Hawaiʻi Community Foundation listens with intention to the voices of Hawaiʻi students
Ten students from across the state research college persistence among their peers to inform the foundation's education strategy.
Since its establishment in 1916, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF) has aimed to inspire generosity, advocate for equity, forge connections, and invest in community to create a better Hawaiʻi. To HCF, listening and incorporating youth voices into their work is not just a “to do” — the foundation’s education sector actively seeks to amplify the voices of students and empower learners by involving them in decision-making so they can co-create their own learning experiences and journeys.
This June, the foundation put this commitment into action alongside the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities through a unique Youth Action Research Fellowship. The fellowship brought together ten students from Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and the Island of Hawaiʻi to collaborate as researchers about their own lives and experiences, as well as those of their peers.
Led by the Gardner Center's Community Engagement Associate Liz Newman, the students explored a number of questions important to HCF's strategic direction, including: "What does it take to succeed beyond your first year of college?" In answering this question, the group hoped to bridge the gap between their personal life experiences and how HCF can support other students like them navigate their postsecondary education journeys.
Kiana Vallente, a fellow from Hawaiʻi and a student at University of Hawaiʻi Hilo, explained that she was drawn to the fellowship as a chance to explore and empower youth voices. With guidance from the Gardner Center, she knew she could gain the research skills needed to lead meaningful conversations about the future of Hawaiʻi.
Over 12 weeks, Kiana and her teammates articulated research questions rooted in HCF’s interests in understanding the factors that influence students’ plans to enroll in college, as well as what helps students persist and succeed in postsecondary education. They also drew from their own curiosity and educational experiences, exploring additional questions about the influence of community narrative on students’ higher education decisions and sense of belonging in college. Together, they created an interview protocol and conducted 40 interviews with college students who had attended high school in Hawaiʻi, including each other.
The power to shape the future
Their efforts culminated in a powerful presentation titled He Lohe Ke Ola: To hear is life; Listening with Intention to the Voices of Hawaiʻi College Students to Strengthen Our Communities, which the group shared with an audience of over 40 HCF staff and community partners along with a detailed memo that included key recommendations based on their research findings.
Tara Shibuya, HCF’s director of community grants and initiatives who championed this effort from the beginning, urged attendees to: “Listen with open minds and open hearts — because what [these students] have to say has the power to shape the future of our work in education and in Hawaiʻi.”
In their research, the fellows explored what influenced students' decisions about higher education. Among their findings, they highlighted the strong influence that community narratives have on the decision to remain in Hawaiʻi or attend college on the mainland. Another influence they identified was social media — around 60 percent of interviewees indicated that social media had an impact on their decisions about higher education, and most of those described it as positive. To these students, social media helped foster academic ambition, promoted college in a positive light, shared the realities of higher education, and provided educational resources. Thus, the researchers concluded that social media could help spread information to otherwise hard-to-reach audiences. Translating this finding into practice, they recommended that HCF and its partners make better use of social media platforms to promote programs and scholarships for students.
HCF has committed itself to use these findings and recommendations to guide its education sector vision and strategies. Meanwhile, for the fellows, the experience reinforced the importance and impact of their voices. "We're all working toward the same goals," shared Kiana. "I hope our recommendations can encourage stakeholders across the islands to collaborate.”
As HCF continues to advance its mission, the fellows’ insights serve as a reminder to listen to and honor the voices of the young people who will one day lead Hawaiʻi’s communities.
He lohe ke ola: To hear is life
