President David Lassner provided updates on the tenure project SCR 201 Tenure Task Force, fall 2023 enrollment and extramural funding at the May 18 Board of Regents (BOR) meeting at Honolulu Community College.

Lassner also highlighted a recent National Science Foundation award to UH for a climate-resilient, food innovation network, the Farrington High School seniors who recently graduated from Honolulu CC with their associate degrees, and the .

Also at today’s BOR meeting, Craig Angelos was confirmed as UH Mānoa athletics director effective June 5.

• Tenure project update ()
• Fall 2023 enrollment update ()
• Extramural funding down 1% compared to 2022 ()
• NSF climate-resilient, food innovation network ()
• Rewarding commencement season! (
• Farrington High School seniors earn Honolulu CC degrees ()
• UH Mānoa Health Sciences Initiative ()

See previous president’s reports to the Board of Regents.

Eight seniors will earn associate’s degrees from Honolulu Community College on May 12 before they receive their high school diplomas, thanks to the University of �鶹��ý and the dual-credit programs that have served more than 27,114 local high school students since 2013.

The programs—Early College and Running Start—allow high school students to take free college classes and receive both high school and college credit (dual credit) for successful completion of 100-level and above courses. High school students taking Early College courses can take their classes in a variety of ways—face-to-face on the high school campus, online or hybrid. Running Start allows students to take a college course at a UH campus as part of their high school coursework. Over the 2021–22 school year, more than 50 public high schools across the state partnered with UH to offer more than 500 Early College classes.

Honolulu CC started offering two Early College classes to 46 Farrington students in 2014. By 2022, there were nine Early College courses and enrollment had quadrupled to 184 students.

Among these motivated Farrington students are soon-to-be Honolulu CC graduates Leilani Joy Dela Cruz, Rachelle Anne Sales Manuel, Kuʻuleihoku McConnell, Cardenas Pintor, Norine Quach, Cadyn Ramos, Rachael Ahfook Tamapolu and Kailee Umaga-Silva.

Pride and opportunities

“Opportunities were everywhere!” said Dela Cruz, who aspires to own a business. “So many of my professors were so kind and helped me adjust to college life, alongside my various classmates. Everyone has been such a pleasure to talk to in class, and there’s so many ways to get involved in college. In the fall, I started going to my home campus to study, and there were so many events that made me want to continue going.”

“Having my pride all the way up—that’s how it feels like,” said Tamapolu. “I’m walking my high school campus, knowing I’m going to get an associate’s degree.”

She said her long-term goal in life is to buy her mother a house.

According to Vice Principal Hartwell Lee Loy, Farrington High School serves students from five neighboring housing projects. He encourages students to utilize these free opportunities to earn college credits, especially because it can save families a lot of money.

Lee Loy and others involved in the partnership emphasize that any number of dual-credit classes will help students and their families, whether or not they end up leading to early college degrees. However, from 2014 to 2021, more than 80 students have earned associate’s degrees while still in high school.

“Early College/Running Start is a great program, especially for low-income, first-generation students, where people might think that they can’t do it, they don’t have the skills to do it,” said Regan Honda, a college and career counselor at Farrington. “We have great students. They’re very motivated. They want to achieve. So that’s why they take part in this program.”

• Related Early College UH News stories:
  Early College initiative boosts Pacific Islander students, July 12, 2021
  Early College is a growing success, August 7, 2018
  Waipahu student earns Leeward CC degree before high school graduation, December 18, 2017

Preparing for the future

“The journey and the experience was rough mentally, but it gave me preparation for the future,” said Umaga-Silva, who wants to someday go into cybersecurity for the military or the FBI.

Honolulu CC Academic Counselor Jean Maslowski said what the eight students are accomplishing is “tremendous” and encourages all public high school students to check with their counselors to learn more about Early College and Running Start.

“Anyone can succeed in college, they just need to be given a chance,” Maslowski said, “It can give them the opportunity—when they learn more, they will earn more—and set a good example for younger siblings and possibly even parents in the household to say, ‘I did it. You can do it, too.’”

Ramos, an aspiring chef and restaurateur, added that his family is going to be proud of him when they see him holding his associate’s degree.

He said, “What I would want future students to know is to never waste opportunities that are given to you.”

—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch

Maximillian Soares Miehlstein has a unique and unconventional story to tell. He is the first dual-credit student to graduate from . While still in high school, he took both high school and college classes, enabling him to graduate from high school and college at the same time.

At Kapiʻolani CC’s spring 2018 commencement, where he earned an associate in arts degree in deaf studies and deaf education, the 17-year-old Miehlstein delivered a speech to graduates in American Sign Language. In doing so, he celebrated the deaf community that has supported him over the years.

, interim chancellor at Kapiʻolani CC states, “Max’s accomplishment is a first for Kapiʻolani Community College and reflects his incredible dedication and commitment. We hope that Max’s success will inspire other high school students to kūlia I ka nuʻu (strive for the highest) and consider enrolling in college classes at Kapiʻolani Community College.”

Learning to be empowered

Miehlstein was exposed to deafness and disability since birth. His father is a quadriplegic, and his mother provided infinite guidance and understanding. From his father, Miehlstein learned that a disability does not have to be disabling; in fact, it can be empowering.

Miehlstein was homeschooled until the latter half of his middle school years, when he began attending La Pietra School for Girls, then transferred to Assets High School. He changed his name and clothes, and began to live as Max.

At 15, Miehlstein felt bored and realized he needed to be challenged. He considered Kapiʻolani CC because of the smaller class size and campus community. Because of his age, he could not obtain a GED or drop out of school, so his mother found Running Start—a dual-credit program at Kaimukī High School that would allow Max to be registered in high school while taking classes at Kapiʻolani CC.

Finding his place

Miehlstein thrived at Kapiʻolani CC—he got a job at the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, and his academic load was a perfect fit. His first semester, he had what he calls an “easy” four classes. He then took six classes the next two semesters and finished his last semester with seven classes, graduating with honors.

He continues to work at the library and volunteers at the �鶹��ý School for the Deaf and Blind. This fall, he is transferring to the University of �鶹��ý at Mānoa, where he was awarded a Presidential Scholarship and accepted into the Honors Program. For his interdisciplinary degree, he will focus on disability studies with a psychology and sociology background. Miehlstein looks forward to working with people with who have disabilities and neurological differences.

In his commencement speech, Miehlstein recognized many individuals who have supported him in his journey, especially his mother. He is grateful to have had the opportunity to pursue his goals and to succeed. At the UH Regents and Presidential Scholarship dinner, he was given a poster with a quote from his application essay: “When we celebrate diversity, we acknowledge each other’s differences and respect who we are as individuals.”

—By Louise Yamamoto

Derek Larson, a �鶹��ý Island high school student who has also been enrolled in classes at , was honored with a statewide college and career readiness award.

A senior at Konawaena High School, Larson was presented with the statewide Student Readiness Award at the �鶹��ý ACT State Organization Conference in Honolulu on April 17. In addition, ACT has announced that Larson is one of just four semi-finalists who have been nominated for the national Student Readiness Award.

The Student Readiness Award recognizes academic accomplishments, college and career readiness and success in extracurricular activities.

Larson has a 4.2 high school grade-point average and is also on the dean’s list at �鶹��ý CC where he has a 4.0 grade-point average. Larson is involved in extra-curricular activities, including sports and community service.

During the past year, Larson has been enrolled in �鶹��ý CC classes as part of the college’s Running Start program. Running Start and other early college options at �鶹��ý CC allow Larson and other high school students to enroll in �鶹��ý CC classes and receive dual credit, which count as both high school credit and college credit.

Preparing for the future

Larson is projected to graduate from high school having already completed 36 college credits. He plans to attend in Albany, New York this fall where he will major in nursing and also enroll in pre-med courses.

Taking science classes at �鶹��ý CC while in high school helped him choose the medical field for his undergraduate studies, said Larson.

“I was really able to explore the sciences, anatomy, microbiology, and that led me to wanting to join the medical field,” Larson said. The �鶹��ý CC classes will also reduce the cost of his four-year degree because some of his pre-requisites are already complete, said Larson.

Jason Cifra, �鶹��ý CC’s vice chancellor for student affairs, said Larson is a great example of why early college opportunities are provided to students.

“Derek has used early college courses from �鶹��ý CC to become college-ready, and we are excited that he is being recognized by ACT,” said Cifra.

ACT also recognizes �鶹��ý CC

At the conference in Honolulu, �鶹��ý CC also received special recognition as the recipient of the “Career Preparedness Award.”

In announcing the award, the �鶹��ý ACT State Organization said, “�鶹��ý Community College made significant strides helping its students prepare for a successful career. �鶹��ý Community College serves as a role model institution for others.”

For more information about �鶹��ý Community College’s early college programs, visit or call (808) 934-2726.

—By Thatcher Moats