A free statewide summer program introduced 30 Hawaiʻi high school students to the fast-growing field of national intelligence. The Academy for Hawaiʻi Intelligence Studies Summer Program (AHI-SP), which focuses on the basics of international relations and national intelligence, is a four-week course offered by the Department of Political Science in UH Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences (CSS).
Students learned about a wide variety of concepts including power and contemporary world politics since 1945, with an emphasis on the U.S. role. Simulation games, field trips and networking opportunities with Hawaiʻi-based industry experts provided an interactive experience bringing real world experiences to complement in-class learning. The program ran July 6–29 and included an online component and an in-person residence week on the UH Mānoa campus.
“AHI is a perfect fit with the college’s ongoing commitment to support workforce development opportunities in the state,” said Denise Eby Konan, dean of the College of Social Sciences and economics professor. “Social sciences majors provide valuable perspectives, knowledge and skills that enhance the National Intelligence Community’s ability to understand human behavior, assess geopolitical landscapes, make informed decisions, and effectively communicate intelligence to policymakers. Our rich heritage of interactions with the Asia Pacific region makes Hawaiʻi youth especially poised to approach intelligence studies with nuance and sophistication.”
First steps on a workforce pathway
Students who successfully complete the program will earn college credits in POLS 120: Introduction to World Politics, a university-level course in political science. POLS 120 is the first course in the intelligence studies course sequence currently under development at CSS.
“This is the first program of its kind in the state that provides our high schoolers with college credit for a workforce pathway to national intelligence,” said Jairus Grove, AHI-SP program director, political science professor and department chair. “AHI’s mission is to find, support and cultivate the next generation of global decision makers right here in Hawaiʻi to help us through the challenges and opportunities ahead as we navigate an unprecedentedly complex Pacific century.”
AHI-SP participants are high school juniors and seniors from Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Maui and Oʻahu. They were:
- 77% who identify as female.
- 80% from Hawaiʻi State Department of Education high schools and charter schools.
- 57% from the neighbor islands (30% from Maui, 17% from Hawaiʻi Island, 10% from Kauaʻi) and 43% from Oʻahu.
- Hawaiʻi residents with a minimum GPA of 2.8, based on cumulative grades from the 9th grade through fall 2022.
“It was really exciting when I got accepted,” Wailana Hoʻopai, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Maui said. “I joined more for international relations, but I was excited to learn new stuff about the intelligence field, like meeting people from Indo-Pacific Command, and more about the role that Hawaiʻi plays in America’s intelligence apparatus.”
Talen Koerte, a Kauaʻi High School senior, added, “The program is really great. I was not expecting to learn so much about career paths in political science like diplomacy and stuff like that, but it was great that we got to learn about what you can do with political science.”
Kailani Clark, a senior at Kealakehe High School, said, “A really impactful part about this program was meeting people from different islands, because although the Big Island is the biggest island, I feel like it’s actually really small and your perspective is really limited. So being able to have a roommate that’s from a different island and being able to meet people from all different places in Hawaiʻi, I think was a really big part of this journey.”
Expenses for AHI-SP students, including registration, tuition/fees, airfare and on-campus housing/meals were paid through the Pacific Intelligence and Innovation Initiative (P3I), a public-private partnership to develop a skilled workforce in Hawaiʻi.
“Thanks to the support of Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation, P3I is a funded initiative dedicated to supplying a skilled Hawaiʻi workforce to meet the evolving requirements in the Indo-Pacific region with a focus on IT, cybersecurity, data analytics and intelligence,” said Jennifer Sabas, P3I co-program lead. “We are taking a whole community approach with UH Mānoa and West Oʻahu, UH Community Colleges, Chaminade University and DOE high schools as our academic partners. Hawaiʻi’s students, guardsmen and women, and returning kamaʻāina have the determination and commitment to step up and serve our nation. It’s our time.”
