{"id":217172,"date":"2025-06-04T17:15:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=217172"},"modified":"2025-06-04T17:15:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:15:45","slug":"waialeale-project-kahokuloa-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/04\/waialeale-project-kahokuloa-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Wai\u02bbale\u02bbale Project lifts Kaua\u02bbi CC<\/abbr> sons, mom on path to college success"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Two
Kahokuloa helping a student<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Precious Kahokuloa, Kauaʻi<\/span> Community College is more than a place of learning—it\u2019s a place of transformation for the mother of four and her ʻohana (family).<\/p>\n

\"Two
Kahokuloa with her family<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kahokuloa started working in the hotel industry soon after graduating from Kapaʻa<\/span> High School, and had three sons by the time she was 21. College wasn’t even a consideration.<\/p>\n

Decades later, it was her own children who inspired her to pursue higher education. Her two younger sons attended Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr> through the Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project, a UH<\/abbr> initiative that supports non-college-bound and first-time students with financial assistance and wraparound services. Her oldest son Cadence had gone straight to UH<\/abbr> Hilo.<\/p>\n

“My kids encouraged me,” she said. “They\u2019re the ones that helped me to feel like I can do it.”<\/p>\n

Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project help, inspiration<\/h2>\n
\"Group
Kahokuloa (2nd from left) with mentors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kahokuloa saw firsthand the difference the Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project made in her sons\u2019 lives—creating a path to college they may not have otherwise taken. Inspired by their example, she enrolled at Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr> in 2023.<\/p>\n

“When I came into Waiʻaleʻale<\/span>, and saw all the support that they gave them, it was unreal,” she said.<\/p>\n

Lahea Salazar, program coordinator for the Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project and K\u012bpaipai Program, said there was something special about Kahokuloa from the first moment she met her.<\/p>\n

“Precious is exceptionally creative…and is always giving back with an authentic care for others around her,” Salazar said. “Now she is a peer mentor for our Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project and K\u012bpaipai Program (which supports students in their first year of college), where she is a guiding light helping others succeed in their lives.”<\/p>\n

Kahokuloa said, “Now I can help better. I understand it more, and I know how important it is to go to college first.”<\/p>\n

‘Almost like family’<\/h2>\n
\"Family
Kahokuloa (center) with her children, from left: Matthew, Tierra, Sion, Cadence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Son Matthew Kahokuloa, Jr. will earn a master\u2019s degree in botany from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa this summer and has his sights set on a PhD<\/abbr>. He, his brothers and his mother also serve as role models for her youngest child, daughter Tierra, who will be a sophomore at Kapaʻa<\/span> High School in the fall.<\/p>\n

As a liberal arts major, Kahokuloa is thriving academically, and has created a new logo for the Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> Project. She is on track to graduate in 2027 and plans to continue on to UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span>\u2019s Creative Media program, offered online through Kauaʻi<\/span> CC<\/abbr>.<\/p>\n

“I’m so grateful to UH<\/abbr> and Waiʻaleʻale<\/span>, just for everything,” Kahokuloa said. “You just have to try. People might be intimidated, like how I was, but it’s like a warm support and almost like family.”<\/p>\n

—By Kelli Abe Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Group
K\u012bpaipai cohort<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mom follows in sons\u2019 footsteps at Kauaʻi<\/span> Community College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,71,482],"class_list":["post-217172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-kauai-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-waialeale-project","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t