports, history day competitions, science fairs, and robotic competitions, and when she applied to Stanford she had proof she was ready for post secondary education; she was already attending college.

Davis, a Molokai High School senior, resides on her family’s Hawaiian Homestead in Hoolehua, Molokai. She joined cautiously the Hoʻokuʻi ohana in 2014 while a junior at Molokai High School. Project Hoʻokuʻi, a statewide partnership between the Hawaii Department of Education and the University of Hawaii, provides financial opportunities for academically qualified Native Hawaiian students to attend post secondary education while still in high school.

“Joining Hoʻokuʻi looked daunting in the beginning,” said Davis, “but it was basically filling out forms, and I got lots of help from the Hoʻokuʻi staff. Taking the first college class was like dipping my toe into warm water, and I liked the temperature. I was pleasantly surprised to find the college classroom was a different learning environment compared to high school. The total college focus was on learning and applying, and I grew hungry to learn more.”

Davis enjoyed the college ambiance and diversity among students. “Everyone contributed in classes. I was among students older than me and in some cases decades apart in age. When I saw the challenges mature students face juggling family, work, and college, I realized I had a special opportunity in taking college classes while in high school,” said Davis. “Without Hoʻokuʻi, my family and I could not have afforded to take the college classes.”

Davis would not change anything about her Hoʻokuʻi experience. “Mr. Nakamura regularly inquired about how each Hoʻokuʻi student was doing in the class, and I knew he had checked with my instructor,” said Davis. “I did not want to slack off because everyone associated with Hoʻokuʻi genuinely cared about my success.”

“Today I’m still taking college courses,” says Davis. She has completed English 100, History 151, and is registered in Humanities 100 for Spring 2016 semester. Then in September 2016, Davis will continue her education in California as a confident university student. “I have proved to myself and others that I can make it in post secondary education. The next step will be even more exciting because I have so much to learn,” said Davis.

Davis’ advice to other high school students is to enroll in one course with Hoʻokuʻi. “A student needs to dip their toe into the college experience. It will open a new and exciting educational path and provide a different perspective about life beyond high school,” said Davis.

 

Ho’oku’i Student from Molokai High wins Prestigious Scholarships

Molokai High School senior, Sabrina Curtis, was astounded to learn she will be attending Columbia University in New York for fall 2016, and was awarded three prestigious, national scholarships to relieve the financial burden. Curtis’ major will be in mechanical engineering with a minor in sustainability at the private, Ivy League university in Upper Manhattan, New York.

Post secondary education is not new to Curtis because for the past year Sabrina has successfully completed first year English and Math at University of Hawaii, Maui College, Molokai campus. With financial assistance from the Ho‘oku‘i program, Curtis began her post secondary education. Project Ho‘oku‘i, a statewide partnership between the Hawaii Department of Education and the University of Hawaii, provides financial opportunities for academically qualified students to attend post secondary education while still in high school. “I had a taste of the demands of college courses. With higher-level writing and math skills, I had more confidence in applying for scholarships. As well, I had one more asset on my resume, with the completion of two university courses,” said Curtis.

Post secondary education is an investment in the future, but is costly. Curtis was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The competition is daunting because the applicant pool is over 50,000 students and only 1000 are selected,” said Curtis. This program provides students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education.  Curtis is also the recipient the Horatio Alger National Scholarship for exceptional high school students, and she was one of 106 recipients chosen this year. Lastly, Curtis received the Buick Achievement Scholarship, funded by the GM Foundation, which is awarded to only 50 students, who are successful inside and outside the classroom and pays up to $25,000 per year for four years. “Students should not be afraid to apply to scholarships because if the student is a recipient, it is well worth the time and effort it takes to apply,” said Curtis.

Curtis’ advice to other students is simple; start the educational journey. “Molokai students have opportunities to get college credits while being in high school and student programs, such as Ho‘oku‘i, help financially, but also ensures you get help if you need it. Although applying for scholarships and going to high school and college at the same time is demanding, it is worth the effort to start the post secondary journey before finishing high school,” said Curtis.

See Sabrina Curtis in the Molokai Dispatch News!

Molokaidispatch.com

 

Project Ho’oku’i Mentor Receives Lamaku O Ka Na’auao Award (The Torch of Knowledge/Wisdom)

Long time Molokai educator and mentor with Project Ho’oku’i, Earl Nakamura, received an award from the staff at UH Maui, Molokai College to honor his commitment and dedication in encouraging students to participate in higher education. The Lamaku O Ka Na’auao (The Torch of Knowledge/Wisdom) award was presented by Dr. Hitchcock on November 3rd, 2016, at the Native Hawaiian Scholarship ‘Aha and recognizes his support to hundreds of Molokai High School students over the years.

 

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Hawaii

Project Hoʻokuʻi High School Participants Receive Certificate from Hawaii Community College

Nine exceptional Project Hoʻokuʻi participants from Charter Schools: Ke Kula O Ehunuikaimalino, Kanu O Ka Aina, and West Hawaii Explorations Academy received their Hawaiian Lifestyles Certificate (ASC) from the University of Hawaii, Hawaii Community College prior to finishing high school.  The students were required to take 13 credits of college courses to earn the certificate. From this group, 4 of the students have 4.0 grade point averages.  The experience of the ASC program has inspired one student to open a Hawaiian Immersion School campus in the future, and another student to major in Marine Biology and minor in Hawaiian studies in order to become a community conduit to protect Hawaii’s oceans and share what she has learned with Big Island residents. All of the students now have a 13 credit head start of accumulated college credits prior to high school graduation.

The opportunity to be a part of the ASC certificate program through Project Hoʻokuʻi created pride, depth, and richness for the students and the value of understanding Hawaiian history and culture in an educational setting. “This is an exciting time!  I hope that the success of these students inspire generations to come,” Iwalani McCalla, Site Coordinator for Project Hoʻokuʻi stated.

 

Project Ho‘oku‘i and Kamehameha Schools Support Kanu o ‘ Ka Āina Haumana towards Success

Project Ho‘oku‘i and Kamehameha Schools collaborated in their support of Kanu o ‘Ka Āina haumana. The definition of ho‘oku‘i is “to join things together” and in that spirit, Project Ho‘oku‘i and Kamehameha Schools were able to maximize funding by working together for Kanu o ‘Ka Āina haumana.  For more information please click on this link:

Kanu o Ka Aina

 

The Future is Bright for Project Hoʻokuʻi Participant Lei Arai

Project Hoʻokuʻi site coordinator, Iwalani McCalla, met Lei Arai while a substitute teacher on the Ke Kula ‘o ‘Ehunuikaimalino campus in the 2011-2012 academic year.  In December 2014, Iwalani approached Lei during her sophomore year about possibly enrolling in a Running Start class over the summer.  To Iwalani’s delight, Lei accepted the challenge! Iwalani mentored Lei through the Project Hoʻokuʻi program. Lei enjoyed her introductory college class in Hawaiian Studies 105, Native Plants. Iwalani planted the “seed” of Lei’s love for higher education. Through Iwalani’s mentoring and Lei’s leadership qualities, she developed along the way – gaining confidence through subsequent college classes – Lei served as a leader to her peers. She discussed assignments and projects with good insight and offered a willing hand to assist her classmates. Additionally, she successfully accomplished her Running Start classes online with ENG 102 and PSYCH 100. Lei will finish her high school education with six college classes and a 4.0 on her college transcript!

She will be entering Creighton University in the fall of 2017 under a pre-pharmacy major. Lei has chosen a major in a pre-professional degree because it will give her an edge when applying to their graduate program. She has considered the fact that moving into such a different environment than beautiful Hawaiʻi comes with risk. “It [Creighton] is located in Nebraska which would give me the satisfaction of being in a completely unfamiliar environment and they seemed to cater to pre-professional degrees. One neat fact that I discovered, was that this school, essentially located in the middle of nowhere, had a growing student population coming from Hawaiʻi.”  Her plan is to complete her higher education and acquire the necessary degrees to be a pharmacist. 

Iwalani reflected, “It has been a pleasure to see Lei blossom into an articulate and empowered young woman. I look forward to following Lei’s college and professional career. I highly anticipate her success and her eventual return to Hawaiʻi so that she can provide her community with her knowledge and gifts.”

Lei has nothing but accolades for Project Hoʻokuʻi:

“Project Hoʻokuʻi is the single most influential program I have ever been fortunate enough to be a part of. I got to make the mistakes that freshmen students in college make, when I was only a sophomore in high school. And luckily, those mistakes offered many learning opportunities. Not only did it offer me an edge in a college environment; it also taught me leadership skills as I was tasked with offering kōkua to the younger haumāna. The first couple of college courses I signed up for, I was hesitant about. You may recall some of us wanting to drop a class two and I am so glad that you advocated for us to remain a part of this awesome Hawaiian Lifestyles path. It gave a new meaning to the word perseverance. The thing that I am most thankful for is how this program forced me to step outside of my comfort zone, again and again. If it were not for these college courses, I probably still would not be able to get in front of an audience and speak. This year, I spoke at the HSTA institute day in front of the majority of teachers teaching within West Hawaii and I attribute that to Project Hoʻokuʻi. The memories made through being a part of this program will always be among some of my most treasured memories.”

 

Ke Kula ʻo ʻEhunuikaimalino

Ke Kula ʻo ʻEhunuikaimalino is a Hawaiian Immersion School (Kula Kaiapuni) in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi, serving grades K-12.  ʻEhunui was one of the first schools on Hawaiʻi Island to embrace an Early College campus and the Hawaiʻi Lifestyles Program of which students earn a certificate from Hawaiʻi Community College.  Ehunui is in its fourth year of housing their Early College program and will have its second year of graduates participate in commencement ceremonies at Pālamanui Community College on May 13, 2017.  Graduates also celebrate their accomplishment at a Māmoe Ceremony at the heiau, Hāpaialiʻi, Kahaluʻu. This ceremony also recognizes the changes that these hāumana will explore on their new journey. The Hawaiʻi Lifestyles Program has been a catalyst of renewed interest in not just Hawaiian Studies but an exploration of college in Hawaiʻi for those who may have not considered it.  With the support of Project Hoʻokuʻi, Pālamanui CC staff, Gear Up, Kamehameha Schools and ʻEhunui staff, the future that these trailblazers pave will be lasting.