VAKA Pasifika Learning Community
VAKA is Sacramento City College’s Pasifika Learning Community, created to support Pacific Islander students as they navigate college, build community, and work toward their academic and career goals.
Sacramento is home to one of the largest and fastest growing Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities, and a majority of communities find themselves as first-generation college students needing support with acclimating into higher education. Through VAKA, we dedicate our services operating from Pacific Islander values of gratitude, community and encouraging the next generation to do the same.
Vaka means canoe in Tongan and reflects our journey as a Pacific Islander community navigating Higher Education with the goals of transferring to a four-year university in two years. Each year we dedicate welcome a new cohort (wave) of VAKA students that we're able to support through our various services!
What VAKA Offers
- Sacramento City College Application Support
- Academic Counseling and Advising
- Peer Mentoring and Community-Building Activities
- Cohort Learning Experience
- Pacific Islander Emphasis Courses
- Pacific Islander Dedicated Workshops
Who Are Pacific Islanders?
Pacific Islanders are indigenous communities from the South Pacific across various islands in Oceania. Through recent migration, Pacific Islanders have grown vastly across the U.S. and are largely located in California.
Related Resources
Asian Pacific Islander Student Success
Inspire. Engage. Support. Empower. SCC supports APIA student success while claiming solidarity with students of East Asian, Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian, and South Asian descent.
Asian and Pacific Islander Center
The Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Center is a shared space that provides culturally affirming programs and services for students who come from similar and diverse East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, West Asian, North Asian, Filipino, and Pacific Islander cultural backgrounds.
Asian Cultural Engagement and Support (ACES) Club
Purpose: To promote higher education within the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community and to increase the awareness of the Asian and Pacific Islander culture, while creating a positive social environment in the Club that will help students accomplish their educational goals within Sacramento City College.
Pasifika Connections Club
Increasing academic success, recruitment, retention of Pacific Islander students and club members.
Cultural Engagement Centers
SCC offers a wide variety of cultural retention and engagement opportunities, to make sure our students are successful.
