Student Life- February

Hello Everyone!

     As we approach the half- way mark of the semester, things are definitely starting to pile up. I just had my first round of exams and papers due, which were not too bad considering my study habits have improved from last semester. However, aside from work and academia, there are many exciting events taking place within the university. In this blog entry, I will be talking about student life at HPU and the various activities happening around the campus.

    Particularly, last night I attended “Shark Night” at the Blaisdell Arena! It showcased both our Womens’ and Mens’ Basketball Teams as they went head to head against Fresno Pacific University and also celebrated senior night for the senior players.  We had a great crowd of HPU supporters and different organizations had special giveaways for the event. Most notably, Kam’s Helmets donated dozens of free bicycle and skateboard helmets to students from any school. Kam’s Helmets is a program established by HPU in rememberance of former HPU basketball player Kameron Steinhoff, who passed away from head injuries sustained in a skateboard accident. The program seeks to provide adequate safety helmets to low- income children and community members. Furthermore, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted a student tailgate before the games and provided a free hotdog and drink to all HPU students.

    Last night was HPU’s February Science Pub, showcasing one of HPU’s management and marketing professors- Thomas Kohler. Professor Kohler is the founder of travel2change, a nonprofit organization that combines concepts of social entrepreneurship, business strategy, social activities, travel, and community service. He is actually my Marketing 3000 professor, which is very cool because our class project is focused around travel2change. I enjoy the concepts we are learning in his class and how our project can possibly become a part of travel2change.

    February has generally been a very social month around the campus. The Enactus Club sold various valentine’s gifts and flowers out on Fort Street during the Valentine’s Day Week. They even did classroom deliveries, which is always cute and humorous to see. The Resident Life team also held auditions for “Da Freakshow,” HPU’s talent show. As I’ve stated in my introductory entry, I like to write slam poetry and hip- hop/rap music in my spare time. I auditioned to perform one my songs and was selected for Da Freakshow! I am excitingly looking forward to the event on March 12, which will be held at Hawaii Theatre.

I hope you all are having a great week! Talk to you soon. Thank you for reading.

Scholarships and Awards

Hello Everyone!

I hope all of you had a good Valentine’s Day and Presidents’ Day Weekend! The 3- day weekend was definitely needed.  Well, now we’re at about a month and a half in to the semester and it’s nearly almost half- way through! Spring always seems to go by very quickly. School- work has been getting a little bit more challenging as we approach the first round of papers, exams, and projects. However, I’m actually having some fun getting to know my classmates as we work through projects and study together. I have also been getting all my paper work together and contacting professors to write recommendation letters for me for various scholarships; which brings me to this blog’s topic- Scholarships and Awards.

Let’s face it, most of us don’t have excessive college funds and our parents and grandparents are still working to survive. I grew up witnessing my mother struggle through all the hardships of single- parenthood, working two jobs, and she still was able to obtain her college degree (from HPU to be exact, LOL). How ironic right? Anyways, what I’m trying to say is that there is no excuse as to why you cannot pay for school. As I’ve stated, I’m in the military and receive education benefits through Veteran’s Affairs, which help out a lot. But, the military is no easy task and it isn’t for everyone. So, most students rely on government assistance like FAFSA or scholarships and grants.

HPU in particular awards many students based on the information provided in their applications. GPA and academic standing are definitely looked highly upon; but, extra- curricular activities and leadership experience add a lot more to your college application. Personally speaking, I was awarded the O’hana Scholarship due to my academic excellence and well roundedness in high school. I have recently been contacting and visiting the scholarship office frequently to get a head start on applying for scholarships for next school year. I advise all students to start researching scholarships you might be eligible for as soon as you can. That way, you have time to write your personal statement, put together a nice resume, and most importantly, give your professors/mentors time to write letters of recommendation. As you get older, you realize that the people you meet are all part of your social network. Aside from Face Book and online social networks, your professors, coaches, and mentors who have helped you throughout different stages in your life can say a lot about your character and ultimately push your chances at getting scholarships and awards. Schools and businesses will give scholarship money to the students that they feel best fits their candidacy.

Right now, I just sent in applications for two different scholarships and await their decisions. I am nervous but glad that I got those out of the way so I can apply for more. On top of that, I didn’t do as well as I wanted to last semester so this semester I am focusing a lot harder. Hopefully, this will help my chances for scholarships in the future. Don’t ever let money be a barrier to chasing your dreams. If you want something, go out and do whatever is necessary to earn it. Thanks for reading.

My HPU Experience as a Veteran Student

Hello Everyone! This past weekend I had drill training, since I’m in the Army National Guard. So today, I’m still a little tired but ready for another full week. In this blog, I want to talk about my experience as a military student at HPU.

I joined the military right after I graduated high school in 2010. I originally applied and was accepted to HPU prior to enlisting. However, I knew that college was going to be very pricey for me, especially coming from a single- parent household. Therefore, I decided to join the military and was away from home in training for about 8 months. I was able to meet a lot of different people from all over the states and I feel like my military training experience pushed me to grow up a little faster than most of my peers and be more independent.

Upon returning home, in the fall of 2011, I called HPU to see if I had to re- apply to attend the fall semester. Long story short, I didn’t have to reapply and on top of my military education benefits, I was awarded the Ohana Scholarship. As a military student, I believe we come in with very unique experiences. Some of us have already had military careers and/or been deployed and even for younger soldiers like me, we already have been through rigorous physical and mental training. Furthering our college education allows us to pursue our career goals and utilize leadership skills we have gained in the force.

HPU’s military education staff has been nothing but pleasant and extremely helpful in walking me through all the paperwork and legal documentation that needed to be done in order to receive my education benefits. The staff is really knowledgeable and familiar with what needs to be done and I appreciate them very much.

One thing I really like about HPU, especially as a veteran, is that the university offers numerous ways to obtain a degree. You can attend the regular fall/spring semesters, Military Campus Program (an accelerated distance learning program for soldiers who work full time or do not want to attend the regular semesters), as well as the joint ROTC program with the University of Hawaii. On top of that, in the downtown campus military education center, there is a veteran’s lounge where you can study, relax over a snack or cup of coffee, utilize the computers, or even catch a quick episode of your favorite T.V show in between classes. I think that the veteran lounge is one of the best additions that HPU has made in helping veterans get reconnected in school.

All in all, I’m very glad that HPU recognizes the hard work and sacrifices that veterans make. HPU definitely shows respect to its military students and provides all the right avenues to pursue our education and career goals.

Alright folks, I’ll be back soon. Thanks for reading :]

My Two Favorite Classes.

Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a good Super Bowl weekend! Let me just say that Bruno Mars definitely did a great job during his half- time performance. (He’s from Hawaii fyi, lol.) Anyways, I apologize if I haven’t written in a while but things are starting to get a lot busier with school and work and everything. Well, today starts the fourth week of the Spring semester! I can finally say that I’m adjusting fairly to all my professors’ teaching styles, class material, and homework. At this point, I’m really starting to like my ENG 2201 class (Literary Utopias and Dystopias) as well as my MKTG 3000 class (Principles of Marketing).

First off, I’ve always loved reading and writing. Recently, with movies gaining popularity like the Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and other utopian/dystopian stories, I’ve been more interested in learning about the literary concepts behind these stories. Although this particular class is an elective, I’m very happy with my choice and I’m learning a lot. Being that it is an online course, people tend to think it’s easier than taking it in class or that discussions don’t require much effort. However, our online discussions are very much filled with debate and my classmates are very insightful with their responses to the excerpts and books we read. Currently, we are reading The Giver. We’re only about half- way through but I can already tell that this book is going to be added to my collection of favorites. Without spoiling the plot for you, it is basically a fictional story of a future society where people’s lives are carefully planned by the government. I’m eager to finish the story and read the rest of the assigned books. 

Secondly, my Marketing class is online as well. Marketing is also my major. I chose to study marketing in college because of my heavy involvement in the DECA Marketing Club in high school. From my freshman to senior year, I participated in statewide and nationwide marketing role- play competitions and took many classes geared toward marketing and entrepreneurship. I loved the creative aspect of marketing but also the careful planning that’s involved. I feel like it’s a perfect major for me because I like to be creative but I can also be very meticulous. I believe Marketing offers that mix.

With that said, during these first initial weeks of school, most of my Marketing class work has simply been reading and participating in online discussions. However, we do have a cumulative project coming up that requires us to work with a non- profit organization we are interested in and find the best way to promote their mission and get people to join. This past Friday, my professor hosted a talk/discussion at the Capital One Café in Waikiki. The purpose of the discussion was to act as an opener to our class project. There were about 40+ students from various levels in Marketing (undergraduate and graduate) and we had to discuss the positive and negative aspects of 4 different possible futures of Hawaii. At first I was a little intimidated because I was younger than most of the students, but my group had very insightful dialogue. I like that we were able to meet outside of the usual classroom or online classroom environment. I like that HPU professors provide students with more than just lectures and tests; but a true competency to see the world through different lenses.

Alright everyone, I will be checking in soon! Have a great week!