Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 2012 — Scholarship ʻAha on paee to attract record number of Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Scholarship ʻAha on paee to attract record number of Hawaiians

By Harold Nedd As some Native Hawaiian students weigh hopes and dreams against limited budgets, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is turning attention to efforts to ensure that the millions of dollars in scholarship money available to them get used. Already, OHA is on paee this year to triple last year's turnout for scholarship fairs to assist Native Hawaiians with finding help to pay for college. Known as the Native Hawaiian Scholarship 'Aha Program, these fairs are part of a partnership with the University of Hawai'i, Native Hawaiian Education Association, Gear Up Hawai'i and the Paeihe Financial Aid Association. They are intended to provide Native Hawaiians with greater aecess to hnaneial aid.

Last year, 1,200 people attended the 12 scholarship fairs held across the state. For this year's scholarship season, an estimated 1,250 people have attended first six fairs held respectively in Wai'anae, Kāne'ohe, Kapolei, Maui, Moloka'i and Hilo. Among those people was Kathy Giffard, a 44-year-old Mākaha resident who won a $500 scholarship just for attending the fair held in Wai'anae on Dec. 6. "I amgoing to put that money towards getting my master's degree in social work," said Giffard, a community recruiter for a Wai'anae-based cultural awareness and education program. Last year, $57 million in hnaneial aid was awarded to Native Hawaiian students who attended college within the University of Hawai'i system. The average amount they received was $12,000, according to the University of Hawai'i. Since 2007, OHA has been

committing $500,000 annually to scholarships or direct tuition assistance for Native Hawaiian students. During that time, the number of Native Hawaiian students in the UH system has doubled, from 4,600 to 9,200 over the past four years. Feb. 17, 2012, is the deadline to apply for scholarship money from OHA for the 2012-2013 school year. Applications are available via the Hawai'i Community Foundation web site, hawaiicommunityfoundation.org. The fairs that have been scheduled statewide through Jan. 25 highlight the various scholarships that are available to Native Hawaiians. They are also part of a major education initiative aimed largely at helping to ensure that Native Hawaiian students graduate eollege in two to four years and land well-paying jobs. "I see plenty of people in my

community living paycheck to paycheck and I don't want that for myself," said Jessica HatoriKalama, a 20-year-old Mākaha resident and Leeward Community College student who attended the scholarship fair in Wai'anae to find money to help pursue a degree in psychology. She and her friend Maili EnosBranigan, a 19-year-old nursing student at Leeward Community College, were part of the standing-room-only crowd of 150 people who attended the scholarship fair in Wai'anae. "I see people who graduated high school before me not doing anything with their lives," said Enos-Branigan, a 2010 graduate of Wai'anae High School. "That is motivating me to heeome the first person in my family to graduate from college." Robbie Akana, a 46-year-old Waimānalo resident, was among the 350 people who showed up for the scholarship fair Dec. 7 at Windward Community College in Kāne'ohe.

Since losing her job in the cargo department at the now-defunct Aloha Airlines a few years ago, Akana said she has struggled to find fulfillment in the workplace. "So, I decided to go back to school to earn a college degree," said Akana, who is a Hawaiian Studies and psychology student at Windward Community College. "The jobs I had after Aloha Airline were just not a good fit for me. My focus now is on finding help to pay for improving my education." Kamalei Aweae, a 17-year-old high school senior at Hakipu'u Leaming Center, said a school counselor alerted him to the scholarship fair at Windward Community College. He summed up his attendance at the fair this way: "I eame to this fair to look for money to pay for college and further my education." ■ For a īisting of scholarships for Native Hawaiiam, please see the December issue of Ka Wai Ola, online at oha.org/kwo/201 1/12 .

UPC0MING SCHQLARSHIP 'AHA O'ahu Jan. 12, 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Kahuku High School cafeteria Jan. 17, 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Ka Ho'oilina Na Kūhiō Community Center Kaua'i Jan. 18, 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Kaua'i Community College, Dining Room Maui Jan. 25, 2012, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Hāna School cafeteria

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OHA Youth Coordinator Joe Kūhiō Lewis helps a benefiicary at the Scholarship 'Aha in Wai'anae, whieh drew an estimated 1 50 aftendees. - Photos: Pake Simon

About 350 people aftended the Dec. 7 fair at Windward Community College in Kāne'ohe.