Several Big Island Students Awarded HPM Foundation Scholarships

Three recent Big Island high school grads and three Hawai‘i Community College students are this year’s recipients of scholarships from the HPM Foundation.

“My great-grandfather, Barney Fujimoto, knew that education is life-changing,” Jason Fujimoto, president and CEO of HPM Building Supply, said in a press release. “For nearly 40 years, the HPM Foundation has assisted hundreds of local students with their college aspirations in honor of his memory and our belief in helping the next generation to achieve their dreams.”

Since 1973, the HPM Foundation has awarded the Barney S. Fujimoto Memorial Scholarship in memory of Barney S. Fujimoto, a second-generation leader of HPM Building Supply who held very strong convictions about the merits of higher education. Scholarship recipients receive $1,000 and are selected based on academic excellence and a history of strong community service, and must be enrolled full-time at a University of Hawai‘i campus.

Big Island recipients of the Barney S. Fujimoto Memorial Scholarship are:

• Nai‘a Balancio, who recently graduated from Konawaena High School in Kona, intends to major in exploratory health sciences at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.
• Brook-Lynn Haa, who recently graduated from Waiākea High School in Hilo, intends to major in natural science with a concentration in biological sciences at Hawai‘i Community College.
• Michael Kitamura, who recently graduated from Waiākea High, intends to major in engineering at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

The HPM Building Future Builders Scholarship is given to select students in the Hawai‘i Community College carpentry program. Each recipient receives a $750 scholarship for their second year in the program. This year’s recipients are Keikimakamae Ahu, Jovaustin La‘a and Allen Soares.

“From all of us at HPM, we offer our heartfelt congratulations to our 2022 HPM Foundation scholarship recipients and our encouragement to keep aiming high and striving for excellence,” Jason Fujimoto said in the press release.