18 haum¨¡na (students) from high schools across Â鶹´«Ã½ and the continental U.S. are wrapping up a free residential summer program at the , part of a continued push to increase the number of Native Hawaiian students who attend and graduate from UH.
Hosted by , the 12-day Summer Institute engages students in interactive STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math)-based learning rooted in cultural identity.
“The reason why we do intensive programs like the Summer Institute is to give them a taste of what the higher education experience is like, to be in particular departments and places and spaces at the university so that if and when they make that decision to pursue higher education they¡¯re like, ‘Ok! I¡¯ve been here before. I feel comfortable,’” said Kinohi Gomes, director at NPN UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹.
NPN immerses haum¨¡na in daily cultural protocol such as hula, oli (chant) and activities grounded in m¨¡lama ʻ¨¡ina (caring for the land). Students are also teamed up with STEM majors at UH who mentor them in educational hands-on activities, such as robotics, computer building and coding.
“It¡¯s all about bridging the past with the present, and what we want to be able to do is, along with providing students with a nice cultural foundation, to let them know that they can proceed and interweave technology as a proud Hawaiian in whatever educational and career pathways that they want to pursue,” Gomes explained.
Kūpaʻa ma hope o ka ʻ¨¡ina: Ever loyal to the land and Native Hawaiian resiliency
18-year-old Deion Peʻa-Whitney is one of the eager student participants this summer. The Â鶹´«Ã½ Island native recently graduated from Ke Kula ʻo Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu, a Hawaiian language immersion charter school, and would like to pursue electrical engineering at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹.
“He kanaka hana ʻ¨¡ina wau, no laila, no koʻu mau lima he ʻano ikaika. No kēia papa, ua aʻo wau e pili ana i ka palekana, ka hoʻomanawa nui me ka ʻenehana. (I usually work with the ʻ¨¡ina, and it requires a lot of strength in my hands. Today, I learned how I have to be fragile since this is technology. It could easily break. I had to learn to be patient with technology and be comfortable with it),” Whitney explained.
Year-round programming
NPN, which is part of the campus¡¯ and , has run programs for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade since 1989. Centers are stationed at UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹, UH Hilo, UH Maui College, Kauaʻi Community College and UH West Oʻahu. NPN provides haum¨¡na of all ages along with their ʻohana a plethora of first-class learning opportunities ranging from visual and culinary arts, literacy and STEM aimed at providing direct access and a bridge between the community and higher education.
“Part of our equation is to include mentors, teachers, resources from both our university and the community that can allow and provide the bigger picture of how technology and STEM can be such an easy streamlined opportunity for students that are looking at that as a possible career and educational pathway,” Gomes said.
??The N¨¡ Pua Noʻeau UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ Summer Institute collaborated with the U.S. Department of Education-Native Hawaiian education program, State of Â鶹´«Ã½ Department of Education (DOE) Office of Hawaiian Education Department, DOE Community Engagement Branch, UH ²Ñ¨¡²Ô´Ç²¹ Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering Mentorship Program, the Â鶹´«Ã½ Department of Health, Kamehameha Schools and Project Kuleana.
For more information go to the website.
