LIHUE — In the 2015-16 school year, 82.2 percent of Hawaii Department of Education students graduated high school with about 32 percent of those students going on to pursue 4-year college degrees.
The LEI program — for Leadership, Exploration and Inspiration — is a workforce development program encouraging over 1,000 students to finish high school and proceed to post-secondary educations or employment by educating them about future career paths in Hawaii’s largest industry — hospitality and tourism.
Throughout the state, students attend events that include leadership training, inspirational speakers, site visits to hotels, advice on job/college applications, and career fairs. The LEI program is produced by the local nonprofit ClimbHI in partnership with the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Not only does the LEI program focus on high school students, but it also offers internships to college students and partners with Hawaii Pacific University, Kauai Community College and University of Hawaii Maui College to offers college students real world experience by having them plan the career fairs.
“The LEI program changed my entire trajectory, not just in what classes I took in college or in selecting my major, but it shaped who I am from wanting to give back to my community and wanting to make the visitor experience the most enjoyable,” said Shawn Saito.
Saito is sales manager at the Orchid Lei Company, which participates in the career fair portion of the LEI program. Saito also was an intern with ClimbHI and helped plan the Oahu event’s career fair as part of his coursework at Hawaii Pacific University.
This year’s events will be as follows:
w Tuesday on Maui at the Sheraton Maui. Speaker: Mayor Alan Arakawa.
w Friday on Kauai at the Sheraton Kauai. Speaker: Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
w April 9 on Oahu at the Hawaii Convention Center. Speakers: Gov. David Ige, First Lady Dawn Amano
-Ige, and Jon Snook, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Hawaiian Airlines.
w April 17-18 on Hawaii Island at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.
On Kauai, students will gather at the Sheraton Kauai Resort. Activities throughout the day will include job shadowing, dining etiquette and a career fair.
The LEI program’s largest impact is on students from all the public and charter schools from each island, including Niihau, Lanai and Molokai, that participate in the program.
Not only are the students exposed to the hospitality industry, but they also have the opportunity to connect with the many organizations that are part of the community that work with visitors such as nonprofits and police departments. Additionally, over 100 college students work to plan the career fairs as part of their classes, volunteer as mentors or work as interns with ClimbHI. The college students gain vital real-world experience while preparing them for their careers.
“I’ve gained a sense of accomplishment, a network with key people, and the opportunity to get my name out there since I’m at the point of graduating,” said Richard Dean Danao, a student at Hawaii Pacific University in the process of planning the 2018 ClimbHI events, a ClimbHI volunteer, and a former ClimbHI intern.
The LEI program was started in 2012 by Julie Morikawa, president and CEO of ClimbHI. She has worked in the travel and tourism industry for over 20 years and recognized there was a need for a stronger connection between the students in Hawaii and the hospitality industry.
“Julie is a great mentor for me, encouraging me and motivating me to further my education. After completing my AA degree, I wasn’t planning to pursue my BA, but I decided to after working with her,” said Raven Petersen, a LEI program attendee in high school and former ClimbHI intern.
