Hawai'i teens selected to design college programs
By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| From left, Nicole Hori, Leighton Ige and Cheryl Inouye each received a $170,000 five-year scholarship to help "invent" Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, which is being built in Needham, Mass.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser |
But Nicole Hori, Leighton Ige and Cheryl Inouye have opted for a college that isn't even open yet.
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, also known simply as Olin College, is slated to open officially in fall 2002 in Needham, Mass. It is attracting notice for its efforts to build its curriculum with input from some of the nation's brightest students.
Hori, Ige and Inouye, all 18-year-old Hawai'i residents, are among 30 promising students, most from the United States, who each were awarded a $170,000 five-year scholarship to help develop the college's engineering curriculum. Known as the "Olin Partners," these students will evaluate the effectiveness of new methods in engineering education.
They will also help set up the student life programs: from establishing a student government to choosing a college mascot.
"I think it's just an experience of a lifetime," said Inouye, a valedictorian at Pearl City High School. "You get to help make a college!"
Olin College, chartered in 1997, is financed through a commitment of more than $300 million from the F.W. Olin Foundation of New York, one of the largest gifts of its kind in the history of U.S. higher education.
The foundation chose to develop a new engineering college to create, from scratch, a curriculum that emphasizes teamwork, communication, entrepreneurship and an interdisciplinary approach, which means a blending of disciplines, including engineering and business, as well as liberal arts, social sciences and creative arts, said Joe Hunter, spokesperson for the college.
The 30 young Olin Partners will begin their first year at Olin in August. The Needham campus, a 70-acre site, is about 12 miles west of downtown Boston.
The three students from Hawai'i first heard about the start-up college during their junior year; Ige, via a school counselor, and Hori and Inouye through brochures that they received in the mail.
About 30,000 such brochures had been sent out to the nation's top-scoring SAT students. Hunter described the search for potential Olin students as "a very targeted campaign."
"I think the main reason I set out to go to Olin is, this is just a unique opportunity," said Ige, a valedictorian at Iolani School. "I don't think any other school can provide me with a chance to help create this curriculum, to really leave my mark on the school."
Nearly 700 students applied to Olin, of which 116 were invited to Boston in March. There, the college observed the students'
interactions in interviews and team-based activities. Olin College then chose the 30 partners based on academic achievement, as well as creativity, teamwork and broad interests.
"We recognized that they are all exceptional students," said Charles Nolan, dean of admission at Olin. "They are simply some of the best."
Hori also was impressed with some of her future Olin peers.
"When I met the other students who are interested in going to Olin, and I saw how excited about learning and just enthusiastic for the idea of trying new things and working out a new curriculum they were, I knew it was ... an atmosphere that would really help me learn and help me grow," said Hori, a Honolulu resident who is a graduate of Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Wash.
Foundation's work
Franklin W. Olin — an engineer, major league baseball player, entrepreneur and philanthropist — established the F.W. Olin Foundation in 1938 using his personal wealth, which mainly came from his business enterprises. Olin died in 1951.
The foundation was set up to strengthen teaching and innovation in higher education.
Over the last 60 years, the foundation has awarded grants to construct and fully equip more than 70 buildings on nearly 60 college campuses nationwide, including Cornell, Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins, Tufts and Worcester Polytechnic.
The Olin College campus is still under construction, but Hunter said it is about three-fourths complete.
Phase I of the construction consists of four buildings — an academic center, a campus/student center, a classroom and lab building, and residence hall — and is scheduled to be completed by early 2002. Until then, temporary structures on campus will serve as residences and classrooms for the students.
The start date of construction for Phase II — another lab building and three more residence halls — is yet to be determined.
Olin will be next to Babson College, which has programs in business and entrepreneurship. The two colleges will share facilities and allow students to cross-register.
A full year ahead
The Olin Partners will spend their first year not only working with faculty and administrators to develop the curriculum and various programs, but also participating in a program that includes study, community service, a mentorship and a trip to France.
The partners will then become part of the college's first freshmen class, which will include about 50 more students, when it officially begins studies in fall 2002.
The scholarship each partner receives will cover the "partner" year at Olin and the four years of the regular baccalaureate program thereafter. All other admitted students will also receive full tuition scholarships paid for by the foundation.
A worthwhile risk
While the project stirs up feelings of enthusiasm among its young partners, the students acknowledge that going to an unestablished college may be a risk.
"It's a gamble. But I have nothing to lose," Inouye said. "If it doesn't turn out, the only thing I'm losing is time, and I'm not really wasting that either because I ... (will have) been spending those years learning."
Although Ige was also a little concerned, he said that after meeting with the faculty and students in Boston and experiencing the passion and excitement they felt about Olin, he realized that "they wouldn't let this college fail," Ige said.
Susan Inouye, Cheryl's mother, also felt reassured after the trip to Boston.
"At first I was really worried, because it (is) ... a brand-new school and they're not accredited, and you don't know anything about them or their professors," Susan Inouye said.
"But once I got there and I met everybody, and I saw ... the college being built, then I felt really happy about it."
Hori's mother, Gayle, was pleased with Hori's decision to attend Olin; she received reassurance from her family's strong Christian faith.
"It seemed like doors opened for her," Gayle Hori said. "This is where God wanted her to go."
Like Hori's and Inouye's parents, Ige's parents are supportive.
"My husband and I are very excited about this innovative program," said Fern Ige, Leighton's mother.
"I myself am a teacher (at Iolani School) and I welcome new changes in education, even if this is still being tested."
The students are still getting used to having to explain the unknown college to other people.
"It's not like you could just say, 'I'm going to ... ,' and everyone knows what you're talking about," Hori said and laughed. "It's such an exciting opportunity that I just have fun sharing with people what's going to happen."
Age: 18 Family: Arthur and Gayle Hori, parents; brother Adam, 15 Hometown: Honolulu High School: Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Wash. High school accolades include: member of the science club and drama team, National Merit finalist and Presidential Scholar nominee. Age: 18 Family: Jordan and Fern Ige, parents Hometown: Palolo High School: Iolani School High school accolades include: valedictorian, varsity volleyball player, and cellist for school orchestra. Ige also owns and runs his own graphic design company, Leighton Ige Designs. Age: 18 Family: James and Susan Inouye, parents Hometown: Pearl City High School: Pearl City High School High school accolades include: valedictorian, captain of the math club, recording secretary of Key Club and member of the science team.
Nicole Hori
Leighton Ige
Cheryl Inouye
