Native Hawaiian Student Services (NHSS) workshops are geared to support Native Hawaiian students pursuing their degrees at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa through a wide range of topic areas, including academics, wellness, Mālama ʻĀina, professional development, leadership, financial aid/scholarship and career exploration.
Although NHSS workshops target Native Hawaiian students, all workshops are open to the general student population as well as UH Mānoa faculty and staff and the community.
I Mua E Nā Pōki ‘i Graduate Student Support Program
IMENP was designed to provide important co-curricular programming support to native Hawaiian graduate students enrolled at Mānoa and graduate students of the Hawai‘inuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge through workshops, retreats, conference travel and other projects.
Graduate Development Series
Series of professional development and co-curricular workshops focused on a variety of skills and subject areas vital to success as a graduate student. Potential workshop topics include scholarly citation styles, Indigenous methodology and research, IRB process, how to compose a thesis or dissertation committee, Curriculum Vitae, etc.
Writing Retreat
Designed to provide a venue for graduate students to collaborate with other students, spend focused time on their writing, and to improve their writing skills. The retreat also provides a chance for students to gather in a place free of distractions.
Career Lecture Brown Bag Series
Career Lecture Brown Bag Series is a collaborative event with Puʻuhonua from the College of Education. This monthly event allows our students to inquire, explore, and learn about various career paths from Native Hawaiians who are successful in those fields. This event was created to show that Native Hawaiians can flourish in any career.
Scholarship Workshop
NHSS puts on several workshops that revolve around scholarships. We have stressed the importance of starting early with scholarship searches, ancestry verification (for the scholarships that require this before an application is submitted), personal statements, etc. so we begin our series of workshops late in the fall semester. As soon as the spring semester begins, the scholarship series resume and are more prevalent during “scholarship season”. We gather information about many scholarship sources and programs, primarily including those that specifically award to students of Native Hawaiian ancestry.
Transfer & Welcome Reception
NHSS hosts an annual transfer & welcome reception for all Native Hawaiian and transfer students to UH Mānoa. The event is an opportunity for students, their families and friends a dynamic space to learn more about campus-based and community resources and support services. Participating students get a chance to UH Mānoa faculty and staff as well as other transfer and Native Hawaiian students, this is also an that informs students about NHSS and other Native Hawaiian serving programs available on campus.
Wellness Workshop
NHSS understands that student life, is not one dimensional. In an effort to support the ever changing demands on students, NHSS offers various wellness workshops to help students alleviate stress, encourage healthy lifestyle choices as well as provides students with a safe space to talk about their life challenges. Walk Wednesday is an example of one of our wellness workshops; it allows students and staff an opportunity to “get active” with peers and NHSS staff in a weekly brisk walk about the UH Mānoa campus. This event not only promotes healthy lifestyle habits but also provides participants a space to openly discuss health education and stress relief.
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Hour
ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Hour is hosted each and every Wednesday for students to practice their Hawaiian language skills. All students, from beginning to advanced levels, are invited to come together and utilize their ʻōlelo outside of the classroom. Our goal is to promote the use of the Hawaiian language in real-life situations.
Aloha ʻĀina Days
Aloha ʻĀina (love for the land) is a community service opportunity for both high school and UH-Mānoa students that was created to give back to the community and land as well as create first hand higher education opportunities for college students. High school students from different parts of Oʻahu are invited to participate with college students to get “down and dirty” and give to the ʻāina in various locations while also learning to make connections with one another. The various community service projects we have supported range from Ka Papa Loʻi o Kānewai to Kupu Ola in Nānākuli. NHSS – Mālama Program hosts Aloha ʻĀina events each semester.
Leadership Training
NHSS offers a series of leadership training workshops designed to prepare students for their leadership roles at UH Mānoa while also learning how to balance the numerous responsibilities they have day to day. Some previous workshops topics include how we affect the world around us, oli workshops, releasing creativity, and facilitating icebreakers.