High-School Students in the Hawaiian Islands Attend Financial-Aid Workshops

The Pacific Financial Aid Association is hosting 24 Financial-Aid Nights, reaching more than 2,000 high-school students in the Hawaiian Islands, with the support of a $9,300 grant from USA Funds^®.

The financial-aid sessions had been conducted only on Oahu. USA Funds began supporting workshops for students on the neighbor islands in 2003. Since that year, PacFAA has nearly doubled the workshops that it presents each year from November to January. In 2005 the organization added five sessions and reached approximately 750 more students and their families than it assisted the previous year.

“Because organized financial-aid workshops from student-aid professionals are infrequent on the islands, expanding the workshops is crucial,” says Lorraine Teniya, USA Funds director of customer relations in Hawaii. “High-school students must be aware of the postsecondary opportunities available to them.” Teniya is a member of this year’s PacFAA executive council and helped with the planning and coordination of the workshops.

During the evening workshops, high-school students learn about scholarships and financial aid, and how to apply for them using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students receive informational packets as well.

“Our goal is to help students and their parents understand that they have the opportunity to go to college, that there is financial assistance available, and, more importantly, that there are people who are willing and able to help,” says Frank Green, PacFAA immediate past president. “Thanks to the generous support from USA Funds, our workshops in the neighbor islands have been a great success, and we were able to reach even more students in 2005-2006.”

Local financial-aid administrators — one from Oahu and five from the neighbor islands — presented the workshops, hosting 11 workshops on the island of Hawaii, eight on Maui, three on Kauai, one on Molokai and one on Lanai. All but two high schools on the islands hosted the workshops.

PacFAA has been serving the needs of students in the Pacific since 1975. The organization works to encourage and promote student financial-aid programs, support the professional preparation of student-financial-aid staff, facilitate communication among various organizations, and develop regional positions on federal student-financial-aid issues.

USA Funds supports the workshops presented by PacFAA as part of its commitment to postsecondary-education preparedness, access and success in Hawaii. USA Funds is the designated guarantor of federal education loans in eight states, including Hawaii.