Students awarded Shinseki scholarships

LIHUE — Three recent Kauai public high school graduates have been selected to receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation in honor of General Eric K. and Patricia Shinseki.

The scholarship winners, who individually represent each one of the island’s three public high schools, are Noelani Murray of Kauai High School, Trevor McCracken of Kapaa High School and Tresten Nakashima of Waimea.

Murray, a State Science Fair winner and former Kauai High School tennis player, will attend California Lutheran University in Los Angeles and said she wants to return to Kauai and serve as an English as a second language teacher at an island elementary school.

McCracken, who was a captain on Kapaa High School’s state champion soccer team, will attend University of California, Los Angeles as a biophysics major and said he wants to becomes a doctor.

Nakashima, a former captain on Waimea High School’s soccer and golf teams, will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa in his pursuit to become a certified public accountant.

Nakashima said he wants to return to Kauai, give back to the community and help mentor the next generation of leaders.

The scholarship fund, which was established in 2003, was named in honor of Eric and Patricia Shinseki, who graduated from Kauai High and Waimea High Schools, respectively.

   Eric Shinseki, the current U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is a United States Military Academy graduate, Vietnam combat veteran and retired four-star general.

The scholarships will be awarded by Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation trustee Lynn McCrory in a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. June 14 at Gaylord’s at Kilohana. Complex Area Superintendent Bill Arakaki, along with the principals from each of the schools, are also scheduled to attend the ceremony.