Education-1st Hawaii is a non-profit organization committed to helping Hawaii's youth better prepare themselves for college and career success. We have geared our programs towards the teaching and practice of effective study skills, offering academic support, and assisting our students in taking the steps necessary to fulfill their desire to attend college. Our after school mentoring program, Scholars, our AVID program, offered as part of the school curriculum, our Game Plan Academy and Football Camp, as well as our Monthly Workshops, are the five main ways is which we are achieving this goal. Through these programs students learn the keys to success, gain self-confidence, and are motivated to adopt a "can do" attitude in their lives.

Education-1st Hawaii is the culmination of an idea for Asai and Keawe Gilman, a local husband and wife team. Born and raised in the islands, they graduated from Kamehameha Schools, left to the mainland for college, dated, married, & started their family. Asai,originally from Kahaluu,& Keawe, who grew up in Laie, have worked in higher education for a culmination of 16 years in the mainland and in Hawaii. Throughout their experiences, a desire to help Hawaii's students better prepare themselves for higher education flourished as Asai worked closely with many Hawaii athletes who had all the talent for athletics, but struggled to meet the academic demands of college. Many did not finish their college education. Five years ago, Asai and Keawe were given the opportunity to return home to Hawaii and last year they started Education-1 st Hawaii to begin to contribute back to their community.

After alengthy process which included countless hours of discussions,community meetings, drafts, and many long nights, a grant from the U.S. Department of Education was acquired and Education-1 st Hawaii, was brought into being. With a dedicated staff, the organization has already begun to reach and influence many in our Ko'olauloa community.