Hawaiʻi is facing a critical shortage of neurosurgeons, leaving many patients with long waits or forced to travel off-island for care. The (JABSOM) is working to address the shortage through a mentorship program that trains the next generation of specialists while encouraging them to practice locally.

JABSOM alumnus Thomas Noh returned home to join the faculty and quickly saw how the problem would worsen as current neurosurgeons retire.

“There was an opportunity, and a need, for JABSOM to build interest in the field and get more people excited about going into neurosurgery,” he said.

The program offers hands-on surgical rotations, opportunities to contribute to research projects in Noh驶s lab and access to professional networks, with an emphasis on empowering women and students from underrepresented communities.

“One of Hawaiʻi's super powers is that we have incredibly bright, very motivated students who want to make Hawaiʻi their home,” Noh said. “If we can connect this pool of extremely qualified candidates with opportunities across neurosurgery, there’s hope that some of these students will get excited about it and want to build a career in Hawaiʻi.”

Invaluable mentorship experience

Third-year medical student Janette Bow-Keola said the mentorship has been invaluable.

“When I started med school, I had the idea that I wanted to pursue neurosurgery, but I didn’t think it was really achievable, coming from my background as an underrepresented person in medicine,” she said. “I struggled with imposter syndrome and doubting whether I was right for medicine or worthy of going into neurosurgery.”

Through the experience I鈥檓 getting at JABSOM, I鈥檝e built confidence in myself and my training and what I can offer patients.
—Janette Bow-Keola

When Bow-Keola met Noh, he affirmed that neurosurgery was within reach and that JABSOM could help her get there. “Through the experience I’m getting at JABSOM, I’ve built confidence in myself and my training and what I can offer patients,” she said.

Bow-Keola plans to return to Hawaiʻi to address disparities in care and the declining neurosurgeon workforce.

Another success story is alumna Andie Conching—the first known Native Hawaiian woman accepted into a neurosurgery residency—who also credits mentorship at JABSOM and plans to return home to practice.

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Growing up in Waiʻanae surrounded by nurses in her family, Emma Tilitile was inspired by their deep compassion for patients and community, a spirit she carried with her through nursing school at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补. In spring 2025, she earned her BS in nursing from the (SONDH), while also becoming a dedicated mentor to fellow students.

A proud graduate of Waiʻanae High School, Tilitile got a head start on college through Early College programs at and 东精影业 West Oʻahu. Combined with her coursework at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补, those credits helped her earn an Associate in Arts degree in fall 2024 through the university鈥檚 reverse transfer program.

Still, the path to becoming a nurse wasn鈥檛 without moments of doubt. “Once I entered nursing school, and things got tough, I questioned whether I had made the right choice,” she said.

In her final semester, while caring for a patient recovering from open-heart surgery in the Queen鈥檚 Medical Center鈥檚 cardiovascular ICU, she found clarity. “They thanked me and told me I鈥檇 be a great nurse,” she said. “Until then, I knew I wanted to be a nurse, but I wasn鈥檛 always sure I鈥檇 be a good one. Hearing that reaffirmed that this is my path.”

From mentee to mentor

Inspired by the guidance she received, Tilitile gave back as a mentor through 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 Hawaiʻi Undergraduate Initiative, a partnership between the Academic Resource Center and the Student Nurses Association that supports students who, like her, were learning how to navigate the challenges of nursing school.

“My first semester was tough. We had to shift from a ‘normal’ way of thinking to a nurse鈥檚 way of thinking,” Tilitile said. “What鈥檚 considered common sense in nursing doesn鈥檛 feel like common sense at first. You have to retrain your brain. As a mentor, I tried to help students make that shift more smoothly. Practice helps, but having someone guide you makes a big difference.”

One moment she鈥檒l never forget came at her pinning ceremony, when a student she had tutored virtually, showed up in person to thank her. “That one session helped her pass her exam,” Tilitile said. “It reassured me that maybe my actions do make a difference.”

Mentoring also helped her grow. “I found joy in teaching and sharing what I鈥檇 learned,” she said. “It鈥檚 shaped my goals, and I hope to keep mentoring and maybe teach nursing students someday.”

She added, “Mentoring deepened my empathy. Patients are often vulnerable and unsure, relying on us for care and comfort. That鈥檚 something I carry with me.”

She is now preparing to take the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) test which must be passed to become a licensed Registered Nurse. Tilitile plans to pursue a career in critical care nursing with a focus on cardiovascular health and eventually wants to return to school to become a family nurse practitioner.

— by Arlene Abiang

The offers college students an opportunity to gain paid summer work experience at an observatory, company or science/technical facility on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui or University of California, Santa Cruz while earning course credit at . The internship program is led by the Institute for Scientist and Engineer Educators (ISEE) at University of California Observatories, in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi.

As a part of the Akamai Workforce Initiative, the internship program seeks to develop a skilled STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce to meet the needs of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 growing high-tech industry. .

More than 500 college students have participated in the internship program since it launched in 2003. At least 250 alumni now hold careers in science and technology.

“We are committed to provide empowering opportunities through Akamai to our Hawaiʻi students so they are ready for careers within the high-tech sector,” said Doug Simons, executive director at the (IfA). “The state鈥檚 astronomy sector is one economic artery that provides employment for hundreds of local people and is an example of how Hawaiʻi can further diversify its economy through innovation.”

The 8-week internship will run from June 3 to August 10, 2024. Interns will be paid a $4,400 stipend, provided housing (if needed), and travel support to their internship sites.

The Akamai Workforce Initiative is led by ISEE at the University of California Observatories in partnership with 东精影业 IfA and 东精影业 Hilo.

Internship provides STEM work experience

Upon acceptance into the program, Akamai interns are carefully matched with a project and a mentor within their field, who will supervise the intern throughout the summer. All Akamai interns complete a one-week intensive preparatory course at 东精影业 Hilo, where they gain the skills needed to be successful in the workplace and meet other interns along with Akamai staff and mentors. Mentors help interns gain work experience and build a network that will help launch their STEM careers. The interns are coached on communication skills, and will present their projects at the end of summer at a public symposium.

Local students get local STEM jobs

Since its inception in 2003, more than 500 college students have participated in the Akamai Internship Program and at least 125 alumni are working in Hawaiʻi and contributing to the local STEM workforce. Akamai accepts college students from Hawaiʻi (80% graduated from a Hawaiʻi high school or were born in Hawaiʻi), and a key objective is to increase the participation of underrepresented and underserved populations in STEM. Akamai Workforce Initiative alumni are 37% women, 23% Native Hawaiian and 47% underrepresented minorities.

“I participated in Akamai in the Summer of 2015 after my junior year at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补. Having the internship at the Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope (CFHT) provided key skills and knowledge that led to my position at Pearl Harbor upon graduation,” said Raycen Wong, mechanical engineer at CFHT. “I鈥檓 from Hilo and having a position in my field on Hawaiʻi Island, in particular at CFHT, became a longterm career goal due to the experiences I had as an Akamai intern.”

Placements at telescopes and tech companies

Interns in recent years have been placed at many Hawaiʻi Island firms including Big Island Abalone Farm, Canada-France-Hawaiʻi Telescope, Cyanotech, Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, Gemini North Observatory, Liquid Robotics, Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority, Smithsonian Submillimeter Array, Academia Sinica Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Subaru Telescope, IfA and W. M. Keck Observatory.

Maui placements include Air Force Research Laboratory, Boeing, Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, HNu Photonics, KBR, Maui High Performance Computing Center, Pacific Disaster Center, Privateer Space and IfA.

Placements are also available at University of California Observatories on the campus of UC Santa Cruz, and the Laboratory for Adaptive Optics and astronomical instrumentation projects.

Mentoring to ensure student success

The Akamai Program is a community partnership that offers an exceptional mentoring experience for students. Each year more than 50 engineers and scientists from telescopes and tech companies generate ideas for intern projects that will make a real contribution to their work and will provide a challenging educational experience for the intern. Many mentors participate in the Akamai Mentor Workshop, where they plan how to provide an experience that will help launch interns into a successful career in STEM.

“As a previous intern, I can truly speak to the pivotal experience that the Akamai Internship Program provided for me,” said Heather Kaluna, an associate professor of who now manages the internship program at Akamai. “I am happy to be able to give back and support similar experiences for other Hawaiʻi-based students.”

Akamai Funders

This year the Akamai Internship Program is funded by Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, National Science Foundation (through the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, Gemini Observatory, Event Horizon Telescope, Slicer Combined with Array of Lenslets for Exoplanet Spectroscopy).

For more information go to the website.

A new online platform launching this fall aims to connect University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 undergraduate students with a faculty mentor who is willing to introduce and/or guide them in their faculty-mentored research or creative work project.

is being introduced to 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 through the (UROP). The platform is a searchable database of faculty and student profiles and opportunities to help students determine which 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 faculty member may be best-suited to serve as their research or creative work mentor. Faculty members and students must create their own profiles to be added to the database. It features a built-in messaging system to help students communicate with potential mentors, and also contains a searchable database of on- and off-campus undergraduate research and creative work opportunities.

“Our goal with this program is two-fold. One, to lower the barrier for students to engage in research and creative work by helping them discover and connect with a potential faculty mentor, and two, to make it easier for faculty mentors to post, search for and recruit undergraduate mentees,” UROP Director Creighton Litton said.

UROP awards more than $500,000 in scholarships annually directly to students to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research and creative work projects and presentations, including opportunities for students with interest but no prior experience in research or creative work. Faculty-mentored undergraduate research and creative work is a high-impact practice, which means that students who engage in this practice have shown to be more satisfied with their degree programs, more likely to stay in school and finish their degrees on time, and more likely to excel in the workforce post-graduation.

While faculty-mentored research and creative work is a high-impact factor, a primary barrier to student engagement in this practice on our campus is the ability for a student to identify a faculty who is willing to mentor them. Litton is hoping that ForagerOne will help to reduce that barrier.

“We encourage all 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 undergraduate students and faculty mentors to try ForagerOne,” Litton said. “We hope that more students and faculty utilizing this platform will result in more scholarship funding awarded, and more participation in our increasingly popular programs, such as the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, project and presentation funding, and Entering Research and Creative Work funding.”

UROP is currently collating faculty mentor profiles, and the entire platform will become available to the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 campus, including all undergraduate students, in fall 2023.

Create your profile on . Log in using your 东精影业 username and password, and input your information for your faculty profile. Additional questions can be directed to urop@hawaii.edu.

Kelsea Kanoho Hosoda鈥檚 enriching experiences in STEM at the influenced her goal to one day make an impact in science education programs in Hawaiʻi.

东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 was a great place for me to deepen my knowledge in both sciences and ʻIke Hawaiʻi
—Kelsea Hosoda

The Native Hawaiian educator and 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 alumna is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She was recently awarded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) K99 Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) grant, which enhances diversity within the academic biomedical research workforce through its support of promising postdocs into research faculty positions.

Thanks to the grant, she is one step closer to reaching her long-term goal of attaining a faculty position in Hawaiʻi to directly assess and improve the impact of STEM programs, particularly for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

Finding community at 东精影业

Hosoda has more than 10 years of experience in Indigenous STEM program development, implementation and analysis from her time at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补.

She credits 东精影业 not only for its high-level academic courses but also for helping her develop a strong community of Native Hawaiians in STEM. During her nine years as a student, she earned her PhD in , her MS in and her BS in and .

“东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 was a great place for me to deepen my knowledge in both sciences and ʻIke Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian knowledge) and influenced my research goal to further the science of mentorship and multicultural identity integration,” said Hosoda.

Early in her college career, she became part of the (NHSEMP). “It provided a much-needed community of support to navigate through my biology degree and also maintain ties with the Native Hawaiian community through opportunities like tutoring at 膧nuenue Hawaiian Immersion school and going on huakaʻi (learning journeys) to Kahoʻolawe,” she said.

As part of NHSEMP, Hosoda attended the American Indian Science and Engineering (AISES) national conference and was impressed. “I was enamored by how Indigenous knowledge and sciences were seen in harmony through its council of elders, presentations and STEM industry partners.”

Encouraged by what she learned, she worked with NHSEMP to co-found the first AISES chapter at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 and in Hawaiʻi. Today, the chapter has grown in membership and involvement in the community.

In addition, Hosoda served as program manager for both NHSEMP and the in the , and helped support students in STEM majors through mentorship, cultural programming, career development, research experiences and more.

“It鈥檚 thrilling that Native Hawaiian scholars such as Dr. Hosoda are being recognized and being funded by the NIH for research that centers culturally-relevant evaluation methods in biomedical training,” said Rosie Alegado, associate professor of oceanography and one of Hosoda鈥檚 mentors who served on her PhD dissertation committee. “This award supports the completion of Dr. Hosoda鈥檚 postdoctoral training and her transition to an independent faculty position, and it would be a coup for UH to get her back.”

Researching kindness and biomedical career pathways

At UCSF, Hosoda is working on two projects that focus on the science of mentorship, diversity and longitudinal quantitative program evaluation. The Social Influence of Kindness project examines how people give and receive kindness. Her quantitative research found that kindness is significant in promoting well-being, reducing stress and identifying as a member of one鈥檚 defined institution.

Her second project, Scaling Up Biomedical Career Pathway Programs, works in collaboration with other institutions and builds on a previous study to increase the number of Indigenous STEM faculty at universities across the nation. She leads a virtual community of practice providing mentorship, networking and resource opportunities for Indigenous STEM scholars, and is interested in understanding how they see harmony or conflict between their Indigenous and STEM identities.

“Through the NIH grant, I will strengthen my expertise in quantitative research methods to validate culturally relevant measures for Indigenous populations, while growing my independent research program that informs interventions and programs that amplify the knowledge of Indigenous scholars pursuing biomedical science careers,” said Hosoda.

—By Arlene Abiang

A new student-led peer mentoring program for Hawaiʻi Island highschoolers is taking shape at . The pairs 东精影业 Hilo student mentors with faculty members to give individualized support to first-year college students. The student mentors presented the program鈥檚 objectives at the annual in October in an effort to showcase how schools statewide can better serve keiki.

“The students were able to share both survey results and their personal experience building mentorship relationships with first-year students,” said Helen Tien, a management instructor and academic advisor at 东精影业 贬颈濒辞鈥檚 business college. “Conference attendees included administrators and teachers from every island and almost every elementary, middle and high school in the state.”

The aim of the Ka Pouhana program, which is based at the UH Hilo Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development, is to tighten the bonds between mentors and first-year university students in order to increase communication, coordination and understanding meant to boost recruitment and retention at the university level.

东精影业 Hilo students serving as peer mentors include Catherine Corella, Ayzlynne-Kalia Fishman-DeVera, Trevondrick Francis, Mahina Hanakeawe, Tuʻupuamalamakahonua Helekahi, Tiffani Napihaa, Kit Neikirk, Mekaila Pasco, Elena-Marie Waianuhe and Tiffani Napihaa.

The Ka Pouhana program is led by Margary Martin, an associate professor at 东精影业 贬颈濒辞鈥檚 and executive director of the 东精影业 Hilo Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development. Along with Tien, who is an affiliate faculty at the center, faculty mentors this fall include Instructor Colby MacNaughton (Education), Professor Celia Bardwell-Jones (Philosophy), Instructor Jenni Guillen (Biology), Associate Professor John Burns (Marine Science), Associate Professor Michael Peterson (Computer Science) and Associate Professor Misty Pacheco (Kinesiology and Exercise Science).

The Ka Pouhana Mentoring Program is funded by at the .

For more go to .

A $500,000 grant awarded to the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo will fund a pilot program that will partner student peer mentors with faculty to grow and secure the pipeline to college for youth on Hawaiʻi Island.

Oak Foundation seeded the innovative tiered program being developed at the Center for Place-Based Socioemotional Development, also known as The Hilo Center. The grant was recently awarded to the Hawaiʻi Island campus program by the Oak Foundation Fund at the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation. Oak Foundation, which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, has invested in a number of other Hawaiʻi Island community programs, including the 13th year program at .

“Support for this new program demonstrates Oak Foundation鈥檚 commitment to the health and wellbeing of Hawaiʻi Island youth and a continued investment in higher education,” said 东精影业 Hilo Chancellor Bonnie D. Irwin. “We all benefit from strengthening the university鈥檚 connection to the community and from building the pipeline to college and helping students succeed.”

The tiered mentoring program is modeled after a number of successful student-led and partnership mentoring models. It also derives from previous research on student support conducted by Margary Martin, executive director of the Hilo Center and an associate professor in 东精影业 贬颈濒辞鈥檚 School of Education, who will lead the program.

Martin said the COVID-19 pandemic has isolated students from their peers and professors and noted that even though classes are starting to resume in person, many students are choosing to stay online, which may have a direct impact on their college experiences, mental health and success.

“That sense of belonging and relationships are two of the strongest predictors for persisting with college and graduation rates,” she said. “We鈥檙e trying to create this whole pipeline of students, families and local communities to create these supportive networks.”

Building blocks

According to Martin, one of the most important aspects of the new program is that it is led by students as opposed to faculty. It is designed to cultivate the leadership skills of both the mentors and the mentored. Research shows students tend to seek different kinds of advice from their peers rather than from their faculty mentors, often reaching out more to their peer mentors much more than faculty.

The 东精影业 Hilo pilot program will pair students with both peer and faculty member mentors throughout a two-year period. In addition, they will participate in workshops of interest and 鈥榦hana events and complete an annual community service project. Martin envisions participating students who were mentored eventually becoming mentors themselves to the program鈥檚 following cohort.

This spring, Martin will be recruiting student and faculty mentors and building a network. She plans to launch the program next fall with 10 faculty mentors, 10 student mentors and 50 student mentees, to build a “scaffolding” upon which the program can grow and expand.

Three student leaders have been chosen to co-construct the program and help recruit the student mentors for the paid positions. Leadership development training will begin this winter. The plan is to expand the program to high schools, where student mentors can help other students make a successful transition to college and create a strong network of support and pipeline for local students.

There鈥檚 a place on campus at the that helps undergraduate students across all disciplines engage in faculty-mentored research and creative work by providing programmatic and financial support.

Each year, the (UROP) provides approximately $500,000 to undergraduate students at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 working with world-renowned faculty mentors on projects and professional presentations. In academic year 2018鈥�19, UROP provided funding to 195 students from roughly 40 unique majors.

Searchable opportunity database now available

A new UROP resource is the (SOC), a searchable database with thousands of online opportunity listings: research and creative work positions, internships, co-ops, conferences and more. Access is open to all undergraduate students, faculty and staff.

The SOC is comprised of two main databases: a national database of opportunities curated by using web-crawler technology to search the internet for thousands of listings, and a 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补-specific database. The SOC serves as a “one-stop-shop” for faculty-generated, on-campus opportunities.

Faculty can post their positions on the database, tagging listings by relevant majors, and students can use the database to search for listings. Students who subscribe to those specific majors will get notifications when a new listing is posted.

“Students frequently express that one of the major barriers to engaging in research and creative work is difficulty finding opportunities,” said Jessie Chen, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 UROP program coordinator. “The Student Opportunity Center collates thousands of listings from numerous sources into one searchable database. Students are now able to browse thousands of opportunities at once, and even apply keyword searches or filters.”

More on UROP

UROP supports students with scholarship funding from 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补, programmatic support from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, and donor funding from the and . During its eight years of existence, UROP has distributed more than $2.5 million to more than 1,000 students.

Projects UROP students are working on include: studying the links between coffee and Type 2 diabetes risk factors, examining the impact of classical culture on Hawaiian society, and diagnosing nutrient deficiencies in Hawaiian breadfruit.

A cohort of undergraduate students got hands-on experience in community engagement as part of the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补鈥檚 (SURE) in the (UROP).

Students participated in m膩lama ʻāina by assisting in the native Hawaiian plant section and learning about the ahupuaʻa as well as native, canoe and invasive plants from staff at the 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 .

One of those taking part was 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 junior dietetics major Gemady Langfelder. Her post graduation plans include obtaining her masters in public health with a focus on nutrition at 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 and motivating communities to adopt healthier habits and lifestyles.

“It鈥檚 been amazing,” said Langfelder. “I鈥檝e met a lot of really cool people, with similar interests and learned a lot about graduate admission in one of the events that was held by SURE.”

Through SURE, 东精影业 faculty and staff lead professional development modules to help undergraduate students hone their professional and academic skills while engaging in faculty-mentored research and creative works. Students can confer with their cohort about the challenges, solutions and rewards they experience when working on research or creative projects. SURE helps students build a sense of community and place while they are doing sometimes isolated work during the summer.

“What this program does is it helps students build the other skills they may not necessarily get out of their specific research project, so we鈥檙e talking about social skills, their interaction with each other. They鈥檙e also developing a passion for engaging with the community,” said Jessie Chen, 东精影业 惭腻苍辞补 UROP program coordinator.

SURE culminates with a , August 1–2, for undergraduate students from all disciplines to showcase their research and creative work projects.

The goal is to ultimately prepare students to be engaged community members and leaders in their professions in Hawaiʻi and beyond post-graduation.

These UROP experiences are funded in part through the generous support of the and other donors.

A former teen mother and recovering addict. A young man who thought his lifetime work would be bagging groceries. A Niʻihau native with a six-year gap after graduating from high school. These are just several of the hundreds of lives that have been transformed through the groundbreaking Waiʻaleʻale Project at Kauaʻi Community College, which celebrates its 10th year in 2019.

Since its inception in 2010, the Waiʻaleʻale Project has positively impacted the lives of almost 800 Kauaʻi residents ages 18 through 66. Nearly 300 students have earned a bachelor鈥檚 or associate鈥檚 degree or a certificate.

Established through a generous donation from philanthropist Jim Lally, and with ongoing support from Kamehameha Schools, the Scheidel Foundation and numerous other benefactors, the Waiʻaleʻale Project encourages and finances non-college-bound high school students and adults to attend, and successfully complete, their first year of college.

The Waiʻaleʻale Project has been life-changing for individuals and their families. Here are some of their stories:

Joana Rodriguez, finding a future

Joana Rodriguez dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, but planned to get a nursing degree. At 16, she was told she was too young and to wait a year to come back. She didn鈥檛 come back. Instead, she got pregnant and fell into a drug addiction that lasted six years. During that time, she had a second child and was hospitalized for two months for illness related to her drug use.

While attending an outpatient substance abuse class, she saw an old friend who was in the Waiʻaleʻale program and who helped Rodriguez get an application the next day. She never looked back.

“They helped me to see that I have a purpose. I can succeed in life. I can do good in school,” Rodriguez said. “In my first semester, I got a 4.0 and that just built my confidence.”

She is planning to earn an associate鈥檚 degree in business technology and hopes to become a substance abuse counselor.

“In my addiction, I found myself at my lowest point. I thought I was going to die an addict,” she said. “I鈥檓 so grateful. My life has changed tremendously and I鈥檓 three years clean.”

Rodriguez added, “Waiʻaleʻale is just not a scholarship to help you with your college tuition. It鈥檚 also a great program to help people see that they have a future.”

Austin Manipon-Hamada, realizing potential

“Waiʻaleʻale is my family. This is where I learned my self-worth, where people really come to fulfill their dreams,” said Austin Manipon-Hamada, who, like Rodriguez, now also serves the program as a peer mentor.

“Whatever your past may be, it doesn驶t define your future. You can be whatever you want and Waiʻaleʻale will support you through thick and thin,” he said. “We are like your best friends, your family, the people you can count on.”

He says when he graduated from high school he did not really think he had a future.

“I thought I would be like the best grocery bagger ever,” recalled Manipon-Hamada. “But Waiʻaleʻale showed me you have more potential. You have more than just being the best grocery bagger.”

Francine Niau, building confidence

The Niʻihau native and charter school graduate has a quick, hearty laugh to go with her sunny smile. The future wasn鈥檛 always so bright. After graduating from high school in 2006, Francine Niau didn鈥檛 do much of anything for years, until she ran into a friend at a local shopping center. She was accepted into the Waiʻaleʻale Project and enrolled at Kauaʻi CC in 2012.

“Wow, they made a really big difference,” Niau said. “I鈥檓 usually shy and a quiet person. But being part of Waiʻaleʻale and coming to Kauaʻi CC made a big thing, because now I stay all confident.”

She now serves as the assistant for student activities and says the most important aspect of Waiʻaleʻale is the support, which, like the others, she describes as being like a family.

Niau has this advice for Kauaʻi residents: “Take advantage of all the program is willing to help you out. No be scared. Education is the key.”

Lahea Salazar, filling gaps in the community

Waiʻaleʻale Program Coordinator Lahea Salazar said they want folks who are NOT college bound to come and give college a try. They can start slow, even if it鈥檚 just one class.

“We are trying to fill the gaps in our community,” Salazar said.

The program can be most effective with individuals who may be going through a transition, and who don鈥檛 have extra support at home or in their lives. Salazar says the Waiʻaleʻale students do as well and oftentimes better than the mainstream Kauaʻi CC students.

Salazar took over the program three years ago from the first program coordinator, Kimo Perry, who is working to replicate the Waiʻaleʻale Project at all seven University of Hawaiʻi Community College campuses.

“It鈥檚 really nice that we鈥檙e changing generations,” Salazar said. “Now that we鈥檙e at 10 years, it鈥檚 the mom and the son, or the daughter and her mom鈥檚 with us, the cousins with us. And so we鈥檙e changing the whole family.”

—By Kelli Trifonovitch