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Michelle Heller has a passion for paint. This is obvious the moment you walk into her dazzling store, Da Kine Paints, in Kahului. Her success so far and her ability to develop that success even further is due, in large measure, to the Bachelor of Applied Science degree in applied business and information technology she earned at University of Hawaii Maui College.
A spring 2015 graduate, Michelle opened her Benjamin Moore Paints store in January, just months after she received her degree. Her colorful business provides three full-time jobs and she has plans (already!) to expand to Lahaina and Kihei.
Our ABIT program offers a unique learning experience designed to guide graduates to real-world success. This four-year degree program emphasizes business, entrepreneurship and technology. Skills attained can be applied to careers in any business of any size, anywhere in the world.
We love it, of course, when our graduates stay here on Maui and become successful members of the business community, just as Michelle has done. In addition to classes in economics, math, finance, accounting, computer programming, statistics, digital marketing, business writing, ethics and more, ABIT students are mentored through a senior year project by their teachers and members of Maui’s business community.
“The ABIT degree at UH-Maui College helped me start this business in particular by utilizing the Capstone project at the end of the final semester,” says Michelle. “I was actually able to use this plan to open a Benjamin Moore paint store as my Capstone project. So I had all the mentorship from all my teachers to go over my financials, to go over my business plan, to go over every single detail about this company before I even presented it to the Benjamin Moore representatives. And when the Benjamin Moore representatives got my business plan, they gave me feedback saying it was the best business plan they had ever seen. And that was really thanks to the college.”
Michelle is a Navy veteran – she joined the service straight out of high school – and served for three years as an information technician. “The lady who does my hair actually introduced me to the ABIT program,” says Michelle. “She thought it made sense for me given my IT background in the Navy and the little bit of business experience I had.”
Michelle moved to Maui from her native California in 2009 and she has very smart advice for anyone – especially veterans – thinking about enrolling in ABIT. “I wanted to establish residency so I could get in-state tuition plus I had the advantages of the GI Bill. I was living in Haiku where it’s kind of secluded, I didn’t have many friends here so I also thought the college was a good opportunity to meet new people and make new friends.
“What I learned in the ABIT program helps in my daily work life every single day. Running a business, being a manager, managing employees, managing the books, understanding cash flow, everything I learned in the ABIT program is being applied to my day to day life in this business every single day,” says Michelle.
“I would recommend the ABIT program to anyone who is interested in being his or her own boss – which is a lot of people – or anyone who’s interested in experiencing what business is really about. I would recommend it to anybody, actually, because it gives you so many rounded skills. There are a million opportunities, endless possibilities.”
This could be you. Especially if you’re already a Hawaii resident, a student at UH-Maui College or a veteran looking for post-service career direction. All you have to do is answer one question: “How can I work at something I’m passionate about?” UH-Maui College’s Applied Business and Information Technology program could be the answer.
To learn more about UH-Maui College’s Applied Business and Information Technology program, certificates and degree, please visit maui.hawaii.edu/abit/. If you already have an applicable associates degree, please visit maui.hawaii.edu/abit/abitin3/ to see how you can easily transfer into the ABIT program. We’ll have more about abitin3 in next month’s column. Early registration for fall 2016 classes starts in April.
* Lui K. Hokoana is chancellor of the University of Hawaii Maui College. “Ka’ana Mana’o,” which means “sharing thoughts,” is scheduled to appear on the fourth Sunday of each month. It is prepared with assistance from UH-Maui College staff and is intended to provide the community of Maui County information about opportunities available through the college at its Kahului campus and its education centers.