Dispensing food and academic advice

Hawai‘i Community College Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Christine Quintana believes that academic success begins with a healthy diet. Meanwhile, UH Hilo academic advisors Comfort Sumida and Melanie Brokaw maintain that a comprehensive strategy is required when advising students. Despite their different roles, all three share a common goal: ensuring student success.

And they all oversee programs that benefited from generous gifts from the Stupski Foundation.

“The grant helped us launch the Ho‘olehua Advisor Wellness program,” said Sumida. “We’ve never received funding focused solely on the well-being of advisors – like myself.”

The grant also allocated funding for Hawai‘i Community College’s Kahuaola Basic Needs Center on the Manono campus in Hilo, which aims to build a foundation to support the basic needs of Hawaiʻi CC students.

“Aside from being able to meet the basic needs – like food and housing – of our students, I’m very grateful to the Stupski Foundation because we were able to hire student workers to support our work,” Quintana said. “It’s a win-win for everyone since we gain the much-needed help while the students get to develop their leadership skills.”

In the ever-evolving world of higher education, students today face myriad choices, challenges and uncertainties, including food insecurity. Quintana noted that some students come weekly to Kahuaola in search of food and other necessities.

“It’s more than just getting free food,” Quintana said. “It’s about building pilina (relationships) with students and supporting them in every aspect of their academic journey.”

Sumida and Brokaw share a similar philosophy in advising students, and since joining the Ho‘olehua Advisor Wellness program, they feel better equipped to support their students. Through the program, they built a network of advisors across UH campuses on Hawai‘i Island.

“I’m now more intentional with advising our students,” said Brokaw, an advisor with the UH Hilo athletic department. “And I feel more confident now as an effective advisor who can make a true impact on a student’s experience.”