Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 8, 1 August 2013 — THE POSITIVE SIDE EFFEGTS OF COLLEGE [ARTICLE]

THE POSITIVE SIDE EFFEGTS OF COLLEGE

By Francine Kananionapua Murray / I eemslikeourstudentsdobetterthan * * l the average student at KCC," said Bevin Parker-Evans, student sup- | port coordinator for the Wai'ale'ale Project at Kaua'i Conununity College. "It's amazing to hear how many of them ended up on the Dean's list, how many of them got additionalrecognition in the connnunity, were chosen for special projects, went on to get fellowships or travel abroad. "We help them be better students," said Park-er-Evans, who works directly with students, implementing many of the activities under a grant from OHA. "Their new skills extend

beyond the classroom and have been helping to better their lives." Of the students the project serves, about twothirds are Native Hawaiian. Wai'ale'ale's first group of students started in the fall of 20 1 0, and as the proj - ect expanded other contributors such as OHA got involved. In 201 1, OHA fundedmore than 40 Native Hawaiian students of whieh 14 have already received

their degrees. In 2012 and 2013, OHA's support is expected to serve 170. "Retention and persistence seem to be the positive side effects of the program," said Kimo Perry, coordinator of the Wai'ale'ale Project. Based on the students' success in class and the rate at whieh they remain in college, the Wai'ale'ale Project ean say its students consistently perform at a higher rate, about 10 percent higher on aver-

age than other students. High school counselors and organizations like OHA refer all the students to the program. Onee accepted, students may take any courses they want at Kaua'i Community College. The Wai'ale'ale Project covers tuition up to 12 credits per semester, books and fees, and provides supplemental support programs like college eamp,

Summer Bridge courses for freshmen, college readiness workshops, tutors, mentors (who are both students in the program and mentors helping newer students to succeed), counseling and advising. The project, whieh offers a college education to Kaua'i residents who were not considering college because of financial constraints, began as a vision with the financial support of a generous donor who prefers to remain anonymous. "He did some research," said Perry, "and found that if a student attends some college, whether or not they get a degree, . . . statistically they earn 30 percent more over the course of their lifetime, and they are 29 percent less likely to be unemployed. But what really jumped out at him was that a student who goes to college versus a student who does not ... will live seven years longer, statistically." The indicators go up with eaeh degree of education, but the greatest gap was between high school and college. "So, we have to get more students to go to college," says Perry. "Students that would have stopped at high school, we have to get them to at least eome experience some college." ■

Wai'ale'ale Project BY ĪHE NUMBERS 2/3 of enrollees are Native Hawaiian 14 graduates in twoyears 75 percent of students accepted into the program enroll

EDUCATI0N

OHA Grantee Profile: University of Hawai'i, Office of Research Services on behalf of Kaua'i Community College's Wai'ale'ale Project