Kamehameha Schools seeks to foster enduring relationships with community partners who share our values and commitment to education and community to improve educational systems that help develop future Native Hawaiian local and global leaders. The Kāpili ‘Oihana Internship Program provides Native Hawaiian college students with the opportunity to apply academic experience in a real-world setting by working with community organizations who help to lay the foundation to increase students’ hiring potential upon graduation.

Kamehameha Schools is seeking more businesses, non-profits and other organizations willing to give college students real-life work experience through its Kāpili ‘Oihana Internship Program (KOIP).

“We believe that if we can broaden the options and expand current real-life learning opportunities, it would allow Native Hawaiian college students to be trained by experts within the fields of their choice,” said Heidi Dangaran, Kilohōkū Program Manager within KS’ Career and Post High Counseling and Guidance Department based in Hilo. “By expanding the amount of businesses we work with, we can together shape and develop more leaders who will impact the future of Hawai‘i and potentially the globe.”

For interns at the Wailuku, Maui, architectural firm ADC (Architectural Design & Construction), Inc., that means projects like designing new office space for clients.

“The students really enjoy the projects because they receive a hands-on understanding of construction detailing and we have them create actual construction plans,” said ADC’s Morgan Gerdel, AIA. “It’s real work.”

The learning process is a two-way street and also provides an advantage for businesses who receive insight from students on the latest industry trends.

“Students in the internship bring a unique, younger perspective and different experiences. It’s valuable to have them part of the team,” Gerdel said.

A 14-week statewide summer program, Kāpili ‘Oihana Internship Program aims to increase the number of organizations like ADC, Inc., in Hawai‘i interested in hosting Native Hawaiian college interns, with a particular focus on reaching out to more businesses and nonprofits in East and West Hawai‘i island, Maui County and Kaua‘i.

KOIP organizers hope to attract a wide range of potential industries with priorities on education, engineering, information technology and healthcare to help match more college students and their interests to organizations in the available pool of host sites.

“KOIP sites have been integral in providing enriching opportunities to interns which have resulted in their professional and personal growth,” said Michel Arakaki, program coordinator/counselor with the Kealakūlia Division (formerly Extension Educational Services). “With a variety of organizations signed up, we can better match students and their interests with appropriate site locations.”

At West Hawai‘i’s Ali‘i Health Center in Kailua-Kona, student interns shadow medical assistants and learn to apply important healthcare skills they learned in the classroom to their on-the-job training – training that eventually landed one intern a job as medical assistant after the internship was complete.

“Medical assistants intake vitals, patient history, immunizations and surgery information. They have the book and education experience. We provide the hands-on work,” said Lei Cataraha, the health center’s operations manager.

Cataraha said internship programs like Kāpili ‘Oihana could “definitely” help meet Hawai‘i’s physician and other profession shortages in the healthcare field.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for businesses to give back and nurture these students in their communities so they make a successful transition in the career they want to be in,” Cataraha said.

Another advantage for participation for community organizations is an ability to supplement staffing.

On Kaua‘i,  Asaka Herman, Līhu‘e Clubhouse Director with the Boys & Girls Club of Hawai‘i, said the organization serves over 300 children ages 7-17 years old daily in Līhu‘e, Kapa‘a and Kekaha.

Student interns from KOIP and other community-based internship programs assist with supervising children during afterschool activities including completion of homework, sports, and arts and crafts.

“You don’t know how big of a help (the interns) are,” Herman said.

The intern from KOIP was interested in education and she was able to develop her own education program for the children she supervised.

“She was going to be a teacher and created her own program for our youth. She did everything. It gives them real-life experience,” Herman said.

Kaua‘i is one place that KOIP is especially looking to beef up interest and enrollment of internship locations. 

Across the state, KOIP is also reaching out to KS alumni to be conduits to spread the news to their employers about internship host opportunities.

“We are constantly striving to find quality sites for our college interns.  We want to secure sites that can provide our students with meaningful, premium internship experiences,” Dangaran said.

Learn more about hosting a Kāpili ʻOihana intern on the program’s site recruitment web page.

KS STRATEGIC PLAN 2020
SP2020 is a five-year strategic plan that will guide Kamehameha Schools from 2015 to 2020. The plan marks a starting point toward KS’ Vision 2040, which envisions success for all Native Hawaiian learners.

This Kāpili ‘Oihana Internship Program addresses Goal 2 and Goal 3 of SP2020 which call for KS to contribute to community efforts for an improved education system and to cultivate Native Hawaiian identity within its learners. It also supports Action 4 of Kamehameha’s Ten Actions for fiscal year 2017, calling for KS to leverage community partnerships to improve educational success across the state.

By expanding the amount of businesses we work with, we can together shape and develop more leaders who will impact the future of Hawai‘i and potentially the globe.
Heidi Dangaran, KS Kilohōkū Program Manager

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