Maui’s Liko A’e Native Hawaiian Program Receives $4.7M

Liko A’e Director, Malia Davidson (left) mentors a Native Hawaiian student from the program during the UHMC election results televised program.

By Wendy Osher

University of Hawai’i Maui College’s Liko A’e Native Hawaiian Leadership Program is the recipient of a $4.7 million, three-year grant from the US Department of Education.

The federal grant was made possible under the Title VII Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and supports Native Hawaiian students in their pursuit of higher education and leadership potential.

Student scholars who are selected for the program will work with identified community groups throughout Hawai’i and on the continental US.

Some of the planned activities include: working with cultural practitioners across Hawai’i; presenting research to conferences and events throughout the state; participating in leadership programs in Washington DC and the United Nations in New York; and participation in online scholarly forums and discussions.

Liko A’e Director Malia Davidson said the leadership program, formerly known as a scholarship program, will continue to provide scholarships to Native Hawaiian students as it has done since 2003.

Liko A’e Program Director Malia Davidson (far left) meets with Liko A’e Maui Scholars for a 2012-13 academic year orientation. Courtesy photo UHMC.

“This grant will be no different, except for the higher level of scholarship support, and the expectation that the scholars will learn about their communities and provide services for those communities. We know that leaders are grown from within each community, and we hope to help in that effort,” she said.

Davidson compared the student scholars of Liko A’e to a very large family. “There are many personalities and individuals’ goals to care for,” said Davidson. “Best practices have emerged and at Liko A‛e we believe we’ve found a balance to provide good service and successful scholars supported by their communities and our many partners. Thus, we continue to build and strengthen our lāhui from the inside out, one scholar at a time.”

The application period for the 2013-14 Liko A’e leadership program begins on March 4, 2013. All students of Hawaiian ancestry pursuing higher education are welcome to apply. Instructions and requirements for this new project will be posted in February 2013.

For more information, go to www.likoae.org or phone Liko Aʻe’s Maui office at 808-984-3553.