{"id":97327,"date":"2019-05-24T14:54:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T00:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=97327"},"modified":"2020-03-06T15:06:15","modified_gmt":"2020-03-07T01:06:15","slug":"hawaiian-immersion-early-college-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/05\/24\/hawaiian-immersion-early-college-degrees\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaiian immersion high school students earn degrees at Windward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_76618\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8mvGf7p90aw?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Hawaiian immersion high school students earn degrees at Windward CC\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p>It was a proud moment for four Hawaiian immersion high school students who graduated with their associate in arts degrees on May 10, 2019, at <a href=\"https:\/\/windward.hawaii.edu\/\">Windward Community College<\/a> and will also graduate from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kamakau.com\/\">Ke Kula <span aria-label=\"o\">&#699;o<\/span> Samuel M. Kamakau<\/a> charter school on May 25.<\/p>\n<p>Kanoelani Holt, <span aria-label=\"Waialeale\">Wai&#699;ale&#699;ale<\/span> Sarsona, <span aria-label=\"Hiilani\">Hi&#699;ilani<\/span> Young and Kalehuakea Kelling are part of the Early College High School program at Windward <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr>. The four graduates each earned an associate\u2019s degree in liberal arts. In addition, Sarsona, Young and Holt received their associate\u2019s degree in Hawaiian studies, and certificates in <span aria-label=\"ahupuaa\">ahupua&#699;a<\/span> (Hawaiian land and ocean systems) and <span aria-label=\"moolelo\">mo&#699;olelo<\/span> (Hawaiian history and traditions).<\/p>\n<p>Graduate Sarsona delivered a moving speech in the Hawaiian language at Windward\u2019s commencement ceremony and reflected on her accomplishment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Early College program at Windward Community College was such an amazing opportunity! I decided to enroll in this program for my l&#257;hui, my people,&rdquo; said Sarsona. &ldquo;Throughout this journey, I was faced with many challenges and much skepticism. However, I pushed through because I knew that this path that I was taking of <span aria-label=\"imi\">&#699;imi<\/span> <span aria-label=\"naauao\">na&#699;auao<\/span> (seeking enlightenment) was not one that was unfamiliar to my ancestors. It was the mana of my k&#363;puna that pushed me through it and continues to do so today.&rdquo;  <\/p>\n<p>Early College brings Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr> professors into public high schools to teach college-level coursework, and enables participating students to earn credits to satisfy requirements at both. The goal is to provide successful college coursework experiences, allowing students to recognize their potential in higher education and develop the mindset and skills necessary for college success. Students in Early College programs across Windward <span aria-label=\"Oahu\">O&#699;ahu<\/span> have an average GPA of 3.4 and success rate of 94 percent. <\/p>\n<p>Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>\u2019s Early College program is made possible by funding allocated by high schools, Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>, the <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> State Legislature, <abbr title=\"United States\">U.S.<\/abbr> Department of Education, Harold <abbr>K.L.<\/abbr> Castle Foundation and Kamehameha School\u2019s Community Investing Program.<\/p>\n<p>Chancellor <strong>Ardis Eschenberg<\/strong> said, <span aria-label=\"Hoomaikai\">&ldquo;Ho&#699;omaika&#699;i<\/span> ia <span aria-label=\"oukou\">&#699;oukou<\/span> e n&#257; haumana <span aria-label=\"eha\">&#699;eh&#257;<\/span> o Ke Kula <span aria-label=\"o\">&#699;o<\/span> Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau&#8212;Congratulations to our four graduates from Kamakau. We are so proud of these first Early College graduates who will have a profound effect on their l&#257;hui, peers and families for generations to come.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>For more information about Early College for Hawaiian medium institutions, contact Windward <abbr>CC<\/abbr>\u2019s Mala <span aria-label=\"Aoao\">A&#699;oa&#699;o<\/span> Early College Counselor Ulu Kahikina at <a href=\"mailto:eliseuk@hawaii.edu\">eliseuk@hawaii.edu<\/a> and (808) 462-4713, or Mala <span aria-label=\"Aoao\">A&#699;oa&#699;o<\/span> Coordinator Kalae Akioka at <a href=\"mailto:wakioka@hawaii.edu\">wakioka@hawaii.edu<\/a>. For general information about Early College, contact Early College High School Coordinator Kehau Iwashita at <a href=\"mailto:hki@hawaii.edu\">hki@hawaii.edu<\/a> and (808)235-7465.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Bonnie Beatson<\/em><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_97336\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-97336\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-kamakau-graduates.jpg\" alt=\"student in regalia and one person at podium\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-97336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-kamakau-graduates.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-kamakau-graduates-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/windward-kamakau-graduates-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-97336\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Kanoelani Holt, <span aria-label=\"Hiilani\">Hi&#699;ilani<\/span> Young, Kalehuakea Kelling and <span aria-label=\"Waialeale\">Wai&#699;ale&#699;ale<\/span> Sarsona<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Four Hawaiian immersion students graduated with their associate in arts degrees on May 10, 2019, at Windward Community College and will also graduate from Ke Kula <span aria-label=\"o\">&#699;o<\/span> Samuel M. Kamakau on May 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[234,1047,33,71,66],"class_list":["post-97327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-commencement","tag-early-college","tag-hawaiian","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-windward-community-college","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97327"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112801,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97327\/revisions\/112801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}