A free program is making it easier for graduating seniors in Hawaiʻi to take the “next steps” to a college education. For a third consecutive summer, Hawaiʻi P–20 Partnerships for Education, together with the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges and community partners, are providing graduating seniors and families free advising and counseling services to support students’ transition towards a promising path forward through Next Steps to Your 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. We need to collectively work on supporting the transition between high school and students’ next steps, as we have learned that it’s an important but often missing piece of support,” said Stephen Schatz, executive director of Hawaiʻi P–20.
- Related UH News stories:
- Next Steps initiative boosts thousands of high school graduates, September 4, 2020
- $2M scholarship fund to benefit Next Steps students, May 26, 2020
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-week 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, go to nextsteps.hawaii.edu or text “nextsteps” to (808) 400-9725 by May 31, 2022.
Free UH Community College classes
Eligible Next Steps students 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–August 15, 2022) through the UH Community Colleges’ Momentum program. The Momentum program seeks to build upon high school graduates’ early college experiences by providing them support over the summer so they will successfully enroll at a UH Community College campus in the fall. Sign ups for these classes will begin in early April.
Next Steps Class of 2022 participants will also be eligible for a Next Steps Scholarship to attend a UH campus in fall 2022. For more information about the Next Steps Scholarship, email gouhcc@hawaii.edu.
More on Next Steps
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. Since then, nearly 2,700 students participated in the Next Steps virtual advising services and more than 1,600 students completed a UH Community College Next Steps course.
In addition, more than 1,000 students were awarded scholarships totaling more than $2.8 million with support from Hawaiʻi 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 generously funded with support from GEAR UP Hawaiʻi, federal CARES funding awarded to UH, Kamehameha Schools and Central Pacific Bank Foundation.
For more information on Next Steps, please contact nextstep@hawaii.edu.
