Business View Magazine | May/June 2022

91 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 5 to be paid, thus causing a large increase in tuition rates for families.” This model became unsustainable for many families. Although Saint Louis School reports an increase in enrolment, he adds that this is not the trend in Hawaii. Most Catholic schools in the islands are either sustaining, experiencing small gains, or declining in enrollment. Taking a non-elitist approach to enrollment, part of the Saint Louis mission is to see the potential in everyone – offering a unique environment where students can succeed. “Our mission,” describes Medeiros, “is that if someone has the potential for greatness, we take a chance on them. Some kids, they’ll try public school, private school, and it just doesn’t work. But for some reason, when you put them in an all-boys school environment, they really thrive. The word “brotherhood” is often associated with Saint Louis School. They get very close. If a graduate has a wedding, it doesn’t matter if they live in Finland, everybody will go to the wedding. They meet every five years, and it’s not just about the graduates, they want the wives there, they want the kids there. At these get-togethers, even if the husband has passed away the wife is still invited. They’re part of the brotherhood, the family, so it’s really nice.” The school has a very active Alumni Association and a clubhouse only five minutes from the school. “They are constantly providing support to our Saint Louis School financially,” Medeiros says. “We’re very lucky to have our Alumni Association.” Although English is the main language of Hawaii, Saint Louis was one of the first schools to reintroduce Native Hawaiian language studies, and they were fortunate to have the famous Kuma Hula, John Lake, as a teacher of traditional language and dance. Noting a high percentage of native Hawaiian students, Medeiros reports, “You can see Hawaiian culture embedded into almost every school here in Hawaii, but it was SA INT LOUI S SCHOOL