UH offers college help for Class of ‘22

MANOA — The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge Hawai‘i’s high school seniors.

Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education, together with the University of Hawai‘i Community Colleges (UHCC) and community partners, have committed to support this year’s Class of 2022 Hawai‘i high school graduates.

For a third consecutive summer, partners are providing graduating seniors and families free advising and counseling services to support students’ transition towards a promising future.

“The Next Steps to Your Future program started as an emergency intervention to the pandemic, and this year we will continue to help students with their transitions to college and career,” said Stephen Schatz, executive director of Hawai‘i P-20.

Every student who opts into the Next Steps to Your Future program will be connected to a professional virtual advisor. Advisors will provide customized, one-on-one support to all students who plan to enroll in college, enter the workforce, enlist in the military, or who may still be undecided.

Personalized advising support for the eight weeks of summer will consist of virtual advising appointments, mobile texting and access to on-demand resources.

To sign up for the Next Steps To Your Future Program, go to nextsteps.hawaii.edu or text “nextsteps” to 808-400-9725 by May 31.

Eligible program participants who previously took early college classes in high school will also have the opportunity to enroll in a free, online, six-week summer class (July 5 – Aug. 15) through the UHCC Momentum program.

The program seeks to build upon high school graduates’ early college experience by providing them support over the summer so they will successfully enroll at a UHCC campus in the fall. Sign ups for these classes are on now.

Next steps Class of 2022 participants will also be eligible for a Next Steps Scholarship to attend a UH campus in fall 2022.

The Next Steps to Your Future program launched in summer 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a vision to provide the Class of 2020 graduates with the advising and support to plan for their futures.

In addition, over 1,000 students were awarded scholarships totaling over $2.8 million with support from Hawai‘i Community Foundation, First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, Kamehameha Schools, Chenter Foundation, Central Pacific Bank Foundation, UH Alumni Association and other UH Foundation donors.

The Next Steps to Your Future 2022 program and scholarships are funded with support from GEAR UP Hawai‘i, federal CARES funding awarded to UH, Kamehameha Schools and Central Pacific Bank Foundation.

w Info: nextstep@hawaii.edu
Source: The Garden Island