How do you give back to the community in your golden years? A new mentorship program aims to bring kūpuna to classrooms to share their knowledge about STEM fields — that's science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Al Ogata, the president and CEO of CyberHawaii, started the pilot program with Cullen Hayashida, an affiliate faculty member in the University of Hawaiʻi sociology department. The program will be gearing up over the summer with plans to launch in the fall.
They recently sat down with The Conversation to talk about bridging the intergenerational gap.
"We have older adults that are retiring and oftentimes not certain exactly what to do with the rest of their lives, and they've got another 20 to 30 bonus years ahead of them. They've got skills, they got talent, they got experience, they got connections, and many of them are financially independent, and they've got an enormous amount of time on their hands. And what we're trying to do is find a way of marshaling all that resource for the greater good," Hayashida said.
They plan to start the program at public schools in the Leilehua-Mililani-Waialua Complex Area. Teachers will be able to list the skills and knowledge they're looking for in a kupuna.
"The first place we're starting is really how kūpuna can help the younger folks in class, but really the reverse works as well. So as we get into the process, having kids be able to help kūpuna in technology, in online use, social media is also part of it because it's not just one generation that has something to teach another, every generation has something to teach the other generation," Ogata told HPR.
Ogata said they hope to seek funding down the line to expand the program to other school districts and subject areas beyond STEM.
Those interested in participating as mentors can learn more at an information session on Thursday at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Innovation Center from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 29, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
