A message shared on behalf of Chancellors Rachel Solemsaas and Bonnie Irwin

Aloha members of our Hawaiʻi CC and UH Hilo Kauhale,

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce to you our three Hawaiʻi Island Sustainability Initiatives VISTA Fellows:

Hawai‘i Community College is offering a new opportunity for high school students to pursue college credentials and careers in the field of Early Childhood Education.

The new program is called the “Hilo Early Learning Career Pathway Project.” It will allow students at Hilo and Waiakea High Schools to earn a Certificate of Competence from Hawai‘i CC’s Early Childhood Education program while they are still in high school.

Hawai‘i Community College is offering a new Academic Subject Certificate (ASC) in Sustainability starting in the Fall 2021 semester that aims to equip students with the skills and knowledge to help address some of today’s biggest challenges.

Hawai‘i Community College students, faculty, and staff who want to receive a COVID-19 vaccination can do so at the Manono Campus in Hilo August 25 and 26. 

Hawai‘i CC is partnering with the KTA Super Store Pharmacy to host the vaccination clinics, which take place Wednesday, August 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday, August 26 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. 

The clinic will be located in Building 379, Room 1 (Kaneikeao). 

John Nakata, a Kealakehe High School senior, was in the school’s automotive mechanics shop recently, reflecting on the time he’s spent with a cohort of fellow students the past two years, learning how to rebuild engines, take apart transmissions and other auto mechanics skills. 

“I’m going to miss this place, the environment, the people,” Nakata said.

Nakata is one of nine students completing a unique program that was a collaboration between Kealakehe High School and Hawai‘i Community College designed to place students on the fast track to automotive careers.

Note: This column appeared as part of the Kauhale News section in West Hawaii Today on April 8, 2021. 

Aloha, 

Hawai‘i Community College – Pālamanui and the University Center, West Hawai‘i have been at the current location in North Kona for almost six years after moving from Kealakekua. It’s been such a blessing to watch the connections  members of our community are making with our campus, sometimes in unique and unexpected ways. 

Construction projects at the Hawai‘i Community College – Pālamanui campus will significantly boost the student experience, academic programs and the ability to host campus and community events. 

The projects include renovating space to create a physics lab; adding an overflow parking area that is also a place for construction apprenticeship programs; and adding a large new covered outdoor space that will benefit the Culinary Arts program and give students a better place to congregate.

Andrew Hasegawa worked in tourism. He worked in various roles for one of the telescopes on Mauna Kea. Those were good jobs that provided solid experience, but he hit a “plateau,” as he described it, and knew he needed more education if he wanted to advance in his career. 

“I thought I really needed that next step, and that’s kind of how I started looking at Hawai‘i Community College,” Hasegawa said recently.

Students, staff and faculty at Hawai‘i Community College will soon benefit from a new scholarship and professional development opportunities thanks to an anonymous $1 million gift. 

Hawai‘i CC Chancellor Rachel Solemsaas said, “We are eternally grateful to the generous donor who is forever shaping the life trajectory of so many of our Hawai‘i Island residents by making a quality higher education affordable.”