Chaminade University of Honolulu

Early College

Early College Exposure

High school students earn college credit

For the past two years, Kapaa High School seniors, Tatum Harper and Taeani Largusa, have taken several synchronous online courses with Chaminade University professors, earning college credit while simultaneously fulfilling their high school requirements. The hours of studying and discipline paid off. Learning she just got into Columbia University, Harper was ecstatic.

“It’s my dream school,” said Harper, during Chaminade’s inaugural Early College Summit, which was attended by a mix of 70 students from Kapaa High School, Sacred Hearts Academy and Saint Louis. “Participating in this program has really prepared me for college.”

Largusa echoed the same sentiment, adding that she expects to hear from Syracuse University soon. “When I took the virtual campus tour I fell in love with it,” says the first generation, soon- to-be-college student. “This program has given me confidence in knowing that I can handle the demand of college courses.”

Early college programs can provide several benefits, including the opportunity for students to accelerate their education, which can lead to the completion of college degrees at an earlier age. There’s also the perk of cost savings, reducing tuition costs for future higher education.

Sacred Hearts Academy counselors Ashley Luke and Sharlene Chock both agreed that Chaminade’s early college program will help students become familiar with the expectations and rigor of college-level coursework, easing their transition to full-time college later on.

Students circled the room to fill out their bingo-like cards.
Students circled the room to fill out their bingo-like cards.
Saint Louis and Kapaa High School students mingled during the Early College Summit.
Saint Louis and Kapaa High School students mingled during the Early College Summit.
Sacred Hearts Academy students played a bingo-like game, with the first one to fill all 25 boxes with the right answers winning the grand prize.
Sacred Hearts Academy students played a bingo-like game, with the first one to fill all 25 boxes with the right answers winning the grand prize.
Chaminade’s Early College Director, Kim Baxter, addressed the students at the T.C. Ching Conference Center in Eiben Hall before they set off to visit other campus locations.
Chaminade’s Early College Director, Kim Baxter, addressed the students at the T.C. Ching Conference Center in Eiben Hall before they set off to visit other campus locations.
Sacred Hearts Academy juniors completed their first semester of college courses.
Sacred Hearts Academy juniors completed their first semester of college courses.

“Some struggled initially with the transition because of the extra studies involved in taking college-level courses,” said Luke, who counsels 10th and 11th graders. “Even our top students were stretched because they didn’t understand process versus perfection, which they’re used to achieving in high school.”

With this first cohort of 17 Lancers, Chock believes the college exposure will help them navigate the waters of post-secondary education. “They have already been individually challenged,” said the 12th grade counselor. “I think the experience shows them that college is attainable.”

Saint Louis School students Landon Dimaya, Cash Acorda and Kevin Simmons will begin their college courses next semester. The three Crusaders cited different reasons for participating in the program. Dimaya is a fraternal twin whose sister Lindsey is already a Sacred Hearts Academy participant. “I want to reduce the financial burden on my parents,” he said. “It would be really expensive to have to pay tuition for me and my sister at the same time.”

“I want to get ahead,” offered Acorda, who plans to apply to Stanford, with Simmons further noting that the experience would look good on his application.

Research demonstrates that early college programs show strong and lasting evidence of effectiveness for all students. It promotes both post-secondary access and success. The data is undeniable that students who participate in such programs will be ahead of their peers and graduate from a four-year university either debt-free or with very little federal student loan debt. The latest data further supports the claim that students who participate in these programs are better prepared to transfer to a four-year university than students who attend the university without prior college experience. 

Moreover, encouraging students to attend college improves individuals’ earnings over a career, increases the amount of taxes the government collects, and reduces government spending on federal assistance programs. 

“This program is such a great opportunity for these high school students to earn dual credits,” said Kim Baxter, Chaminade’s Early College Director. “And it gives them that real college experience.”

I Go 2 College

Fifth graders experience campus life for a day

Trying to explain Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’ (“Praise be to you,” a quotation from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of the Creatures”) to 12-year-old kids in a university environment is no easy task. Yet, Bro. Ed Brink, S.M. comfortably stood in front of a group of Sacred Hearts Academy, and St. Theresa and St. Elizabeth students and started his discussion with a simple question: have you ever received a birthday card in the mail? 

Raising her hand, Charlie Yim screamed out “from my auntie.” Sitting next to Yim, fellow Lancer, Camryn Abe, echoed the same response. In fact, every student had received a card, either from an auntie or a grandparent. Some even said they had received letters, which was the perfect segue for Brink to ask his second question: Why do we send cards and letters?

Surely enough, students answered with “to let us know they care for us and they love us.” It was a response that could not have been any better scripted than if Brink had pre-written the answer himself. After all, the Pope’s 184-page encyclical letter—Laudato Si’— focuses on care for the natural environment and all people, as well as broader questions of the relationship among God, humans and the Earth. The encyclical’s subtitle, “Care for Our Common Home,” reinforces these key themes.

Bro. Ed Brink teaches fifth graders about Laudato Si.

“Pope Francis’ encyclicals are letters to the people,” said Brink, Vice President of Mission and Rector. “They are letters to show his care and love for the people. Earth is God’s gift to us, and it belongs to everyone, but it needs our protection and immediate attention.”

After shuffling slides of a PowerPoint presentation, Brink handed out sheets of a word search puzzle that contained vocabulary that directly pertained to the environment and sustainability. Working together in groups of seven, students eagerly searched for words in the puzzle, circling “recycle” along a diagonal path and “earth” along a vertical column.

The exercise wasn’t lost on the students who were part of a cohort of 166 fifth graders who visited campus to experience college life. Now in its second year, “I Go 2 College” is a partnership between Chaminade University and Hawaii Catholic Schools.

“The I Go 2 College event exceeded my expectations,” said Llewellyn Young, Ph.D., superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools. “Our preliminary surveys showed that all stakeholders including teachers, parents and students were very satisfied with the experience.  

“Anecdotally, several parents called my office when we did our first event last spring to tell me that they thought the program was brilliant and inspiring,” Young continued. “Parents spoke with such enthusiasm. One parent told me that her son talked about it for a few weeks. He never mentioned college before the experience, but now he can’t wait to go.”

St. Theresa students, Heaven Lee and Katelin Nitta, and Sacred Hearts’s Lauren Schofield and Kiara Cruz all plan to attend university, and Chaminade may be their choice. The four fifth graders said this college experience was “fun—even with all the up-and-down hikes.” 

Attending for a second year, St. Theresa fifth-grade teacher Alyssa Yabes said last year’s students “really enjoyed it a lot.” “They kept talking that they loved going to college,” she said. “All the hiking, they told me, was worth it.”  

Started approximately 16 years ago, the “I Go To College” program aims to introduce 9-12-year-old students to higher education, even before they step onto a middle school campus. “The purpose of this program is to expose the students to college life at an early age and to provide them with a day that is fun and eye-opening,” said Kim Baxter, Director of Early College programs at Chaminade. “Additionally, one benefit to offering visit opportunities for younger students is that when they return as juniors or seniors, the students will be better prepared to participate in traditional campus visit programs.”

Early College Exposure

Sacred Hearts Academy students experience university-level courses

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Lindsey Dimaya takes college-level communications and history classes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she attends biology lab and expository writing courses. And in between, the 16-year-old Sacred Hearts Academy Lancer still has to juggle the requirements for her high school diploma.  

While the rest of Dimaya’s classmates decided to participate in a dual enrollment program between Sacred Hearts Academy and Chaminade University in early March, the Aiea resident didn’t render her final verdict until mid-summer. For the high school junior, the question of finishing high school and simultaneously earning college credit was one of the toughest decisions she has had to ever make in her 16 years.  

“It was a big decision,” says Dimaya, an inspiring journalist interested in the media industry. “I wasn’t sure if I was ready for the college experience and the added workload.”  

Lindsey Dimaya is glad she enrolled in the dual enrollment program between Sacred Hearts Academy and Chaminade.

Finances, however, also played a major role in Dimaya’s mind. Since she is one half of fraternal twins, her parents would have had to pay for college for two kids at the same time. And that adds up quickly. Earning college credits in high school could reduce the financial barrier to college for many students—and help address the student debt crisis. Indeed, it can be a faster, cheaper way to get a college degree.

“My parents encouraged me to participate in the dual enrollment program because it was a more affordable option,” Dimaya says. “In addition to getting a head start in college, I could also save my parents a lot of money.”  

States—including Hawaii—have prioritized college and career readiness as a key goal of high school, reflecting the reality that most jobs require postsecondary education. The Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) was established in 2002 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Over the past two decades, Early Colleges have expanded rapidly nationwide.

In a 2019 American Institutes for Research (AIR) study, researchers found that, over four years, Early Colleges cost about $3,800 more per student than traditional high schools. However, the estimated return on that investment was about $33,709 in increased lifetime earnings for each student. Furthermore, a cost-benefit study by AIR found that Early College programs pay off with lasting benefits for students and the broader population. (Chaminade’s program is separate from this consortium of Early Colleges, which are partnerships among school districts, charter management organizations or high schools, and two- or four-year colleges or universities.)

Also called concurrent enrollment, dual enrollment programs offer many cost-saving benefits, making these types of options popular among high schoolers. But many students, particularly those who are low-income and/or of color, lack access to a well-rounded high school education. Inadequate preparation in high school leaves high school graduates with fewer choices and pathways to postsecondary education. As a result, postsecondary enrollment and completion gaps persist. Early College High Schools focus explicitly on overcoming these challenges.  

“This is really a part of Chaminade’s service-oriented mission, which is to make higher education accessible to all Hawai’i students,” says Janet Davidson, Ph.D., Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and the driving force behind the University’s early college initiatives. “We launched a similar program with Kapaa High School in 2021. But unlike this new early college program, Kapaa participants only had the opportunity to earn high school and college credit at the same time. Sacred Heart students can actually earn their Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts.”  

Since this trend began, AIR researchers have conducted a number of comprehensive studies on their impact, finding overall that Early Colleges show strong and lasting evidence of effectiveness for all students. Promoting postsecondary access and success can be an effective policy strategy for improving postsecondary enrollment and completion rates.  

“Early college exposure is inspiring and formative,” says Kim Baxter, Chaminade’s Early College Director. “Sacred Hearts students will earn their Associates degree in May 2025, and two weeks later, they’ll graduate from high school.”  

Dimaya’s grateful that she opted in this program, which will prepare her to be better equipped when she continues to pursue her bachelor’s degree either at Chaminade or Portland University.  

“At first, I was afraid of the workload, but now I see that I can handle it,” Dimaya says confidently. “I think that this early college exposure has helped me manage my time, as well as taught me to be more independent and disciplined.”  

Read Lindsey’s story in the Sacred Hearts Academy newspaper.

I Go To College

Fifth-Graders Attend Classes and a Mock Graduation Ceremony

The excitement was palpable as 254 fifth-graders from Catholic schools across the islands descended on campus to participate in the inaugural “I Go To College” event. Gathering at the Sullivan Family Library Lawn, 20 students from St. Theresa Honolulu were playing cornhole, spike ball and Jenga, as they waited for fellow students to arrive from St. Catherine, St. Anthony’s on Maui, St. Theresa Kauai, Holy Family Catholic Academy, Mary Star of the Sea, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Saint Louis, St. John Vianney, St. Joseph Parish School, and St. Joseph in Hilo. Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington welcomed the students, their teachers and chaperones to campus.

“This is all they could talk about yesterday and today on the bus,” said St. Theresa Honolulu fifth-grade teacher Alyssa Yabes of the students. “Some of them were even saying that they were going to graduate from college even before their older siblings.”

Started approximately 15 years ago on the mainland, the “I Go To College” program aims to expose 9-12-year-old students to higher education, even before they step onto a middle school campus. According to Llewellyn Young, Ph.D., superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools, this type of early exposure encourages these fifth graders to start thinking about attending college.

“I’ve seen the anecdotal results of these visits,” said Young, a former dean at Arizona Western, where “I Go To College” visits have taken place since 2010. “We want these kids to see that going to college isn’t such a far-fetched idea. It is achievable.”

Sitting across from each other during “What’s for Dinner? Setting an Interfaith Table” with Sister Malia Wong, Ph.D., Keslen Carroll and Julia Carlos from Holy Family Catholic Academy were enthusiastic about being on campus, both expressing that they plan to attend college.

Keslen Carroll receives her diploma from Drs. Lynn Babington and Lance Askildson during a mock commencement at Mamiya Theatre.
Keslen Carroll receives her diploma from Drs. Lynn Babington and Lance Askildson during a mock commencement at Mamiya Theatre.

“This is going to be a good day,” said Carlos, with a wide smile. “I’m not sure where I want to go college, but maybe Idaho University because I like the snow.”

A seven-year longitudinal study* of a college prep program for middle school students showed that “college visits were an integral part of the program.” Students who went on a campus visit had more positive perceptions of college than those who did not. Research also shows the importance of starting college and career planning, and awareness in middle school. Early exposure to a college campus makes a difference, especially among first-generation college-bound, and other underrepresented groups, which are an integral element to increase college enrollment and diversity on campus.

“We’re trying to make the transition from grade school to university as seamless as possible,” said Dr. Janet Davidson, Chaminade Vice Provost and Academic Affairs Professor, who helped organize the day’s event. “We’re hoping that these kids will continue with their education and with their Catholic journey.”

Before setting off on their campus tour, students were divided into eight groups, offering a more intimate setting to simulate the typical Chaminade class size. Class topics varied from “Landing on the Moon on Mars—An Engineering Design Challenge” and EDventures in Science: Water is Life” to “Agriculture and Food Waste” and “Pocket Sharks & Water Bears: An Introduction to Biodiversity.”

“By the time they’re in grade eight or nine, it’s almost too late to spark their interest in college,” Young said. “We’re collaborating with Chaminade in a way that we’ve never collaborated in the past. When I approached Drs. Babington and Askildson about ‘I Go to College,’ they were thrilled, and immediately said yes. This is our pilot year and we’re already talking about how to refine it for next year.”  

Students ended the day with a “graduation” ceremony at Mamiya Theatre with Dr. Lynn Babington and Chaminade Provost Dr. Lance Askildson presenting them with certificates. 

“You are now part of our Silversword ‘ohana,” Babington told students. “I hope you learned a lot after completing your first full day of college.” 

*Research in Middle Level Education, Rich A. Radcliffe & Liz C. Stephens, 2008

Fifth-graders attended classes, toured the campus and participated in a mock Commencement during “I Go To College” event, which aims to expose 9-12-year-old students to higher education.

Kapaa High School Students Earn College Credit Through Partnership

Chaminade University is taking its early college initiative to new levels, forging a cutting-edge partnership with Kapaa High to connect rural Kauai students to hands-on, online instruction created exclusively for them.

The idea grew out of the need for robust remote learning options during the pandemic, explained Chaminade Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Dr. Janet Davidson. Shortly after many campuses went fully to distance learning, Chaminade delivered a “train-the-trainer” workshop for Kauai teachers on best practices in online instruction. From there, a relationship was formed—and grew.

Kapaa High School students in Chaminade class

And roughly a year later, those same partners with the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE) on Kauai approached Davidson with an idea: would you be interested, they asked, in helping us stand up a dual credit college program exclusively for students at Kapaa High? The answer: a resounding yes.

So Chaminade and the DOE started developing a program and seeking financial support for it.

The inaugural cohort was launched in Fall 2021, giving participants—both juniors and seniors—the opportunity to earn high school and college credit at the same time. The program was designed around Kapaa High School’s bell schedule and online courses are delivered live by Chaminade faculty members.

Davidson said students take the courses on Kapaa High School’s campus with a teacher on hand to offer assistance. Chaminade also provides supports to participants, including advising and educational tech.

Kapaa High School students in Chaminade class

That first term, students were able to enroll in Human Nutrition and English 101: Introduction to Expository Writing. In Spring 2022, Chaminade offered College Algebra and PSY 101: Intro to Psychology.

Davidson said a junior entering the program has the chance to earn 24 college credits in all.

“The students who are participating have all different types of interests and are at different levels,” Davidson said. “This is really about expanding opportunities—and helping students imagine themselves going to college after graduating from high school. We want to help strengthen that pipeline.”

Students even participate in labs remotely.

Davidson said 23 students took courses through the program in the 2021–2022 academic year.

Of those, all 11 seniors graduated from high school and applied for college.

Kapaa High School students on a trolley at Chaminade

With 31 students at Kapaa High School in the program this Fall Term, Davidson is proud about how quickly the program has matured and is excited about the potential for future expansion. “We do want to expand—with the right partner,” Davidson said. “The biggest factor for the success of this program is mutual trust. Together, our goal is to make a positive difference in the lives of these high schoolers.”

Davidson added student mentoring is a critical element of the program.

Members of the inaugural cohort, for example, were invited to spend a weekend at Chaminade for intensive workshops on everything from how to finance college to how to succeed in higher education.

“We had an opportunity to engage the students and they were universally very appreciative of the experience,” Davidson said. “The faculty is what made all the difference. They also felt very supported.”

Pre-College Summer Institutes 2022

“Cooking with Chemistry”

“Think Like a Champion”

“Psychology of Happiness”

Those might sound like great reads—or fascinating TED Talks.

But they were actually some of the engaging and hands-on courses offered at Chaminade University over the summer to groups of Hawaii high schoolers. The students were participants in Chaminade’s Summer Institutes, made possible at the university thanks to a partnership with the federal GEARUP program.

The workshops are designed to give high school students a taste of college—and get them hooked.

Participants this year for the seven, two-week sessions included ninth to 12th graders from Farrington, Kaimukī, Ānuenue and McKinley high schools. And in addition to going on field trips and tackling fun projects, they got the chance to attend co-curricular sessions on college readiness. The topics covered everything you’d need to know as you prepare to graduate from high school and plan for college, including applying for financial aid, navigating admissions and student life.

Pure Imagination

Aaron Williamson, assistant professor of Accounting, taught a session called “The Successes of Pure Imagination: Business Development and Entrepreneurial Mentorship.” He said the course was designed as “an immersion into the world of entrepreneurship”—from business plan development, brainstorming sessions, strategic thinking skills-building and the application of “principles of success” in daily life.

“The entire process of teaching the course was memorable—from idea inception to business plan presentations,” he said. “Having a small part in assisting students to see how an idea can impact the world and developing theoretical businesses that will be on the streets of tomorrow is so enjoyable.”

Cooking with Chemistry
Chaminade University Summer Institute - Cooking with Chemistry

In Dr. Francis Sakai-Kawada’s “Cooking with Chemistry” course, students tie-dyed their lab coats to better understand the chemistry of dyes, made their own bars of soap as they explored the properties of saponification, and took chemistry into the kitchen to make butter, mayonnaise, boba and ice cream.

“The goal was develop activities that were hands-on and engaging,” he said. “We had the creative license and flexibility to tie underlying scientific and chemistry concepts to every activity. Our priority was to incorporate an element of fun. We wanted our students to see that so much of what we deal with in our daily life can be related to chemistry, from food to household cleaning products.”

Kawada added that students started the course a little shy, but slowly opened up.

And the highlight of the session: visiting the IL Gelato Factory to talk story with owner Dr. Dirk Koeppenkastrop (a fellow chemist), who discussed his path from a chemistry lab to studying the art and science of gelato in Italy and the “perfect ratio of ingredients” that goes into the sweet treat.

Psychology of Happiness
Chaminade University Summer Institute - Psychology of Happiness

Dr. Abby Halston, an assistant professor of psychology at Chaminade and clinical director of the university’s Marriage and Family Counseling program, taught the “Psychology of Happiness” course—which incorporated everything from guided meditation and breathing to personal journaling.

Students also put together personal stress management plans, worked to identify their hopes and dreams for college and beyond, and participated in mock career development interviews. The group also got to go on a field trip to Beyond Monet, an immersive experience into the artist’s works.

“I wanted to create a fun and life-changing institute where high school students could gain deep personal insight into their psychological wellbeing while learning personal management skills that could be utilized throughout their lifespan,” Halston said. “We focused on understanding the keys to happiness … and the power of our mindset to achieving our hopes and dreams.”

She added, “I cannot wait until next summer’s institute!”

For the Love of Math
Chaminade University Summer Institute - For the Love of Math

For the Summer Institutes course on “Creating Number Sense to Increase Love of Math,” Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Travis Mukina wasn’t just teaching math fundamentals, but un-teaching some bad math habits. “Most days consisted of mental math activities that forced students to view numbers in ways their elementary school teachers did not allow,” Mukina said. “We broke numbers apart, changed their values and accommodated for the change at the end of the problem.”

“Hands-on manipulatives were also used daily to allow students to visually see how the numbers were working with each other in multiple different strategies. Every activity ensured the students were learning from each other rather than from me. It was amazing to witness!” Mukina added.

He said one of the big takeaways for students was that math isn’t a set of rules and procedures to memorize, but about creativity and flexibility. Mukina also wanted participants to see how math can be used seamlessly in everyday life—and how even complicated things can be broken down.

“I feel so honored to be part of this summer institute,” he said.

Living Pono
Chaminade University Summer Institute - For the Love of Math

For the “Living Pono” institute, School of Nursing and Health Professions Professors Dr. Jennifer Nafarrete and Dr. Edna Magpantay-Monroe covered a wide range of health topics—from nutrition to human anatomy and physiology to reproductive health. Along the way, students tried their hand at cooking, engaged in some friendly competition, and put together presentations to tackle big topics.

Magpantay-Monroe said students really enjoyed the concepts of emotional intelligence and mindfulness, and especially loved their field trip to Ho‘omaluhia Botanical Garden—where they were challenged to strengthen their ability to “notice” and “be with nature.”

“I really enjoyed being a source of information to these students—helping them realize self-care is important but they also need to be self-aware of what is happening around them,” she said. “Being with nature helped increase their capacity to be mindful and reduce their stressors.”

Nafarrete added she was also happy to give students actionable, healthy solutions they can use everyday—like recipes. “My thought process was to find fun ways to engage students into making conscious choices about their health while considering how it affects the environment,” she said.

Think Like a Champion
Chaminade University Summer Institute - Think Like a Champion

Dr. Guanlin Gao, associate professor of Economics at Chaminade and director of the Economic Education Center for Excellence, focused on personal finance literacy in her course, “Think Like a Champion.” She wanted students to walk away with a better understanding of how to handle money.

“We spent one day visiting a local financial institution to learn more about how they operate and contribute to managing personal finances,” Gao said. “We spent another day on a fun team competition that involved budgeting, shopping and cooking. We even played a game that was all about inflation.”

Gao said the point of all the exercises was to help students see how better (and smarter) financial decisions ultimately lead to happier lives. “Interacting with the students was my favorite part,” she said. “For many of them, our trip to a bank was the first time they’d seen an actual vault. During our cooking competition, they all made nutritious meals. The best part: they were so proud of themselves.”