UH West Oʻahu students studying on the Great Lawn.
This fall, interested UH West Oʻahu incoming students are participating in two new learning communities designed to increase Hawaiian representation in the health, wellness, education, and food security fields. Students enrolled in the ‘Ike Mauli Ola: Pre-Nursing/Health Sciences Learning Community or the Nānā I Ke Kumu: Environment, Education, and Community Learning Community are assigned block schedules that include courses with faculty who have synchronized their syllabi with relevant service learning opportunities and reading materials.
To bring cultural coherence to the coursework, UHWO faculty, led by Dr. Manulani Aluli Meyer, met during a three-day workshop to determine the Hawaiian themes that would guide the two learning communities. These themes are:
- Auamo Kuleana – collective transformation through individual excellence
- ʻIke ʻĀina – knowledge learned from connection to land
- Aloha ʻĀina – love and commitment to land
The themes will be integrated as part of course readings and lessons, and through West Oʻahu community service learning projects. Students will complete the semester with an understanding of how knowledge can be used to strengthen community health and land wellness. A final hōʻike (observable expression of lessons learned during coursework) will be the capstone experience for students in the ‘Ike Mauli Ola and Nānā I Ke Kumu learning communities. The hōʻike will happen in December and is open to parents and family members. Stay tuned for the confirmed hōʻike date. Mau ke aloha no Hawaiʻi!
The ‘Ike Mauli Ola: Pre-Nursing/Health Sciences Learning Community and Nānā I Ke Kumu: Environment, Education, and Community Learning Community are made possible by the UH West Oʻahu PIKO Project, a U.S. Department of Education Title III grant for the construction of health and wellness facilities and programs that integrate Native Hawaiian values of well-being.