HCFCU Awards $24K in Scholarships to 8 Big Island Students

Eight Big Island students will receive a total of $24,000 in scholarships as part of Hawai‘i Community Federal Credit Union’s annual scholarship program.

The students each will receive a $3,000 scholarship to attend two- or four-year colleges or universities this fall. The eight scholarship winners were selected from a field of 183 applicants.

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

• Matthew Labasan, who won the John Y. Iwane Scholarship. Labasan is a graduate of Waiākea High School in Hilo and plans to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst to study environmental engineering.
• Montana Lagat received the Peter T. Hirata Scholarship. Lagat is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i and plans to attend Stanford University, where she will study biochemistry.
• Jasmin Kim, a graduate of Kealakehe High School, was awarded the Albert Akana Scholarship. Kim plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
• Kuumakanaleiwilimekealohamakamae Atay won the Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship. Atay is a graduate of Hilo High School and plans to pursue a career in psychology at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
• Jake Cano received the Frank Ishii Scholarship. Cano is a graduate of Honoka‘a High School and plans to attend Hawai‘i Community College to pursue a career in information technology.
• Kayla Pak of Konawaena High School in Kona won the Mitsugi Inaba Scholarship. Pak plans to study kinesiology at Pacific University.
• Teige Lorenzo-Akamu, a graduate of Kohala High School, was awarded the Michael Asam Scholarship. Lorenzo-Akamu plans to pursue a career in early childhood education at Grand Canyon University.
• Duncan Anderson won the Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship. Anderson, who is a graduate of Kohala High School, is currently attending Pacific University in pursuit of an environmental biology career. The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship is for a student currently attending college or who is going back to college.

HCFCU has branches in Hilo, Honoka‘a, Kailua-Kona, Kaloko, Kealakekua and Kohala. The credit union also has student credit unions in Hilo, Kealakehe, Kohala and Konawaena high schools. Hawai‘i Community Federal Credit Union has provided scholarships to Big Island students for more than 36 years.

For more information, click here.