From elementary school, education continued to follow the norm. For High School, my brother Edward and I were accepted into Punahou School, a prestigious Private school in Honolulu. Punahou is one of the finest private schools in the United States. Acceptance is very selective, so we were ecstatic to have been accepted. Punahou takes great pride in its education successes as 98% of every graduating class continued onto university and at the school of their choice.
The moral of this story is not that my brother and I attended a prestigious private school but that our parents sacrificed so much to have us there.
At the time, I did not understand anything other than going to Punahou and looking forward to university. We were not a wealthy family with the resources to afford a private school. It was not until after graduation that I realized all the savings and sacrifices from Mom and Dad that made Punahou possible. I did not understand the cost of tuition nor what it took to pay it. Like many parents, the future of their children meant everything and there was nothing they would not sacrifice to secure the education that would bring about the brightest future possible for the children. Mom and Dad believed this.
Graduating from Punahou in 1968 was a great achievement and I thanked my parents many times over the years for making it happen. From Punahou, I was accepted to the University of Denver (“DU”), in Denver, Colorado where I ultimately graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. I realized that DU meant additional financial stress for the folks. Delighted for the chance to go to University, I promised that I would secure a student loan and work part-time to support at least a portion of the expenses.
While at DU, I worked in the dormitory for two years as a student assistant “SA” to manage a floor of 30 students. This provided me with free room and board which was extremely helpful. On the weekends, I would also work at the front desk of the dormitory. I even typed papers for other students at 50 cents per page.
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