In 2000-01, the Kealakehe High School Community Council established four scholarships that honor graduating Waveriders for living up to the school’s vision and mission. These young adults are honored as the Most Outstanding and Most Charitable students in their class because of their academic excellence and their service to the school and community.
In 2005, the scholarship was renamed to honor one of these outstanding Waveriders, Sarah Rosenberg. Rosenberg, an energetic, driven, compassionate and caring student-athlete, attended Kealakehe High from August 2001 until December 2004 when she was killed in a tragic car accident. Over the course of her high school career, Rosenberg came to embody the highest qualities of a Waverider: a student who builds and cherishes strong relationships, earns and shows respect toward all people and willingly fulfills all of their responsibilities.
After Rosenberg’s death, a fund was established through the Hawaii Community Foundation so that the scholarships would be perpetual. Since Kealakehe’s first graduation in 2001, there have been 88 awardees who have earned a total of $156,500 which they have used to support their post-secondary education.
The 2019-20 scholarship awardees for each category are: “Most Outstanding (Kupono) Waverider” – first place winner: Sarah/Yuri Choi ($3,000) and second place winner: Joyce Rosabia ($2,500); and “Most Charitable (Lokomaikai) Waverider” – first place winner: Vyas Hale ($3,000) and second place winner: Makena Becker ($2,500).
During Kealakehe’s Virtual Graduation last month, all four students shared speeches on behalf of the Class of 2020.
Choi has committed to Macalaster College in Minnesota where she plans to major in computer science and minor in business.
Rosabia will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa where she plans to study biomedical engineering with the goal of pursuing pediatrics in medical school. Hale has committed to UH-Hilo as a regent’s scholar where he plans to major in history and work toward a license in secondary education. Becker will attend Southern Utah University where she plans to major in education with a focus on the needs of special education students.