Aloha and welcome to the Pacific Islander Access project's webpage.
The Pacific Islander Access project, called "the PIA project" for short, is a start up nonprofit working to expand educational opportunity for Pacific Islanders in America.
Some people are unfamiliar with Pacific Islanders, though many Pacific Islanders call America their home. Even more people are unaware that Pacific Islanders are significantly underrepresented in higher education. Fewer still realize that while there are numerous scholarships, fellowships, and other academic programs for underrepresented minorities, many of these programs don't recognize that Pacific Islanders are underrepresented.
Our goal is to educate these academic programs for underrepresented minorities in higher education (aka "UHE programs") and persuade them to include Pacific Islanders along with the already included minorities.We put this webpage/blog together to make our information easily accessible. By clicking on the links below, you can learn more about us, Pacific Islanders, how Pacific Islanders are underrepresented in higher education, and how they are excluded from UHE programs.
If you are looking for more information about our plan, who our supporters are, our latest news, or how you can help, check these links out:
Also, feel free to check out the external links. They include U.S. Census data on Pacific Islanders, higher educational attainment in the U.S., and an article on Pacific Islander exclusion.
Though it may read like something between the usual website and a blog, we hope you will find the format easy to navigate. If you have any questions or suggestions, please don't hesitate to contact us at piaproject@hotmail.com.
Me ka ha'aha'a (with humility),
Kawika
Executive Director, PIA project
