Faculty and Staff: Join the Hānai Program

Beginning in Fall 2017, the Office of First Year Experience, in partnership with the Office of Human Resources, is rolling out a new way to engage first-time freshmen with HPU faculty and staff!

Currently, first-time, full-time freshmen are placed into groups with a Peer Mentor (previously Peer Academic Coach), who provides support and guidance during the student’s first year at HPU. Faculty and staff are now invited to support a group of new students through the Hānai Program.

The Hānai Program and the Peer Mentor Program will work in tandem to formulate for each first year student their HPU 'Ohana (1 Peer Mentor, 1 Faculty/Staff, 15-20 students). This new volunteer position is designed to help bridge the divide students often feel when engaging with professionals, by making faculty and staff more accessible in a casual setting.

So, what will you do? Great question!

We are looking for between 30-35 volunteers who will volunteer about 6-8 hours of their time per semester. This will include:

·         Having lunch with their assigned group during Orientation week

·         Emailing the group a few times during the semester to check in

·         Being willing to have a holiday meal with students who stay in town during holiday periods like Thanksgiving and the winter break (either by hosting them at your home or eating with them near campus)

However, volunteers are welcome to do more. Engaging with your HPU 'Ohana can also include things like:

·         Attending events the group is doing together (like bowling, a hike or snorkeling trip, typically organized by the Peer Mentor)

·         Inviting students to sit as a group at an athletic event

·         Participating in a community service project together

·         Encouraging the group to attend a Hawaii Spotlight service learning trip

The ideas are only limited by your imagination.

The Office of First Year Experience wants to create an environment for first-year students that shows them that we are a small community where engaging regularly with faculty and staff in a casual way is natural and encouraged. Please join us in making that vision a reality for new freshmen attending HPU in Fall 2017.

Sound like your kind of deal? Sign up at http://bit.ly/HPUHanai.

The Office of First Year Experience will be in touch shortly after that date with additional information.

Source: Office of First Year Experience (readysetgo@hpu.edu) and Office of Human Resources (hr@hpu.edu)