PUHI — Jennie Waiwaiole-Vega was on pins and needles Monday morning at the One Stop Center at the Kauai Community College. “So far, I’ve got all A’s,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “I’m still waiting on results of a course, and hopefully, I’ll
PUHI — Jennie Waiwaiole-Vega was on pins and needles Monday morning at the One Stop Center at the Kauai Community College.
“So far, I’ve got all A’s,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “I’m still waiting on results of a course, and hopefully, I’ll have an A in that one, too. Straight A’s. Wow! I can show that to my kids.”
Waiwaiole-Vega said it has been 15 years since she graduated high school, and who would have imagined that she is now in college with a double major in hospitality and in business.
Her first semester was made possible through two scholarships — the DejaVu scholarship, and the Takehiko Hasegawa scholarship — she earned through The Hawaii Community Foundation.
“I made it through the first semester as a full-time student with 14 credits,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “With the scholarships, I didn’t have to pay anything. We live from paycheck to paycheck, and without the scholarships I would have had to take out student loans to go to school. It’s hard because of the high cost of living.”
The Hawaii Community Foundation invites applications for post-secondary student scholarships. It has more than $4.5 million available through more than 200 funds benefiting Hawaii residents. These scholarships are available by filling out one application which may be submitted online and will match high school seniors and college students to the scholarships which they are eligible.
“There is a greater need than ever for financial assistance to enable higher education in Hawaii, empowering students to achieve their dreams,” said Kelvin Taketa, president and CEO of Hawaii Community Foundation. “Owing to the generosity of our donor community, we are able to offer scholarships to make it possible for thousands of students to take the next step toward reaching their full potential.”
Waiwaiole-Vega said she was motivated to return to college while taking her stepdaughter to college at San Jose State University.
“I was in awe,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “This was something I never got to experience and I told myself, this was time for me to return to school. Full-time worker, full-time student, and full-time mother. I’m registered for 15 credits next semester.”
Waiwaiole-Vega said she was made aware of the HCF scholarship program through Lisa Rapozo, another potential scholarship recipient, when she started Kauai Community College.
“I’m in the middle of filling out my application for the next semester,” Waiwaiole-Vega said. “The open period started Dec. 1, and it takes a few hours to complete the application. But with one application, you are connected to more than 200 scholarships. It’s worth it — a couple of hours for $1,000!”
There is a deadline of Jan. 29 for applications to be completed for review by HCF.
Application forms for the HCF scholarship is available at HawaiiCommunityFoundation.org/scholarships.
