Hawaiʻi Preparatory Academy - Review #8

When you first see the school, it may appear to just be a little thing nestled in the middle of the mountains. That's where you'd be wrong. HPA offers so much to both students and faculty. With a unique balance of academics and athletics there is never a dull moment here. As a boarding school, you are able to know more about your peers and as a result, become like family.

I would say that being at HPA made me become myself. When I first started in 6th grade, I felt lost and confused. I didn't know anyone and I began to wonder what I was doing there. But as I made friends and got to know the people around campus I became more and more comfortable. To take a quote that a teacher said to me right before I graduated, "When you first got here you were so quiet, and look, now we can't get you to shut up."

Like that teacher said, I was quiet. I didn't take the time to go out and meet people. I would say that if i could go back thats what I would change. Instead of sitting in my room feeling sorry for myself, I should have gone out and just introduced myself and tried to meet more people. Thats the advice I have to kids going to boarding school. Get to know people because you never know whose going to end up being your friend.

Overall, I liked the people the best. There were a lot of people that were nice enough that if they weren't considered a friend, you still knew them enough to be an acquaintance. The school is so small that you know everyone there. Walking to classes you see the same faces and I can promise that you'll know almost all of them personally.

ANNAS RULES!!! The most important thing I would say is to stay open to the idea. I've seen a lot of students come in with closed minds who just keep saying I hate this place, but they end up staying because when they finally start enjoying themselves, they realize they wasted half a year complaining about every little thing they could find.

There were so many things that you could do that would help to prepare you for college. For example, I'm currently in a science class that is teaching things I learned my Freshman year at HPA. Also, something I greatly miss are the teachers, because they were always willing to help. College was the first time I had ever heard of "office hours", at HPA the teachers are available for help 24-7. And the best part it, you might live down the hall or just a short walk to another dorm from one of your teachers. Also the classes are small and gives a lot of individual attention.

Not Athletic? NO PROBLEM. For those who are not athletic you could instead do a play for a sport. There is also horseback riding, and SCUBA. There are of course the traditional sports such as Football, Soccer, X-country, Swimming, Baseball...etc. Having a required sport is not a problem because there are so many things to choose from that your bound to find something you enjoy.

The theater department is awesome. Although I was never a part of it, you could see the hard work and determination that the students put into the play and musical put on each year. Besides the actors/singers/dancers, you could also see where many art students had come to help paint sets.

There were always extra-curricular things going on. There were Turtle-tagging trips, trips to Peru to help children, Red Cross, ...there was always so much going on that you could help on.

Currently, HPA offers boarding to 9th grade and up. When I first began boarding it was offered in the 6th grade and thats when I started. So I really boarded at HPA for 7 years. The boarding life is something that can't be matched. Not only does it prepare you for college dorm life, but it also gives you more of a feeling of home. It was a lot of fun and something that I still miss.

When I graduated, I would have said that the food needed a lot of improvement. When I went back to visit this past Christmas, I was amazed at some of the changes. It made me want to eat High School food again. There was more selection and the choices seemed to be more varied so that if you didn't feel like pasta, you could have a burger. Also, I found out that the food at HPA was much better than college food.

HPA is settled in a small town that is trying to grow. Currently the big names in the town are McDonalds, Foodland, Starbucks, KFC, and Blockbuster are all located close to campus. Also to make things even easier, the school busses students to town 2 times a week. Also the school provides busses to go to Kona and Hilo which are bigger towns with malls and Wal-Marts, and other larger shopping areas.

As I mentioned before, Its great when you life with friends. If your ever bored at lunchtime you just need to walk across the hall and next thing you know, the teachers will be telling you to get back in your room and go to sleep. Its great when you life with a bunch of your friends because you can end up just hanging out in each others rooms.