The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges, and the Hawaiʻi Association for College Admission Counseling, collaborated to offer Hawaiʻi’s high school counselors (from public and private high schools from across the state), an opportunity to learn about the University of Hawaiʻi under one roof. On September 8th, Friday from 8:30am to noon the high school counselors participated in a UH resource fair followed by a series of workshop with topics that included centralized financial aid, centralized admissions, mental health and wellness, transfer opportunities from the UHCCs, post-secondary opportunities on the Neighbor Islands, how to apply to UHH, UHWO, and UHM, nuts and bolts about on-boarding, and recruiting Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders into STEM.
Kapiʻolani CC was well represented. Special shout outs to Jeri Enokawa who co-presented on centralized admissions, Herve Collins and Josh Faumunia who presented on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in STEM (who also staffed a table during the resource fair), and Amy Shiroma, Sheryl Fuchino-Nishida, and Laure Burke who staffed a table to highlight our Hospitality and Tourism Program. There were about 128 high school counselors and about 50 UH employees at this event.
This was a first and following a quick debrief, it was decided to give this a try every year. Our high school counselors are the main communication conduit to our prospective students. They go above and beyond to provide a comprehensive post-secondary landscape for their students.