Summer Institutes

Pre-College Summer Institutes 2022

August 30, 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

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

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

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

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

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.”

Data Science SPICE Summer Institute

August 18, 2021

For a third year, budding data scientists from across Hawaii and the mainland came together for Chaminade’s Supporting Pacific Indigenous Computing Excellence (SPICE) Data Science Summer Institute.

2021 Data Science SPICE Summer Institute virtual class meeting

The 2021 program, held virtually, included 21 participants and four student mentors. In addition to Chaminade, students hailed from Stanford University, Borough of Manhattan Community College, the University of Hawaii Maui College, College of the Marshall Islands and Northern Marianas College. They also came from a diversity of academic backgrounds, from Nursing to Environmental Studies to English.

The month-long seminar is focused on helping students use data as they seek to make a positive difference in their communities and includes immersive experiences, collaboration and a final project. Institute organizers say students walk away not only with new skills, but with a new appreciation of how data science can be used across disciplines to help spotlight problems and highlight potential solutions.

SPICE is held in partnership with the Texas Advanced Computing Center. Program leader Dr. Kelly Gaither is associate director at the center. Other faculty who helped make the institute possible include Chaminade Assistant Professor Dr. Rylan Chong, director of the University’s Data Science program, and Chaminade Vice President of Innovation Dr. Helen Turner, who is also a professor of Biology.

Students took up all sorts of questions and issues in their final projects for the SPICE institute, from socioeconomic factors linked to heart disease in Hawaii to the potentially positive relationship between video games and social anxiety to the impacts of wildfires in California on chronic diseases.

2021 Data Science SPICE Summer Institute Sarah Carroll's presentation

The overall project and poster winner was Chaminade student Sarah Carroll, who looked into whether the long-term impacts of food security in the United States include higher rates of chronic disease. Using publicly available data sets, she mapped out food insecurity in the US and found a slightly positive correlation between food insecure individuals and rates of arthritis, asthma and cancer.

She noted further study is needed to determine what’s driving chronic diseases in food insecure populations, along with which US ethnic groups have the highest rates of inadequate food access.

There were also three track winners named.

In the healthcare track, Chaminade student Caili Cain took the top prize. She sought to investigate implicit bias in the medical field, including how medical school pedagogy might be endorsing false beliefs about biological differences between Black and white patients. Specifically, she was interested in how official and informal medical school curricula contribute to bias about how patients manage pain.

Chaminade student Rhea Jose was the track winner for Environment, with a presentation that explored whether food availability and consumption in the US can show food loss or waste. She said the next step in her research might include investigating food waste per capita in order to make local level changes. And Chaminade’s Amber Sablan was recognized for her social justice-focused presentation. In her project, she sought to determine whether gentrification on Oahu could be contributing to homelessness by driving up home prices and bringing in new higher-income tenants. She said the lack of available data from 2020 limited her research, but she is interested in furthering her study into the issue. More specifically, Sablan wants to look at the number of unoccupied homes on Oahu along with outmigration rates.

Immersive Experiences Through Summer Institutes

August 13, 2021

Dozens of Hawai’i public high school students converged on Chaminade’s campus over the summer for a host of immersive learning opportunities—trying their hand at everything from spoken word poetry to marine conservation to designing a safehouse for a zombie apocalypse.

Chaminade’s Summer Institutes 2021 offerings, part of the University’s ongoing commitment to early college programming, gave rising juniors and seniors at two public high schools the chance to do a deep dive into disciplines of high interest.

The intensive, 10-day courses were free to McKinley and Kaimukī high school students and also included standalone college preparatory sessions on how to pay for higher education, apply for financial aid, select an academic pathway and build leadership skills.

Dr. Janet Davidson, Chaminade Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, said 37 students participated across five Summer Institutes courses. The offerings were made possible in part thanks to a US Department of Education GEAR UP grant.

Davidson said GEAR UP is focused on boosting college attendance among low-income students. To promote that goal, she said, the Summer Institutes program at Chaminade offered participants a high-quality, engaging college-level experience.

“The students had rewarding experiences on our campus—with each other and with their faculty and peer mentors,” Davidson said, adding that enrollees also benefitted from co-curricular sessions with the University’s advising, financial aid and admissions offices.

“Through our Summer Institutes, we aimed to support the academic growth of students, but also provided a series of college readiness sessions. We look forward to growing on our successes this year and provide even more institutes next summer.”

Doing It Yourself: A New World

high school students working together on a business plan project during the business summer institute

Among the available academic sessions was a course—taught by Accounting Professor Aaron Williamson—on entrepreneurship, business modeling and communication skills. “Doing It Yourself: A New World” also included an emphasis on leadership and team building.

Williamson said he wanted the immersion program to give students a “taste of what business really is. At its root, business is the thoughts, dreams and initiatives of a multitude of folks from history to present who simply had an idea and acted on it.”

He added that he was most excited to watch students tap into their passions and personal interests—and then figure out how to direct that energy into a business plan.

“I fully expect to be walking into a few of their establishments one day,” he added.

Word Wizards: The Magic of Poetry and Hip Hop

high school students at the museum of art during a field trip for the english summer institute

English Professor Dr. Allison Paynter drew from English 256 (Poetry and Drama) to design her summer institute course entitled, “Word Wizards: The Magic of Poetry and Hip Hop.” In addition to analyzing hip hop lyrics, traditional poetry and verse-driven dramas, students wrote poetry and then put on spoken word performances.

Paynter, herself a performance poet, said she most enjoyed seeing her student participants collaborate with one another on writing.

“I also loved watching my students perform their original poetry during our Spoken Word event,” she said. “I would like to believe each student felt empowered through the process of writing creative pieces.”

Marine Science Immersion

high school students at the beach looking at marine life during the marine science summer institute

Dr. Gail Grabowsky, dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Chaminade, co-taught a “Marine Science Immersion” summer course with Dr. Lupita Ruiz-Jones, an assistant professor of Environmental Sciences. Students in the session spent the first week exploring the ocean environment from the perspective of a marine scientist and the second considering the impacts of humans on marine ecosystems.

Participants spent time in the classroom, lab and, of course, the ocean.

Ruiz-Jones said students took field trips to Waimea Bay, Sharks Cove, Makapuu, Makaha and Ala Moana Beach. They even took a walk from campus to nearby Pālolo Stream, inspiring three students to return the following weekend for a stream cleanup project.

Grabowsky said a central takeaway of the course for students was just how incredible marine systems are—and how important they are to preserve.

“I wanted them to walk away with a knowledge of the ocean, of course, but also a feeling that college is wonderful and an understanding of how it works,” she said. “I hope they all came away loving Chaminade!”

Psychology Studies

Psychology Associate Professor Dr. Darren Iwamoto led a course in Psychology Studies, challenging students to take a journey of self-discovery and self-awareness to understand the importance of mental health in everyday life.

Iwamoto, who is clinical director of the School Counseling and Undergraduate Psychology programs at Chaminade, said he kicked off the course with two questions: Why do we do what we do? And why do we think what we think?”

It was through those lines of inquiry that Iwamoto encouraged students to consider how they tackle stress, handle change and plan for the future—and how they might apply new and healthier coping strategies in their own lives to promote personal wellbeing.

“It was so memorable to watch so much personal and academic growth in just two weeks,” he said, adding that he also learned so much about his own teaching from the experience.

“I had to learn different strategies of student engagement because I didn’t have grades being the underlying motivator,” he said. “I really like how this Summer Institute flowed and how students experienced psychology versus being told about it.”

Visualizing the Future

high school student working on their zombie apocalypse safehouse during the art and design summer institute

The fifth offering over the summer was called “Visualizing the Future.”

Dr. Junghwa Suh, an associate professor of Arts and Design at Chaminade, led the course—modeled after Art 103 or Visual Design. Students were introduced to the power of visualizations and used problem-solving skills and design tools to create models.

After learning the basics of hands-on modeling tools, Suh set the students to work in groups to create a zombie safehouse—yes, you read that right. Suh said the engaging project required students to think about space planning while trying to figure out how to protect the safehouse’s occupants from a decidedly horrific fate.

“I wanted my students to get a clear and dynamic overview of arts and design, see the connection of arts and design to various disciplines … and use their creativity and logical processing to execute design solutions to given problems,” she said.

Suh added that the students’ final safehouse designs were impressive.

“I hope these creative minds gained some new perspectives in arts and design and understand various possibilities they can pursue with this study,” she said.

And she’s already looking forward to next summer’s courses. “It is so beneficial for students to see how different disciplines come together to solve world problems,” she said. “These types of institutes help high school students in making decisions on what they want to study.”