Hawai'i Preparatory Academy's Podcast
Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy (HPA) is an independent, co-educational K–12 day and boarding school in Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island. Rooted in place-based and experiential learning, HPA offers a rigorous academic program grounded in community, curiosity, and care for place. The Hawaiʻi Preparatory Podcast shares stories and perspectives from students, educators, and alumni, offering insight into life, learning, and opportunities at HPA — both in the classroom and beyond.
Hawai'i Preparatory Academy's Podcast
Why HPA – Parent & Alumni Perspective
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
In this episode, our Admission team is joined by parents, and alumni to share their personal experiences at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy. From the perspective of international families to the lasting impact of academics, athletics, and place-based learning, this conversation highlights what makes the HPA journey so meaningful.
Students reflect on why they chose HPA, how the school has prepared them for college and life beyond, and what advice they have for prospective students. Parents share how their children have grown and the opportunities that have shaped their experience, while alumni speak to the long-term impact of HPA —from trying new things with the support of teachers to experiences like the outdoor program and sea turtle research.
Hosts
- Tiare Police, Director of Admission
- Janet Kalaniopio, Senior Associate Director of Admission
- Tayler Wang, Assistant Director of Admission
- Maria Mora, International Admissions
Episode Chapters
- 0:00 – Introductions
- 2:40 – Why should you apply to HPA? (Student Perspectives)
- 5:50 – Parent & Alumni Introductions
- 10:45 – Being a Parent of an International Student
- 14:05 – Opportunities at HPA
- 16:30 – Trying New Things & Teacher Support (Alumni)
- 18:50 – Impact on Future Success (Alumni)
- 21:00 – Outdoor Program & Sea Turtle Research
- 22:40 – Academics & Athletics
- 25:11 – Student Growth & Transformation (Parent Perspective)
- 31:00 – Preparing for College & Life After High School
- 37:30 – Advice for Prospective Students
Welcome everybody. Thank you so much for joining us today here at our conversation with parents and alumni. My name is Tiari Police. I am the director of admission at HPA, also an alum and a former parent of three graduates of the school. So happy to have you all here and in this session where we're going to give you a glimpse into the life of each at HPA through voices of our alumni and parents representing both our day and boarding communities. We have local, domestic, US, and international perspectives. So we're super excited to have an open conversation to learn what HPA is why HPA is so unique and special both in and out of the classroom. So we'll start with some questions. We have our wonderful panelists. Thank you so much for being here to our parents and our alumni. And we'll have a time at the end for you to ask some questions as well. So again, welcome to the session today.
SPEAKER_13Hi everyone. We're going to go ahead and introduce our team as well. So my name is Janet Colonio Pio. I am the Senior Associate Director of Admission here at HPA. I work with domestic and international boarding students. I see a lot of friendly faces that I've recognized and have toured and have worked with the past few months. So again, welcome. I'm going into my 16th year here at HPA, like Tiari. I've had three graduates come through this school. So I'm very proud of that. And I'm so excited again for you all to be here with us today. Taylor, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?
SPEAKER_02Thank you, Janet. Good morning, everyone, or good evening if you're joining us from another part of the world. I'm Taylor Wang. I'm the Assistant Director of Admission here at HPA, working closely with our upper school day students and in-state boarding families. I'm also an alumna myself, graduated class of 2010, and I'm a current parent of a third grader. And I'll pass it over to Maria.
SPEAKER_19Aloha, everyone. My name is Maria Mora, and I work with our international students at HPA. And I'm actually based in our satellite office here in Madrid to Spain, in Europe. So I met a lot of you as well in person here in Europe, which I'm so excited. But I also am very connected with Hawaii as I come to Hawaii every year and get to get to know you in person. So I'm very excited to be here. And yeah, so let's start this session. So our session today, as a reminder, is why HBA. And this is a conversation with our alumnies and parents. So let's start and hear from our students why you should apply to HBA.
SPEAKER_09If I had to tell someone just anything about applying to HBA, if someone were looking to apply at HBA, I would say you should do it.
SPEAKER_08I would say do it. Tell them to do it like right away. I would totally apply again.
SPEAKER_12I would say go for it.
SPEAKER_04Just do it because it's definitely been a super important two years in my life.
SPEAKER_18I would tell them definitely to apply and attend if they are admitted, because it has just been it's been a humbling, amazing experience.
SPEAKER_07Even if you're thinking about it, just do it because I can't imagine my life without it.
SPEAKER_09Applying to HPA has been one of the most impactful things I've done in my life.
SPEAKER_01On the voting school in Hawaii, it's something really special, especially if you're from Germany. It's completely different than home.
SPEAKER_10Why they should do it is it's so beautiful. Um it's our campus is beautiful, the people are beautiful, the teachers know exactly what they're doing, they're so passionate about what they do.
SPEAKER_18HPA gives the resources to you for you to learn how to conquer the world post graduation.
SPEAKER_08There's things that we have opportunities to do here that a lot of people won't have until college. Whatever you're interested in, HPA is something for you, and that's what I really like. I would say it's an experience you're definitely not gonna have anywhere else.
SPEAKER_12We're learning how to sell the Makali, which is a Hawaiian voyaging canoe, and I'm like, it has me think like I would never be able to do this anywhere else in the world.
SPEAKER_04And there's some things being away from home, like it's definitely difficult, and there's definitely challenges of living in a dorm or having a roommate. But like it's been so worth it, and it's definitely, I mean, as I've said, made me grow as a person.
SPEAKER_05And it can be scary at first when you're like back home and you're thinking about moving to like an island in the middle of nowhere, but I think it's something that you should definitely do. Just try the experience, you're gonna have fun, you're gonna learn so much from being on your own.
SPEAKER_16Since I came here, like all the all the like negative thoughts are just like gone. Like, just like don't be afraid and like just try new things that might help you.
SPEAKER_11Make sure you keep in touch with your parents because they are so happy to be sending you here and they just want snippets of your life because you're not living at home.
SPEAKER_09It really bolsters kindness and just opening yourself up and being confident and just learning really what you enjoy being a part of.
SPEAKER_18If you're looking to prioritize academics and success in life, but also socialization and diversifying your perspective, go to HPA for sure. It's been an amazing experience, and I couldn't be more happy with it.
SPEAKER_19So I'm gonna go ahead um and have our amazing panel share a little bit about where they're from and your connection with HPA. So why don't we start um with our parents? So we have here Luca from Germany. Do you want to start um introducing yourself and your connection to HBA?
SPEAKER_00Okay, uh a good night from Germany. Um I'm a parent from I'm the parent from Philip, and he is at HBA in a second year now. Um so when we sent him to HBA, we just thought about one year to stay there, and um now we are so happy that he could join a second year, and maybe if it's possible, a third year to um complete his school. Um it's really a great experience to stay at HBA to learn all the people to learn or to learn all about the people, to find new friends, to have a new view to uh our earth. And so it's it was really difficult for us to send Philip there because he was just fifteen. And um now we are so happy because uh experience is great and you can't pay with anything else than just a good time and uh great learning and great friends. So we are really happy.
SPEAKER_19Thank you so much, Luca. Um what about Heather, our other parent that we have here? Why don't you introduce yourself and your connection to HPA?
SPEAKER_20Sure. Hi, good morning, good evening, wherever you're calling from. Um yeah, I'm an HPA parent who has um my son Luca, who's sitting with me, he'll speak in a minute as alum. But um, I uh we joined HPA in 2020. He was a freshman, much like Philip. He was only 14 when he moved to Hawaii. We um our kids were born in New York City, and then we had a short stint in Toronto, Canada. Um, so Luca actually joined the school during COVID as a boarding student, and he did three years as a boarding student. And then our family, after our daughter had completed middle school, we moved here to Waimea. And our daughter is now a junior uh in the high school at HBA as well. So I have experience as a boarding parent and as a day parent, day student parent. Um, and I have a current student and a graduate. So that's my connection.
SPEAKER_19Thank you so much. Luca, why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself since you're right there?
SPEAKER_17Yeah, sure. Um hi guys, I'm Luca. Um, I graduated from HBA in 2024. Um, I think she kind of gave my most of my connection to HPA, but I go to college in California now and yeah, I'm really appreciate it for everything I gained from going to HBA.
SPEAKER_19Thank you so much. Um, and we have here another alumni, Alden. Why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?
SPEAKER_04Hi everyone, my name is Alden Mazo. I'm sorry for the background noise. Please let me know if I need to repeat anything. But I graduated in 2023. I was a boarding student for two years, my junior and my senior year. I loved everything about HPA and I'm super excited to talk to you all about it.
SPEAKER_19Awesome. Thank you so much. And now let's travel back to Europe. Um, Max, why don't you introduce yourself and your when you graduated and where are you from as well?
SPEAKER_15So hi, I'm Max. I'm from Austria. I'm part of the class of 2026, but I as you can see I'm not in Hawaii currently. I was there last year and were just there for one year as an international boarder during my junior year.
SPEAKER_19Awesome, thank you. And now, Bella Police, you want to go ahead and introduce yourself?
SPEAKER_06Hi everyone, my name is Bella. Um, I graduated from HBA in 2021. Um, I went to college in New Hampshire for Dartmouth College, um, and now I currently work in New York City. I'm born and raised from the Big Island and went to HBA from kindergarten through um 12th grade. So I attribute a lot of my life to that school. Um, and I'm super excited to share more and also just hear about all of your guys' stories.
SPEAKER_19So thank you so much, Bella. I appreciate it. Well, I'm so excited to hear um from everyone and see as well that we have people from everywhere joining this session, as you can see here on the chat. So thank you everyone for being here today. So now um Janet and Taylor will help us guide the session. Thank you so much and enjoy.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Maria. Well, let's go ahead and dive in and hear from our parents. Um, let's start with Lucas. Um, Lucas, I know you talked a little bit about um Philip and his experience here at HBA. Can you share a little bit more specifically um regarding his experience and what kind of things he's been involved in since he's been here at the school?
SPEAKER_00Yes, of course. Um Philip is a boarding student, of course, and uh in his first year, for example, he joins a lot of time at the ELAP, and um he had um program there with Dr. Bill um about fires on or a fire uh service you you will find fires um and they um try to um find a solution to um have a safe way to recognize fires earlier uh in the wilderness of uh big island and so they try to um invent uh like um um yeah how you say um they try to find solutions um how they can prevent those fires in the wilderness and he worked there with Max I think uh and uh they have a very interesting time there and um yeah that was one of the biggest uh experience in the last year. And um what else can I say? Uh um when he traveled there, for example, he he was out of his family, and all the students, all the teachers at HBA were like a family for him now, and that was a really big um effort for us to make the decision for HBA because in um in the uh starting to find a school, um we have contact to Maria and she told us about everything, and uh so we can say okay, it was a good decision because Philip was in his own family there.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Lucas. Yeah, Philip has definitely been really involved in a lot of the the project work, like you talked about at the energy lab. Uh, a lot of really incredible hands-on opportunities and he's he's just really shined in that area. Um, and certainly I know when I'm up at the energy lab on tours and things like that, Philip is always just so so willing to like to step up and to share um his work. Um, and you can tell he's just he's just really happy and and we're so grateful that he he feels like this is you know part of his family. We certainly feel that way too. Thank you. Um, Heather, let's turn to you. Can you share a little bit more about um your daughter's experience, Tea's experience, and then uh backtracking a little bit and sharing a little bit more specifically about um Luca's experience as well?
SPEAKER_20Sure. Um so with Teya, she joined as a freshman. Um she joined the cross country team um as well as the track team. So those are sort of the beginning and the end of each year. And then um she's also tried her, she's gone out to try wrestling, um uh, what was it, lacrosse, um, basketball, and ultimately ended up being sort of like picking her team and um and what she wanted to do. She also started a journalism club and um they were able to start putting out a publication, an online publication, which she's a co-editor of. Um, so she's had lots of really cool experiences. Um and then um with Luca, um, he also he played basketball when he first arrived. Um, and even though um COVID had shut down so much of the world, Hawaii was able to provide in-person um school and even some athletics, even when through 2020. And so he had that opportunity, which was really cool. And he also was on the cross-country and track team. Um, he spent a lot of time also in the e-lab with Dr. Bill doing a lot of really cool projects. Um, yeah, so they both had taken um he you did paddling one season. Um, and some things like when he was a boarding student, there's an outdoor program. And so he had opportunities then to see the island and explore the island with the boarding school and day student community. Um, so I think that those are some of the highlights for our family.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Heather. I think it's really great that you mentioned, you know, like for Taya, for example, she was really able to go out and try all these different things that maybe she'd never tried before. And HPA is a really great place to do that. Um, so thank you for definitely making making that point. Um, and then with Luca, you know, coming in during COVID, and he still had the ability to go out, you know, and be an athlete and come and feel like he's in this really safe and warm environment. I can't believe that's been that long ago. I know we had these conversations so long ago, but it's um, but thank you for sharing all those great points. Um, let's go ahead and turn to our alumni. And Luca, of course, since you're since you're there, um you just talked about, you know, energy lab a little, a little bit, your mom did. Can you talk a little bit more about some of the, you know, in addition to the energy lab, talk about your work there? I know you had a great capstone, um, which you had a, you know, a lot of really great work in that. But what are some other things? Energy lab, athletics. And you talk a little bit about, I guess, your overall experience in terms of programs and activities.
SPEAKER_17Yeah, so um, I definitely bounced around more than the average student, I'd say. I tried a bunch of sports, bunch of um like clubs, stuff like that. Um I will so say though, like you said, like the energy lab really stuck with me in my later years, um, especially like junior, senior year. That's something I recommend for anyone is take a class up there, you know, do a club up there, something. There's just a lot of resources um that you can kind of play around with and kind of really just like learn by by doing with those things. Um I was I did cross country um three years. That was I loved cross-country. And what was the right part of the question? I'm sorry.
SPEAKER_13I just I guess maybe can you talk a little bit about like lasting impact? Like if you had to pick like a teacher or something that was super impactful, like what would you, you know, what would you say would be the best?
SPEAKER_17Yeah, I mean, yeah, everyone, all the teachers are amazing. Um, and everyone's gonna have their own impact on different students. For me, definitely, Dr. Bill um and the eLab kind of had the biggest impact on me and kind of what I've done with school going forward too. Um but yeah, I think really just depends on your interest, um, your style of learning. There's something for everyone, I'd honestly say. Um, and yeah, through that, your teachers will lean into you if you lean into them, I think. And, you know, you really anyone can have a lasting impact on anyone there.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Luca. Yeah, I think for for our teachers, like, you know, once you, you know, really realize that they're a really a partner with you, like you can you really, like you said, lean into them and you know, they can be your support person and they really do have this like lasting impact on you know your time at HPA. Thank you, Luca. Um, let's go to Bella. Bella graduating in 21. Um, what would you say in terms of a particular a particular teacher or program that really had like an at lasting impact on your time here at HPA?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I think I have a couple. I think like overall for me, when I look back on high school, which was five years ago, as we discussed before this call started, um I think I, you know, I left home when I was 18 and went to the East Coast. And I think I really reflect on HBA as a place of providing me the foundation for my future, um, whether that's from teachers, faculty, um, you know, fellow students. I think that, you know, we're built, we're building slash, we built a program at HBA that really thrives off of, you know, that Hawaiian culture and supporting each other. But then also with the added aspect of the diversity from the boarding students. As a day student, that was super valuable for me to kind of learn from a lot of different perspectives while still be still being built in, you know, the foundations of what Hawaii is. Um, I think like a specific example that comes to mind is Mr. Muma, who teaches government at HBA. Um, he helped me kind of experience all that that has to offer. And so that's what I ended up majoring in college. Um, and I think he kind of really just expanded my mind in a way that really then prepared me for those next steps at like an a prestigious school. So um yeah, I would say that's kind of more of a lasting impact. But overall, just like the people really do make an impact. And I felt super prepared going to college from HPA, and then now kind of in my um adult life, I feel super, super prepared. So um, yeah.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Bella. Yeah, so like all the points you mentioned, community was a big part of your time here at HPA and just the support that you got from teachers and the feeling that, yeah, you felt prepared when you when you got to hu when you got to college, which is which is really, really great. Um, Alden, let's let's hear from you. Um, I know you're there in North Carolina, um, class of 23. Can you talk a little bit more about what particular programs or teachers really had a lasting impact um on your time with us at HPA?
SPEAKER_04Yes, of course. I did forget in the introduction. I grew up in Tennessee and then I'm currently in North Carolina for school at North Carolina State University. So a little more about me. But when I was uh HPA, I did sports, I did wrestling and cross country, but I would say what I was most involved with was the outdoor program and then the sea total research program. Um, and that was really awesome. It gave me just opportunities to learn what kinds of things I'm interested in, and I'm actually still really involved with sea total research now. Um and majoring in conservation biology, and like that's what I want to do with my career later. So having that experience. At such a young age, when like most people don't get to go do field research with sea turtles when they're 16. So that was really incredible. Um, Miss Jim is amazing. She does marine bio and a turtle program and scuba instructing. So I actually had the chance a couple weeks ago to go present some of my work at the International Sea Turtle Symposium, which was in Kona this year. So that was really awesome to be able to go back and connect with her and with current students and um just be back in that environment.
SPEAKER_13Thank you all. And I'm so happy that you're still connected with Miss Jim and all the important work um that she continues to do here on the island. Um for you know highlighting our Sea Turtle research program. Um thank you. Um, Max, let's hear from you. Can you share a little bit more about what what programs or teachers had a lasting impact?
SPEAKER_15So, yeah, for me, I would also say that there were like two big parts of my year that had a lasting impact. So, or maybe I have to like I was there only for one year. So maybe I I enjoyed HPA a lot and maybe put school at a second place some weekends and did like other things and didn't focus on school a lot because all the real schools for me is for me is here in Austria. But yeah, for me it was very very cool. Was the e-lab as well with Dr. Bill and Philip. We did like so many amazing things. You have like compared to Austria, like nearly endless opportunities. We have so many resources. You can do like you Dr. Bill just like gives you an empty sheet and says, like, do whatever you want, go have fun, explore the e-lab, explore what you want, do what you want. That's pretty cool. And in addition to that, it would also say like the swim team. I I found like really great friends inside the swim team, and yeah, stayed in touch with them ever since.
SPEAKER_13Thank you, Max. I know for for Dr. Bill, I know he always likes to say, like, you know, the energy lab is this really wonderful, amazing place, but it's not really about the facility, it's about what the work that's happening inside the facility, and that's what students really really bring to life. Um, so you know, if you're interested in more information on the energy lab, we we do have a special virtual session that we did some time ago. Um, so we'll definitely send that out again since this you know keeps coming up. And also the Sea Turtle Research Program, we also have additional information on that. Um, thank you all for that. Um, I think we're gonna have Taylor ask the next round of questions.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, thank you, Janet. And as an alone myself and listening to all these alumni and parents talk about their experience here at HPA, it's just really inspiring. And I love to hear that, you know, from my time here till um five years ago till today, you know, students are really um are are really like getting to enjoy HPA um and just enjoy everything we have to offer. Um, but I wanted to go ahead and um talk to parents again. Let's talk to Lucas and Heather. But what I want to start with Lucas, what differences have you noticed in your child since joining HPA?
SPEAKER_00Um that's a really big difference uh because he has to uh find solutions for his life on his own. So he has to maybe only the small things, he has to wash his clothes and he has to uh think okay, I need uh a nice shirt and I have to wash it, and he has to find uh his day, he has to find um his timetable for the day, he has to stand up and he has to do everything for himself, and that's a really big difference to be at home because as a parent you always uh stay there and say, Okay, you have to get up and uh now we have to go to school and so on, and uh there he has to um find solutions for himself, and so when he stays here in the summer uh for the holidays, um it's really another thing. You have another person here, you have a person which decides everything on his own, and he asks a lot, yes, of course, but uh it's uh really big difference to the way before. And we are really glad that he has a chance to make this experience, and um of course he always has someone you he can ask there, and uh he gets help every time you need, um but he has to make decisions on his own, and that's great.
SPEAKER_02Awesome, thank you for sharing. I know, especially for our boarding students who are maybe possibly leaving home for the first time, um, it can be scary to you know join. But what we found is a lot of students who um are nervous, which most are, they find like just in a couple weeks, they they really get comfortable, they find their people, they find um faculty and staffer who are here to support them. And the transition um is usually a smooth transition for those students, and they really get to grow, um, prepare for university, being here on their own. And um, we just find really, really um great things with our students in the boarding program. Um, for Heather, I know you have both uh boarding parent experience and day student um experience. Could you talk a little bit about how um you've noticed some differences in them as they've attended HPA?
SPEAKER_20Sure, yeah. Um so with Lucas sitting right here with me. Um so when he went off to school at 14, um, you know, for all of the parents that are sitting here listening that are considering this, um, it's a giant leap of faith. But just know that when they arrive, they will have an advisor. Um, they'll have dorm parents, and they have this amazing staff in the infirmary, a bunch of nurses that are and will perform like almost like the surrogate parent role, um, that are there for your kids when you can't be by physical distance. Um and so for Luca, just like um Lucas was saying for Philip, um, the independence and decision making and the progress that we saw, you know, it's hard to describe. Um I can just say that it was it was huge and it happened over time. And of course, I'm sure all of you realize it's not a straight line. There's a lot of peaks and valleys when, you know, for teenagers, regardless. Um, so when there were difficult times in his freshman year, and people would ask me, oh, he's going to school in Hawaii, it's so beautiful, I would say, well, it's still, it's still grade nine, it's still freshman year, it's still like all of the things are still happening. Um, but his ability to, I think, roll with it and the development he learned, much like um Lucas said, to find solutions, um, to lean on the people around him and just to figure it out, was huge. And then when it came time to decide with our daughter whether we were going to maybe send her to HPA or in our case, we relocated to Hawaii. I'm going to go back to something Bella said. There's something very special about this place. Um, it's a beautiful place to raise teenagers and to have those developmental years take place because of the sense of community and responsibility. Um, I think that if we could scale this, what we have here, um, the world would be a better place because it's that special. And so when we saw the positive impact that HPA and Waimea and Hawaii was having on Luca, we wanted our daughter to also experience it, which explains that decision for us. So watching her here as a day student, um, she still has the opportunities to be independent and make decisions because the school, while it um encourages partnership with parent, they also really encourage the students to think for themselves and develop those skills. And so we've watched her develop, we've watched her coming out of a city environment, both New York City and Toronto, we've watched her kind of calm down. And that's been, you know, because they're different kids. And so that was like, that's probably the biggest thing for Taya is how supported she is. And I've just watched her confidence as a teenager and as a high school student blossom and now as a junior. So I hope that helps.
SPEAKER_02Awesome. I love how you talk about um our sense of community and the island itself. I think, I mean, I was born and raised on Hawaii Island. And sometimes when I leave, um, the moment I come back and step off the airplane, I feel like a sense of calm wash over me. And I think it's just a really special place here, um, not only at HPA, but on the big island. Um, and it really sets students up for success for the future by just centering themselves and um learning how to, you know, work with the environment, and that can really go with them in their um college years and in their career. Um, which leads me to ask for the students. Um, I can start with um Luca here. Um, how would you say that HPA prepared you for university or life after graduation? Um, what kind of skills did you uh earn or what kind of mindset did it prepare you for?
SPEAKER_17Um yeah, so um I'm currently a second year in college, and um I've already switched majors twice. So I'm still kind of figuring out, you know, what I want to do, what I want my path to be. But I will say that kind of um like moving around, HPA definitely prepared me for that. Um, and just for, you know, like not only the difficulty of my classes and like, you know, the structure, I think that's a really big thing at HPA too, is like, you know, your teachers give you homework, they give you deadlines, they give you, you know, and it's there's flexibility, of course, and there's understanding, but at the same time, it's very similar to like school after high school in the way that um it is structured and it is like rigid to a point. Um, so I think it's definitely prepared me for that. And then like looking forward, I think definitely some of the classes I took at HPA um have prepared me for college classes, especially if you're going to school in the US after the APs that HPA offers are like either replace some college classes or um just that structure of it will prepare you very well.
SPEAKER_02And we can move to Bella. Bella, um, how did HPA prepare you for university or life after graduation?
SPEAKER_06I think I kind of touched on this earlier, but I think obviously, you know, it prepared me academically. I felt super prepared with my classes at Dartmouth, um, you know, whether that was English, math, et cetera. Um, but I would say more so, and what I value most is kind of just my ability to like communicate with people and to truly like lean into what is being offered. I think um Luca kind of touched on this, but HBA offers a lot of different aspects, whether that's school, sports, socially. Um, and so when I went to Dartmouth, I definitely felt equipped to kind of handle all of those different, you know, opportunities and really take advantage of all of that. Um, I think what HBA does best is really provide a space for anyone and everyone. And so when I was kind of given that opportunity from 14 to 18 years old, um, and then kind of even in a more expansive way from 18 to 22, I really felt like that provided, you know, HBA really did help me with that transition. Um, and really just in learning how to like make friends, how to um, you know, talk to adults, how to like make relationships that are really valuable, build your network. I think that I really credit a lot of my life, especially now as like a working adult, to building my learning to build my network at HBA. Um, and so yeah, I felt super, super prepared going to college and definitely wouldn't change a thing in terms of um, you know, my high school experience and then going into the rest of my life.
SPEAKER_02So and then I just want to see, Alden, um, how did HBA prepare you for university or life after graduation?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I think every everything that everyone else has said is totally true for me as well. I'd say the biggest thing for me was like coming to college. Obviously, there's so many things to be adjusting to, and all the people around me were also having to adjust to like being away from home for the first time and kind of being on their own in that sense. So it definitely um was super helpful to kind of already gone through that part and it made the adjustment to college way smoother just because I was used to living in a dorm and having a roommate and going to the grocery store to get snacks, things like that. Um, and then what Luca was saying as well, like I'm able to graduate a semester early because of the um AP classes that I took at HPA. So for an academic side, I also just felt very prepared for my classes and um yeah, it was set me up very well.
SPEAKER_02And Max, I know um you haven't graduated quite yet, but how would you say um HPA has prepared you to return to Austria?
SPEAKER_15Oh yeah, I would say HBA definitely made me like more mature and independent. But also aside from that, I like I think it like confirmed my passion for a lot of things and like helped me choose like a path I want to go down into the future, like picking major in college, or where do I wanna like what do I want to do with my life? And that's like I would say even more important than like academic. I did that course or something like that. Like this is very important for me, and I'm like very thankful for HPA that I got this knowledge about myself, I would say.
SPEAKER_02I know, and as an allow myself, I I owe a lot to HPA. I I'm so grateful for everything HPA has done for me, has set up for my life. I mean, here I am, I'm back at HPA, um, just pouring back into this school that has poured so much into me. And I just um really notice the difference in the students um when they get here, how much they grow, how much they are thriving at HPA. And I just feel very blessed to be a part of this community. Um, but I'll go ahead and turn it over to Maria.
SPEAKER_19Thank you. Thank you so much. Well, thank you, everyone. I love to hear all these um stories and everything. Um, I think I just have one more question for our alumni. You know, what advice will you give to a prospectivist student? Um, will you tell them um about a new student joining HPA? Um, Elding, why don't we start with you?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I would say my biggest biggest advice is just be open to things. Um you never know who you're gonna meet and what kind of opportunities you're gonna find when you come to HPA. And so just be open to trying new things. Um, I mentioned that I did wrestling. I didn't know that girls could wrestle, like that wasn't a thing where where I was from. And I did it for two the both years that I was there and like loved it, and some of my best friends are from that experience. And I did not think going into that that that'd be something that I was um involved with. So yeah, just any opportunity, just take it. And even if you realize you don't like it or it wasn't for you, like there'll be another cool opportunity. So just try everything.
SPEAKER_19I love it, I love it. Max, what about you?
SPEAKER_15Will you tell a prospectivist do you then come in and yeah, I would also say like do everything you can. Time passes so quickly, like don't waste a weekend sitting in your dorm room and looking into a screen, just like go out, do stuff and enjoy HBA, enjoy the big island. Yeah.
SPEAKER_19Good, good. What about Bella? Can you share something?
SPEAKER_06Yeah, I think just take the jump. I think that um any sort of situation of something new can be really intimidating. Um, but there are so many people to catch you at HBA, whether that's I think we've touched on it a bunch, but I think really just go for it. Um it you will not regret it. I think HBA is really one of the most special places um in my life and to a lot of other people. So um highly recommended.
SPEAKER_19Good. Thank you, Bella. What about Luca?
SPEAKER_17Um, yeah, kind of like everyone else was saying, just lean into it, lean into the opportunities in front of you. Um, new ones will come out of things you don't expect, and you know, lean into the culture, lean into the people, and it will give back to you as well.
SPEAKER_19Thank you so much. Well, now it's time for our guest to ask questions. I think we have a question here um from Aisa. It was like switching to an American school system. Um, maybe Max, you can answer this question that you're coming from another system. Um, what about how was that transition for you?
SPEAKER_15So, yeah, I don't know how it is in in France, but in Austria you are like have predetermined mandatory courses. You can't really pick anything, you can't pick the level, you can't pick like specifics, you can't pick like uh focus on what you want to do. So HP, you can like basically decide every course you wanna take. So that was like the biggest difference, and it's just incredible. Just like to focus on your individual strong individual like passions and just abilities and like grow them further. So it wasn't hard at all, it was like super easy to switch and uh switch back. It's more difficult, but you get used to it again.
SPEAKER_19Thank you so much, Max.
SPEAKER_14Um, this is a question for uh all the students that have gone to HBA. Uh well I am 15 years old, I am from Mexico. And what advice could you give me to overcome the feeling of missing your family and well your your life in your previous country or something like that?
SPEAKER_04Um, that definitely is such a real thing. Like, I definitely missed my family when I was at HPA, but it's kind of cliche to say, but like the people that you're around will kind of become your family or at least your school family. So especially in the dorms, like the people I lived with are like sisters to me even now. Like we text all the time, we'll visit each other. Like you really will become so close with those people because you're having your meals with them, you're living with them, you're studying with them. Um, so it definitely is hard to like be away from your other family and friends and everyone. Um, but you will find some really awesome people at HPA.
SPEAKER_17I think also um definitely the jitters will kind of leave after um, you know, not too long. I I think it took me probably a week or two before I was like fully settled in. And once you're settled in, it's you know, it's kind of hard to look back. And I do think for most people too, like the amount of independence you gain is worth it, and um, you know, it will it will help like shape you a lot, yeah.
SPEAKER_15Your schedule's like so packed, like if you do everything, if you like try new things, go to the beach on the weekends, it's hard to find like time to miss your family, if that makes any sense. But for me, it wasn't really a problem. You just like have so many things to do, and like I wouldn't worry about that.
SPEAKER_19Nice, thank you so much. I think we have another question here. How much freedom do students have after their mandatory classes to go into town or anything else? So maybe for our boarding students, you guys wanna go ahead and answer these questions.
SPEAKER_17As far as after classes, you do have, I think it's still the same, but you have um like sports or um curriculars, co-curriculars um after school until like 5 or 5:30. Um, and then there was town vans on the weekends and I think on Wednesdays, like midweek. So you have a couple chances throughout the week to go to town, but um then after that, we were able to kind of, you know, you can go back to your dorm, hang out with your friends. Um, and then you know, there's required times to study and stuff, but it is still structured, but you definitely do have time to um, you know, have dinner with your friends. And even if you're not able to leave campus, um, I think it is still a lot of fun. So I think you do have a lot of freedom either way.
SPEAKER_19Good. And then every week. Wednesday night they have the town plan so students can go to town on Wednesday night, and then of course over the weekend there's a lot of activities and students get to go off campus as well and have more freedom on that. So they're asking a little bit about the rules around phones. Um, anyone wants to answer this as well, especially our boarding students?
SPEAKER_15Yeah, I can answer this question. Like there's not many rules surrounding phones. Uh only if you're like a freshman, you have to lock your phone and other digital devices away overnight. But if you're like a sophomore, junior, senior, you can keep your phone or computer like the entire time. Uh only exceptions like study, study hall every night, where you have like where everybody's like in this room studying, and you have to like put your phone down into the common area for like one and a half hours. But that's it.
SPEAKER_19Good. And then of course phones are not allowed when you are in classes. So usually there is a place where students can put their phones when they go into a classroom, um, but then they can use it afterwards. And then for freshman students, they're not allowed to have technology when they go to bed. Um, you know, and then they can grab their technology in their morning collect that.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, looks like we have one more question. Um, does the student miss the family the most when they are sick with a cold or flu? And are when parents are far away, who are willing to take care of students who are contagious? So basically, I mean, you know, you're asking about when when students are sick, you know, how do we basically care for them? And I think Heather touched on this a little bit. We do have a wonderful infirmary team here at HBA. Of course, that was really important when we were dealing with COVID. Um, but basically, you know, we're we're fully equipped to take care of students. If they are contagious, you know, then then we'll either have them go up to their dorm room and you know, try to isolate as much as possible. Um, but but you know, in the grand scheme of things, like we're we're very capable to take care of them and check on them and you know, make sure, of course, there's going to be a mental component, an emotional component. But as dorm parents, advisors, health team, like we're all um prepared to really care for them. Um of course, if anything else uh additional arises in terms of bigger emergencies, we do have an excellent hospital here in Waimea. Uh, and in worst case scenario, we are able to take students um to Oahu if if need be. But for the most part, we're able to take care of those types of things here at school. So thank you for that question.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, if I can add real quick, um, in our health center, there are rooms that students can stay in. Um so they're right next to the nurses who are full-time 24 hours a day. Um so it allows the students to be right there near the adults if necessary. So it's very common and easy for us to take care of them.
SPEAKER_13One, um, we'll take this one last question. What does break look like for students who can't go home? Um, so typically we have our, you know, we have larger breaks, which happen at winter break, we have a three-week um holiday period. And then also at spring break, we have a two-week break. So during those times, students are, you know, they're required to go home. We do close the residence halls just so our residential teams can have a nice break as well. Um, during Thanksgiving, students are welcome to stay here just because of the distance. You know, we don't really get that much time off during Thanksgiving, and we don't other have really small windows of time. So we have these big chunks of time where students, you know, do leave the dorm. Um, but other than that, um, you know, dorm dorms are open. And of course, in the summer, they'll have to go back home. Um, so hopefully that that answers that question.
SPEAKER_03And during our spring break, too, we have uh um travel opportunities. So a lot of our students, especially from far away, will um join one of the trips that the students and teachers will take around the world. There's usually three to four different locations. Um and I know some of our boarding students will often like link up with you know people in like students who live in the US and they may even go to their house. So somehow the students work it out um just during those two times that the school is closed because the breaks are long.
SPEAKER_13Yeah, good point. And I know that um Lucas's um son Philip actually just did the Galapagos trip um over spring break. So he got to enjoy that opportunity. So we do have some excursions happening um during those times. So thank you for adding that, Tiari.
SPEAKER_03Um we have a question: how does HPA assist with college application process, whether it's through testing, writing essays, finding the right extracurriculars? Um, who would like to talk about that?
SPEAKER_06I can talk about it. Um We have two very great college counselors. They basically start meeting with you your junior and senior year at HBA. Um, I think naturally all of the extracurriculars that HBA kind of like requires you to do are um really, really fit for a college application, especially like if you're not really thinking about it your freshman and sophomore year. Um, but then you know, you get to sit with the college counselors one-on-one. Um, you get to kind of talk through your list, you know, maybe making reaches or targets, maybe some safe safety schools. Um, and then from there they will help you, you know, with your essays, with supplementals. Um, it's really, really collaborative. And also, you know, I don't think HBA also has that like cutthroat and mentality with um each other. So also like with, you know, a friend, you guys can kind of help each other. No one's like trying to, I think there's can be like a misconception with boarding schools and high school that like there's this like everyone's competing for the same, you know, prestigious schools, and that is just not not that not people aren't reaching for that, but I think that that's just not really the um environment that HBA cultivates, especially with the college counseling. So um overall, super, super supportive. Um, and I think naturally you are building your resume um by being just a student at HBA.
SPEAKER_20For for parents that are listening or watching, I think it's important to know that you're you are involved in the process. Um, again, with that independence piece, the counselors meet directly with your student. Um, but they have a platform. Is it called Score or Squire? I've never known quite how to say it, but and you're you're you're able to provide input as a parent. Um, your student will develop the list, like Bella mentioned, of their reach and their goal schools and maybe some safety schools. Um, then the the counselor will um work with them to have their timeline and the deadlines, um, and they help keep them on track. And there was even assistance with the essays. So if they're preparing supplementals that have to go with their application. And um, in addition to the co-curriculars and the athletics and all of the exterior programs that they offer, like travel experiences and things like that, there is also opportunity to volunteer in the community. It's a big part of Hawaiian culture. And so they the school also gives your student opportunity if they want it. And that gets them out into the community doing meaningful work, which is important in and of itself, but also can be an experience that they draw on for an essay they're writing or just something they might want to highlight in their application. So all of it put together. And then I do have a junior right now, so she's in it, you know, um, just kind of starting that process or partway through that process. So it feels like um it's it's it's a small enough place that it's catered to each student. You still get that really personalized um experience. And they provide lots of, there's like a Zoom meeting for parents, so you know what's coming. And there's opportunities to go on campus if you are local to meet with when they bring schools in to talk to the students, various colleges, you have those opportunities. I've popped into some of them, they're really good. So um I think that's it's I that's one area that I think HPA does really well as well. So I agree with all of that.
SPEAKER_03Adding on to what Heather said, we do have, I want to say it's 40 to 50 different colleges and universities whose um representatives come to the island and have meetings and meet our students, and you're able to shake the hand of the person that you know might even read your application. Um, we tend to get the leaders in each college office here in Hawaii because they want to take the Hawaii trip and they send their assistants to other places where they don't want to go. So you get to meet the really important people at each college, and then we have a huge college fair every year that the entire community, um all the schools in Hawaii are um are on the island are welcome to come to. But we're the host of it. So it's a really key part of um HBA experience. Um, however, our our college counselors will say, like, we just want you to, you know, enjoy being a student, not hyper focus on college while you're here until it's time, like Bella mentioned, um, you know, more in your junior, senior year when you start really thinking about that.
SPEAKER_19Thank you, everyone. I think that was all the questions for today. And I appreciate everyone's time. Um, and thank you for our amazing panelists, our alumni and parents. I really appreciate all your help and input. And for all our prospective students for all your questions and being here today. Um, so I hope you know to see you and work with your application if you're in the process or meet you at some point at HPA. So thank you so much. And hope you have a rest of the your day. It's good or evening, depending when you're calling from. So bye bye, thank you. Aloha.