At Kapiolani Community College (KCC), University of Hawaii (UH), START UP scholarships support the College's dual mission to prepare students in an Associate in Science in Natural Science (ASNS) program to meet rigorous degree requirements, go on to complete baccalaureate degree requirements, and meet high employment standards in a diversifying state economy. KCC START UP is making progress towards four ambitious, major goals: to 1) provide scholarships of 1-3 years in duration to 100 academically talented and financially needy STEM students over five years; 2) to support/nurture all S-STEM students to make satisfactory annual progress; 3) to increase financial aid participation and program success rates from approximately 60 to 90 percent; and 4) to increase the number of ASNS degree students from 86 to 300, with 65 completing the ASNS degree and/or transferring to baccalaureate degree programs. Recruitment strategies for scholarship applicants include a summer bridge program that provides STEM enrichment activities for Native Hawaiian, underrepresented, and other talented 11th and 12th grade students. Scholarship selection employs rigorous GPA and academic progress criteria and engages six STEM faculty members in the biological and physical sciences and engineering annually. Support activities for the START UP scholars as they pursue comprehensive STEM academic programs include a STEM learning center, peer mentoring, career placement services, opportunities for undergraduate research experiences and community service, and formalized STEM transfer pathways in engineering, ecology, biotechnology, and human physiology. These activities and strategies for ensuring academic success of START UP scholars leverage operational models and infrastructure from other NSF-funded projects, as well as from additional federal and state investments. The START UP program allows KCC to continue to be an effective incubator of science talent, particularly Native Hawaiians and other underrepresented students in STEM, who are academically talented and economically disadvantaged.