Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 2, 1 Pepeluali 2005 — Harvard summer medical program [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Harvard summer medical program

A program that sends 10 Native Hawaiian high school students to study for three weeks at Harvard Medical School in Boston is seeking applicants for this summer. The Ho'oulu Project, a partnership between Harvard and the Hawaiian See BRIEFS on page 4

BRIEFS from page 3

organizations the 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition and the PA'I Foundation, is designed to increase the probability that Native Hawaiian students will pursue medical or science degrees at leading universities, and then go on to practice medicine in Hawai'i. According to the Native Hawaiian Center for Excellence, Native Hawaiians comprise about 20 percent of Hawai'i's population, yet they represent only 5.5 percent of the state's 2,500 practicing physicians. The Ho'oulu Project, whieh is in its second year, is part of a broader Harvard summer program that invites high school students from several Native American tribes to study in Boston. The Hawaiian 'ōpio will join the Hopi Nalion at Harvard in June, and together they will be familiarized with dorm life and the rigors of collegiate academia. The Hawai'i program will also send two teachers with the students to act as chaperones and to also enhanee their science teaching methods. In order to halanee the Western science aspect of the program with a traditional perspective, the Hawaiian 'ōpio will be guided through a weeklong culture education course before they depart to Harvard. Last year, 10 Native Hawaiian students participated in the program, two of whom were from Hawaiian

language immersion schools and the rest from Punahou, 'Iolani and Kamehameha. Students must be of Native Hawaiian ancestry and be sophomores or juniors in high school. The application deadline is March 1. The Hawai'i portion of the program runs from June 6-10, and the Harvard section is from June ll-July 5. For more information, visit paifoundation.org or eall the 'īlio'ulaokalani Coalition at 845-4652.

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