RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM Betty White, principal of Sacred Hearts Academy in Kaimuki, has been named national trustee of the National Coalition of Girls' Schools. White said Thursday that she has seen changes in how girls regard math and science since she started at the school 30 years ago.

Principal helps
young women
create identities

Question: What are the most popular professions for Sacred Hearts students?

Answer: We are pushing engineering, but I still hear a lot of girls are going into the arts. Journalism is a big one, broadcast journalism, public relations. It's a whole variety of occupations. And we also encourage the girls to seek out what I would call the trade professions, becoming electricians and plumbers and whatever. Although the work has always been dominated by men, it's a good salary. I was speaking the other day with a girl and she was in the sheet metal/air-conditioning profession in Hawaii.

Q: The academy recently held a Girls' Financial Literacy Conference. What other initiatives do you have?

A: That was one of our biggest endeavors. That was brought about because we are interested in financial independence when the girls finish their education. Another conference that we have that is even bigger is a science symposium for girls and we have that in February of every year. We have about 500 girls in that one from all of Hawaii's public and private schools. And next year this coming February will be our 11th year.

Q: What's behind that?

A: I think it's to instill in girls a confidence that they can do anything and be anything that they want to be, especially the science symposium. It's making the world of science and math and technology come alive to them and hopefully open up some career opportunities. We also have an economic summit. It's a week long, and we have a total of 30 girls from public and private schools. They come on campus for a week and they focus on one area such as technology. One year we had the legal system. Another year we had arts. Another year we had the medical field. So during that week we expose them to all sorts of careers and opportunities that happen to be in that genre of occupations and professions.

Q: Have you seen results?

A: I notice especially girls are more interested in math and science than when I started here at Sacred Hearts 30 years ago. Most of our girls are taking four years of math and four years of science.

Q: What are some other new things?

A: Two things that are a little different from past years are we have a women's studies class. It's starting its second year. And then we have a pre-engineering class. Both of them are quite popular with the girls. And both of them serve the purpose of helping them create their own identity and convincing them they can be anybody and do anything they want to do and not use gender as an excuse for not accomplishing their dreams and goals.

Q: Does that still happen?

A: When they come in ninth grade, it's, "I'm junk in math and I don't like science and I can't do this and I can't do that," and it's our job to squelch those stereotypes and those false assumptions.

When I talk with girls today in their professionals they just automatically assume they are going into the job market. There's no such thing as "I'm going into college and becoming a housewife." But they don't relate the value of math, science and technology to realizing their jobs in the future. They all want to make good money and become financially independent. And oftentimes you have to remind them that it's in the professions that require math, science and technology that make good salaries.

Q: How many Sacred Hearts students go to the mainland for college?

A: I would say about 30 percent. More would go but they just cannot afford it. The money becomes a big factor and many of the mainland schools, the price right now is at least in the area of $30,000. I think that the local universities do a good job and that the community college system is good and many of them feed into the Manoa campus afterwards. Chaminade and Hawaii Pacific University are doing an outstanding job with high school graduates.

We encourage the girls, though, to pursue and at least explore mainland opportunities, because sometimes they just need to get away from home and mature and experience the world outside of Hawaii. But I think there are educational opportunities they can definitely pursue here in the state just as well.

Q: Do the girls have much trouble getting used to co-ed colleges?

A: I am assuming there's a certain degree of transition that they go through. Many of them, although they are going to an all-girls school, they have experience outside of school in which they are with boys. I think where the transition sometimes comes in at a college level is the immense amount of freedom academically. It's whether they are focused enough to stay on the studies and remain on task. And the social challenges they have. I think most students do not have a problem when they have academics when they go to school. It's all the social aspects, when you have freedom and are going away from home.