NUKOLI‘I — Kaua‘i Police Sgt. Paul Applegate was tasked with collecting material for his daughter’s future on Monday during the 36th Annual College and Career Fair at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort. Applegate, who along with KPD officer Darla Abbatiello-Higa were
NUKOLI‘I — Kaua‘i Police Sgt. Paul Applegate was tasked with collecting material for his daughter’s future on Monday during the 36th Annual College and Career Fair at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort.
Applegate, who along with KPD officer Darla Abbatiello-Higa were manning the KPD exhibit, said his daughter already has an idea of where she wants to go to school.
“She’s only in the seventh grade but since some of the colleges she’s interested in are here, I need to collect some information,” Applegate said.
Bricen Moritsugu served as one of the Kaua‘i coordinators for the event.
“We have about a hundred colleges and universities attending today’s event,” he said. “This is slightly less than we’ve had before, but the economy isn’t the best, so it’s to be expected.”
The fair was broken into two parts: the first being from 9 to 11 a.m. where students from the different schools were bussed in, and the second segment running from 5 to 7 p.m. where students could attend the event with their parents.
The colleges are from around the state as well as the Mainland. This year there was also a college from Canada in addition to the career vendors, including the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa and the Kaua‘i Police Department, Moritsugu said.
“Earn some extra money for college with a summer job. That’s what we’re promoting today,” said Joseph Schoniwitz of the Grand Hyatt. “Students are always welcome to apply for summer employment opportunities to help with college education.”
Higa said she was disappointed to learn she could have had Explorers from the KPD Explorer program on hand to relate better to the audience of high school students that ranged from 10th to 12th grades.
Moritsugu said the morning session had 150 students, primarily 11th- and 12th-graders, from Kapa‘a High School; 100 students from Waimea; 225 from Kaua‘i High School; and 35 from Island School. Additionally, he said there were 30 students from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School scheduled to take in the event.
“During the evening session, we’ve planned for about another 300 people,” Moritsugu said.
Cienna Barretto, a 12th-grader from Kapa‘a, said having an event like this is really helpful to her.
“I kind of have an idea of where I want to go, but when you see all of them here, it definitely helps a lot,” Barretto said.
Robert Levoit, the Jr. ROTC director at Kapa‘a High School, was helping at the West Point table.
“I’m a graduate of West Point,” he said. “This is all about awareness. Do you realize that many of these students don’t even know where West Point is located? We need to get more Hawai‘i students aware of how they can achieve their educational needs through these academies.”
The University of Hawai‘i-Hilo utilized Randi Oketani, a graduate from Kaua‘i High School who is now a senior at the Hilo branch, to talk to students about college life and the educational experience beyond high school.
Moritsugu said in addition to himself, the Kaua‘i committee included Joan Shaw of Island School, Kimo Chun and Donna Nakahara of the Kamehameha Schools, Nellie Okamoto of Kapa‘a High School, Leila Kuboyama of Waimea High School, Kristy Moises of Kaua‘i High School, and John Constantino of the Kaua‘i Community College.
