HPA Hiatt and Academic Creativity scholarship winners announced
Hawaii Preparatory Academy seniors Eliana Kaplan and Davy Ragland are the recipients of the Hiatt College Scholarships for Community Service and Academic Creativity and Initiative. HPA parents Jerry and Mahilani Hiatt were on hand for the presentation at the upper school assembly on Nov. 17.
Kaplan received the Community Service Award and a $1,000 scholarship for embodying the spirit of servant leadership. Kaplan serves as student council president and has been involved with student council for the past four years. She is active with the school’s Service Learning Advisory Council, student ambassadors and has volunteered in the community as a legal intern and an usher at Kahilu Theatre. She is involved in theater and dance at HPA and in the community, most recently starring as Belle in the school’s presentation of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.”
Ragland received the Academic Creativity and Initiative Award and a $1,000 scholarship for his numerous research projects at the school’s Energy Lab, which range from brainwave research and experimenting with human-machine interfaces to prototyping a CO2 sensory instrumentation device for predicting sleep apnea and designing and 3D printing a medical cast for his sister. He recently was one of six student presenters at the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools’ Schools of the Future 2014 Conference and is part of a student team representing HPA at the Project Green Challenge Finals last week in San Francisco.
Two Hawaii 4-Hers to participate in national congress
National 4-H Congress is a leadership opportunity for 4-H members from all 50 states. Kona 4-Hers Tianna Morimoto and Leah Teramoto along with extension educator Joan Chong will participate in this event for 4-H members in Atlanta from Thursday to Dec. 3. National 4-H Congress, a 4-H tradition for 93 years, is the highest state honor attainable by a 4-H member in recognition of significant accomplishments in the youth development program.
This event, “Passport to Excellence,” brings together more than 1,000 outstanding 4-Hers, adult 4-H volunteer leaders and 4-H Youth Development Extension Educators from across the country and Puerto Rico. Many workshops along with keynote addresses from motivational speaker Eric Chester, Holocaust survivor Dr. Eugen Schoenfeld, Miss America Nina Davuluri and Dan Clark, New York Times best-selling author, will round out the learning experience. Through hands-on workshops, team building experiences, cultural programs, field trips and community service activities, the 4-Hers will have an opportunity to expand their horizons and further develop their leadership skills.
For more information about the 4-H Youth Development Program, contact the Kona Extension office at 322-0166. Partial scholarship support for this national recognition event was provided by the Hawaii State 4-H Alumni Association.
Takitani Foundation adds scholarships
The Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation Inc. has added an extra round of grants to its high school scholarship program this year by introducing new scholarships at four nonprofit organizations and institutions. With these new grants, the foundation awarded $304,280 to Hawaii’s students this year.
Chaminade College received $50,000 to create a Takitani Entrepreneurship Scholar program for majors in entrepreneurship. Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific will use its $40,000 grant for internships to students majoring in physical therapy. Shidler College of Business is using its $25,000 toward to create an entrepreneurship major for Takitani Innovation Fellows who provide strategic planning services. The Pacific Asian Affairs Council will use its $20,000 grant for scholarships in its travel abroad and after school enrichment programs.
Seven other nonprofit entities with existing scholarship programs are also supported by the Takitani Foundation including $14,000 to YMCA Youth Leadership Program; $14,000 to Pueo Program; $8,000 to Lawakua Kajukenbo Club; $6,000 each to the Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Academy and Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii; and $5,000 each to University of Hawaii’s Shidler School of Business and the School of Tropical Agriculture.
Mamoru and Aiko Takitani founded Hawaiian Host Inc., manufacturer of Hawaiian Host chocolates, and established the foundation to provide the gift of education to Hawaii’s youth.
Free Geographic Information System training offered
In celebration of global Geographic Information System Day, Maui Economic Development Board’s Women in Technology will be providing free GIS training for students and teachers in Hilo and Kona. Two training sessions are offered from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at the Hilo Department of Education annex, 450 Waianuenue Ave, conference room 1 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii, 73-4460 Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Kailua-Kona.
Charlie Fitzpatrick, Environmental Systems Research Institute K-12education manager, will share expertise helping participants visualize and interpret geographic data as well as relationships and patterns that can transform and improve communities. The software tool can be integrated into every subject matter. Credits are available.
Registration is required. For more information, visit the workshop section at womenintech.com/category/workshops or download the latest newsletter on the STEMworks website.
For more information, contact Isla Young at isla@medb.org or 250-2888. To register, visit womenintech.com/esri-gis-training-in-big-island.
Golf tourney raises $18K for financial aid
Parker School raised nearly $18,000 at its 12th annual Fairways &Friends Golf Tournament at Hualalai Resort on Nov. 8. Proceeds from the event go directly to financial aid at the school.
This year, in addition to golf, Hualalai Spa treatments were offered that day.