Ulu A‘e Learning Center (UALC) served 18 high school students through the Pi‘ina Internship Program. Of the 18 students served, 17 completed all program requirements. 16 are Native Hawaiian.

The outcomes achieved are that: 1) 17 high school students gained leadership and field experience; 2) these 17 students increased their leadership experience by teaching elementary students a native Hawaiian practice; and 3) each of the 17 high school students developed a resume that showcases their leadership and field experience.

Each student received 50 hours or more of services. Three students returned to volunteer after their internship ended.

Kahikina Willing returned eight times to volunteer, and Liam Hoppe returned 5 times to volunteer. When asked about his impressions of his internship Liam said “I enjoyed building connections with the haumāna.” The connections he made resonated beyond his physical presence in the program. When Liam started summer school and couldn’t volunteer anymore, haumāna would ask for him and hope for his return.

Mya Akana also returned to volunteer and like Liam she valued building pilina with the haumāna. Mya also felt growth in her abilities to motivate keiki to read during our morning read time. With guidance from her mentor, Kaelyn Pao, Mya made use of pausing techniques and questioning during the read alouds with our kindergarteners. She became a favorite amongst the keiki.

A component of Pi‘ina that the interns valued were the daily debriefs with their mentor. Daily debriefs occurred at the end of the day and provided a space for interns to share highlights, challenges, lessons, and questions.

On the first day of his field experience, Zane Tamashiro struggled with taking initiative to complete tasks and build pilina with haumāna. He would not have known that he needed to improve in these areas had it not been for the feedback he received from his mentor during the daily debrief. By the last day Zane was setting up the lunch area and learning spaces without having to be told, and he was engaging in conversations with haumāna more.

In Zane’s final evaluation, his mentor wrote about Zane’s ability to use critical feedback to improve. When Zane was asked the question: “What did you enjoy MOST in this program?” he wrote, “The thing that I enjoyed the most was not only me seeing me grow but also seeing kids like Levi become more social.” Zane recognized his growth and also the growth of the haumāna.

The daily debriefs were valuable in reflecting on the challenges of the day and in reinforcing positive work habits and reviewing the schedule for the next day. Riley Sagapolutele took advantage of the daily debriefs to ask questions about haumāna who she felt needed additional assistance with reading or learning their hana no‘eau.

Workspace realities were a concern that came up during debriefs. Cell phones were not allowed during the work time and some interns struggled with this. Peyton Sagapolutele wrote in his survey, “Initially I didn’t like the phone thing but I enjoyed not having it.” He also wrote that he appreciated the overall experience and “hanging out with the haumana,” recognizing that he didn’t need his phone and by focusing on work, he no longer focused on his phone.

Resume building was the last phase of the Pi‘ina Internship Program. After each intern’s field experience a resume building component was scheduled with a mentor. In one resume session, intern Shydel Gifford-Cachola arrived unsure of what she could include in her resume. The session with her mentor allowed her to talk through her experiences, her skills and school subjects she enjoys. She shared that although she knows she has a passion for deepening her connection to Hawaiian culture, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do beyond high school. She shared that she has her own camera and likes to take pictures of her family and friends. When she thinks about the classes she enjoys most in school, photography is at the top of the list. The culmination of this conversation revealed to her that her passions are photography and Hawaiian Intelligence and that she wants to pursue a career in both.

The resume building experience established a clear connection between education and work. Interns left the session having a better idea of what they want to pursue after high school and also the various steps to achieve their aspirations.

On his first day with us in May, Viliamu Amitoelau said that he was unsure if he would pursue higher education after high school. By the time his resume building session came in July, Viliamu was certain that he would pursue higher education and it would be in the field of engineering with the hope of playing sports in college.

We would be remiss to not include in this report the commitment to stewardship made by our interns. As our interns assisted younger students in completing ʻĀina Pledges, the interns too chose to compose one of their own. Kaleb Sarmiento dedicated his ʻāina pledge to all fishponds across Hawaiʻi. His pledge is as follows: “I pledge to be a steward to every fishpond. I know that every fishpond is a part of my ʻāina. ʻĀina is ocean, wind, and land. We need ʻāina because it helps us live and it also helps us grow stronger. Therefore, I will not be negative to the ʻāina or destroy the ʻāina. Instead I will take care of the ʻāina and be kind to the ʻāina. This is my pledge to be a steward to every fishpond.”

Intern Riley Sagapolutele was affected by exhaustion during some of our site visits. This grew her appreciation and sheer awe for those who work daily on ʻāina. Riley hopes to be a doctor in sports medicine and so her ʻāina pledge expressed her commitment to the health and well-being of kanaka. She writes: “I pledge to be a kanaka to Hawaiʻi. I know that Hawaiʻi is a part of my ʻāina. ʻĀina is the people, a place to call home, and our land. We need ʻāina to instill hope, have energy, nourishment, love, and growth into our future. Therefore, I will not harm the land or water or destroy our resources. Instead, I will rebuild and grow our culture and protect our ʻāina. This is my pledge to be a kanaka to Hawaiʻi.”

Our goal is that our high school students achieve work-ready experience and skills that lead to their success in the 21st century workforce. It is also our goal too that they pursue their career ambitions as grounded, skilled and civically engaged individuals. We look forward to continuing the work of growing the knowledge, skills and leadership experiences of all youth so they will achieve career success and become contributing members of our lāhui.