February 7, 2006
Contributed by Shawn Nakamoto
HONOLULU — James Koloio Kuiee Baker understands the importance of higher education. As a single father and a Native Hawaiian, he knows that earning a college degree is important to his future and his family. Baker receives financial aid from Kamehameha Schools which enables him to attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoa where he is working toward a bachelor's degree in social work. With just a year to go until graduation, Baker plans to pursue a master's degree in social work. His career goal is work in the area of substance abuse within the prison population.
As an organization committed to the education and well-being of Hawaiians, Kamehameha Schools supports post-high education and offers over $12 million in scholarships annually to more than 2,500 Native Hawaiian students. This year, Kamehameha Schools has modified its financial aid program to align with the priorities of its new Education Strategic Plan (ESP).
In an effort to provide greater access to quality post-high education and training, Kamehameha Schools has identified specific areas of study that will be given special consideration during the application process. These areas were selected because they are job fields with projected growth in Hawai'i:
• Business
• Construction
• Education, with preference given to students pursuing degrees in early childhood education
• Hawaiian language or Hawaiian studies
• Healthcare support
• Miscellaneous areas related to the 'aina, natural environment or life sciences
• Social services
• Technology
• Transportation
Another new aspect of the financial aid program is a focus on non-traditional students. Special consideration will be extended to these non-traditional students:
• single parent;
• sole income provider for their family;
• currently or previously incarcerated and seeking to re-enter the workforce; or
• homeless.
Additionally, financial aid will be available for qualified students who are pursuing graduate degrees and for students planning to enter select certificate, vocational or technical programs through the University of Hawai'i system and Hawai'i Technology Institute.
Applications for Kamehameha Schools' financial aid program are available now by calling 534-8080 or online at www.ksbe.edu/finaid. Interested applicants must submit their CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE online to the College Board no later than April 1, 2006 in order to meet Kamehameha's application deadline of April 20, 2006.
Completed in 2005, the Education Strategic Plan reaffirms Kamehameha Schools' commitment to direct more of Pauahi's legacy to children in predominantly Hawaiian communities. The plan will help Kamehameha Schools to increase the capability and well-being of the Native Hawaiian people by creating intergenerational change through education. To read our Education Strategic Plan, log on to Education Strategic Plan.
Kamehameha Schools is a private charitable trust founded and endowed by the legacy of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop and is the sole beneficiary of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate. Kamehameha Schools operates a statewide educational system and currently more than 6,500 students of Hawaiian ancestry are enrolled in K-12 campuses on three islands and at 30 preschool sites statewide. More than 57,000 additional Hawaiian learners are also being served through a range of other Kamehameha Schools outreach programs, distance learning programming, community collaborations and financial aid opportunities in Hawai'i and across the continental United States.
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
