The dreams of eight Hawaii Island high school graduates are closer to being fulfilled with the generous support of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU). Through the credit union’s annual scholarship program, the students will receive a $3,000 scholarship to attend two- or four-year institutions of higher learning in the coming school year.
The high school graduates were selected out of a field of 183 applications from 17 Big Island schools. The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship is specifically for a post-high school graduate currently attending college or going back to college. Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union has provided scholarships to Hawaii Island students for more than 36 years.
The eight scholarships are named after a volunteer or a manager who made significant contributions to the credit union. The students receiving scholarships were:
• The John Y. Iwane Scholarship was presented to Matthew Labasan, a graduate of Waiakea High School. Labasan plans to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst and study environmental engineering.
• The Peter T. Hirata Scholarship was awarded to Montana Lagat of Kamehameha Schools Hawaii. Lagat plans to attend Stanford University and where she will study biochemistry.
• The Albert Akana Scholarship was presented to Jasmin Kim, a graduate of Kealakehe High School. Kim plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
• The Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship was awarded to Kuumakanaleiwilimekealohamakamae Atay of Hilo High School. Atay plans to pursue a career in psychology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.
• The Frank Ishii Scholarship was presented to Jake Cano, a graduate of Honokaa High School. Cano plans to attend Hawaii Community College and pursue a career in information technology.
• The Mitsugi Inaba Scholarship was awarded to Kayla Pak of Konawaena High School. Pak plans on studying Kinesiology at Pacific University.
• The Michael Asam Scholarship was presented to Teige Lorenzo-Akamu, a graduate of Kohala High School. Lorenzo-Akamu plans on pursuing a career in early childhood education at Grand Canyon University.
• The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship was awarded to Duncan Anderson who is a graduate of Kohala High School and is currently attending Pacific University in pursuit of a career in environmental biology.
HCFCU is a not-for-profit, federally insured financial institution owned by its more than 46,000 members. HCFCU’s branches are located in Hilo, Honokaa, Kailua-Kona, Kaloko, Kealakekua, Kohala.Also, HCFCU has Student Credit Unions in Hilo, Kealakehe, Kohala and Konawaena high schools.
Learn more at www.hicommfcu.com.
