{"id":218061,"date":"2025-06-29T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T18:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=218061"},"modified":"2025-06-30T14:48:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T00:48:46","slug":"academy-for-hawaii-intelligence-studies-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/29\/academy-for-hawaii-intelligence-studies-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Eyes on the world: Hawai\u02bbi HS<\/abbr> students explore intelligence careers at free UH<\/abbr> program"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Program Director and Professor Jairus Grove teaches the class on June 27.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More than 30 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> high school students and incoming University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa freshmen participated in the 2025 Academy for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Intelligence Studies Summer Program<\/a>, a statewide initiative aimed at building future leaders in the field of national intelligence.<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/FtUPlKxVddM” el_aspect=”916″ align=”right” el_id=”wrap-video-right”][vc_column_text]\n

The program, offered by the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa College of Social Sciences<\/a>, ran from June 16 to 28, and offered participants a free, three-credit university-level course—POLS<\/abbr> 120: Introduction to World Politics. All expenses for the students, including airfare, housing, meals, registration and tuition, were paid through the Pacific Intelligence and Innovation Initiative (P3I<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s cohort had a unique opportunity to examine world events in real time as they unfolded during the program.<\/p>\n

“Having a war going on between Israel and Iran, [the students] just came with so many questions,” said Jairus Grove, program director and UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Department of Political Science<\/a> professor. “They wanted to understand why it was happening? Why was the U.S. going to get involved? Should the U.S. get involved? And so I think having a global crisis happening while they had an audience for understanding that crisis was really unique.”<\/p>\n

The first week was conducted online, where students studied the foundations of international relations and national intelligence. In the second week, they gathered in person on the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa campus for an immersive experience that included simulation games and guest sessions with national and local intelligence leaders. The students also participated in a day-long field trip to Pearl Harbor, and on June 27, a ceremony was held honoring their achievements.<\/p>\n

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The students participated in a day-long field trip to Pearl Harbor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“Because of this course I’m heavily debating going into political science now. I think it’s really interesting and something that the world is going to need more of,” said Kaimana Lindsay, a West Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Explorations Academy senior.<\/p>\n

Madison Au, an ʻIolani<\/span> School senior, said that the program helped reinstill her passion for political science and history.<\/p>\n

“Coming here, I felt really challenged, and I loved it,” Au said. “I would love to work with intelligence and research with sociology and international relations.”<\/p>\n

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The 2025 cohort reflected a diverse cross-section of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s educational landscape, with 39% of participants from public schools, 21% from charter schools and 39% from private schools. Students who successfully completed the program earned college credits applicable toward future degrees.<\/p>\n

Launched in 2023, the program continues to provide early college access to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> residents with a minimum 3.0 GPA<\/abbr>, helping prepare them for careers in one of the state\u2019s fastest-growing sectors. It supports the university\u2019s ongoing efforts to develop a robust pipeline of local talent in political science and intelligence studies.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Students explored real-time global conflicts while earning college credit in an immersive UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa summer course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":218062,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[301,1466,185,1026,9],"class_list":["post-218061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-political-science","tag-social-science","tag-uh-manoa","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