Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union Awards $24,000 in Scholarships

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 167 applications from 17 Big Island High 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 35 years.

The eight scholarships are named after a volunteer or a manager who made significant contributions to the credit union. The deserving students are:

• The John Y. Iwane Scholarship was presented to Shwe Win, a graduate of Hilo High School. Shwe plans to attend Harvard University to pursue a career in Biochemistry.
• The Peter T. Hirata Scholarship was awarded to Eloise Robertson of Parker School, who plans to attend Brown University to pursue a career in Political Science and International Relations.
• The Albert Akana Scholarship was presented to Phoenix Spencer of West Hawaii Explorations Academy Public Charter School. Phoenix plans to pursue a career in Communication Disorders and Sciences at the University of Oregon.
• The Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship was awarded to Mersaydeez-Kathryne Rocha of Konawaena High School. Mersaydeez-Kathryne plans to pursue a career in Exploratory Health at Palamanui Community College.
• The Frank Ishii Scholarship was presented to Naia Kipling of Kealakehe High School. Naia will be pursuing a career in Fashion Design.
• The Mitsugi Inaba Scholarship was awarded to Sheilyn Subia of Honokaa High School. Sheilyn will be pursuing a career in Medical Humanities on a Pre-Med Track at Baylor University.
• The Michael Asam Scholarship was presented to Mark Sahagun of Kohala High School. Mark plans to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa to pursue a career in Business Administration.
• The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship was awarded to Jennifer Kamimura, who is a graduate of Hilo High School. Jennifer is currently attending Pacific Lutheran University in pursuit of a career in Communications.