Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 3, 1 Malaki 1989 — Opportunities In Education [ARTICLE]

Opportunities In Education

Na Poki'i Graduate Program Aids Advancement

To assist Native Hawaiian graduate students, the Kamehameha Schools/Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate offers services through its Na Poki'i Hawaiian Scholars Graduate Program. The Na Poki'i Hawaiian Scholars Graduate Program (Na Poki'i) recognizes that students of Hawaiian ancestry are underrepresented in graduate degree programs in the State of Hawaii. The Na Poki'i Hawaiian Scholars Graduate Program (Na Poki'i) realizes the need to increase Hawaiian representation in graduate programs and seeks to encourage and motivate qualified Hawaiian students to pursue advanced degrees. Na Poki'i acknowledges that acceptance into a graduate program at the master's or doctoral level or in the School of Law or Medicine requires dedication, perseverance and financial resources. These three factors are important to ensure the successful eomplehon of one's graduate program. The purpose of the Na Poki'i Hawaiian Scholars Graduate Program is to: 1. Encourage Hawaiian students to apply for and pursue graduate degree programs at universities within the State of Hawaii. 2. Provide financial assistance to those students, pursuing advanced degrees, who demonstrate financial need. 3. Recognize Hawaiian students who have been accepted into graduate degree programs. Na Poki'i Scholarship Award The Na Poki'i Scholarship Award is a monetary grant to a classified graduate student attending an accredited university graduate or professional school in the State of Hawaii. T o receive a scholarship award, a student applicant must demonstrate financial need as indicated on the financial aid form need ana!ysis report of the college scholarship service. Eligibility criteria: You must: 1. Be of Hawaiian or Part-Hawaiian ancestry. 2. Be a classified graduate student and enrolled full-time at an accredited university in the State of Hawaii. (Unclassified graduate

students are not eligible for consideration) 3. Demonstrate financial need via the completion and analysis of the financial aid form of the college scholarship service. 4. Have completed a minimum of at least one course in the Hawaiian language, Hawaiian studies, or the equivalent in experience. (to be documented) 5. Be committed to serve the Hawaiian community by working in Hawaii for at least two years following corppletion of the degree and providing some kind of service to the Hawaiian community. (Inability to meet this commitment will require a return payment of half of the grant amount as a loan at 6 percent interest, as with other educational loans.) 6. Have the potential to complete the graduate program, as demonstrated in transcripts and letters of recommendation. 7. Have completed a personal interview, if requested. AppIication procedure 1. Complete and send your Financial Aid Form (FAF) to: College Scholarship Service, Box 23420, Oakland CA 94623. Be sure to list KamehamehaSchools, CSS code no. 0417 2. Send the following to Na Poki'i Selection Committee, e/o Dexter Soares, The Kamehameha Schools, Kapalama Heights, Honolulu, HI 96817: a. Completed Na Poki'i Hawaiian Scholars Program application. b. Three (3) letters of recommendation. Wherever possible, these letters should be submitted by the following individuals: • Two (2) from teachers who know the candidate's academic ability; • One (1) from a community leader who ean attest to the candidate's prior eommunity service and leadership contributions; Deadline for all application materials is May 15.