The Ho`oku`i Project on Molokai

 Community Contributed

Mr. Nakamura and Mr. Flowers with Ho’oku’i students at MHS Recognition and Scholarship Assembly held on May 11, 2012

By Caryl Hitchcock

Project Ho`oku`i encourages students to take up to 12 credits during their high school junior and senior years at UH Maui College, Molokai, which count (through a program called Running Start)towards their high school and college total credits. As this project nears the end of its second year, it is good to report that Molokai High School has 14 students enrolled on their journey to college.

The introduction to university life through the project comes at no cost to students’ families, as tuition and books are paid for by the project. This UH Native Hawaiian Education Grant program is also available for students at three schools in Maui, 12 schools on Hawaii Island, and has already helped 169 students on their way to college. Three Hana students have been awarded prestigious scholarships for unlimited funding by the Gates Foundation.

On Molokai and Maui, our own UH professor Caryl Hitchcock is responsible for Ho`oku`i, with mentors Earl Nakamura, U`i Lima, Diane Mokuau and Jerry Flowers working with Molokai High School.

The Noa Webster Aluli Foundation has also very generously funded a scholarship in recognition of the importance of the encouragement of higher education for Native Hawaiian youth. This will be awarded to a graduating senior from project Ho`oku`i