LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i High School senior Ryleigh Hernando is going to Japan to study Business Administration.
“I have a passion for taiko,” Hernando said, Tuesday while accepting her $1,500 scholarship awarded by the Kiwanis Club of Kaua‘i. “Studying in Japan will be a totally different experience from studying in the United States.”
Hernando, the Kaua‘i High School Key Club President, and previous Vice President of Service, said she plans to attend Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan. She has earned a 3.821 Grade Point Average and will be walking with the approximately 290 Red Raider seniors, next Friday at Vidinha Stadium.
The daughter of Rolly and JoMarie Hernando, Ryleigh has been a Key Club member since her freshman year at Kaua‘i High School. During her high school career, Ryleigh has volunteered more than 300 hours of her time to community service projects, including the Elsie Wilcox Elementary School, and the King Kaumuali‘i Elementary School Key Kids A-Plus programs, Project Shine, and other service projects despite the conditions of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Her grandmother, Josephine Villanueva, was my fourth grade teacher,” said Kaua‘i County Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro, who presented Ryleigh with a congratulatory certificate from the Kaua‘i County Council. “In fact, I think Josephine Villanueva was a lot of people’s teachers because she was a good teacher.”
A certificate from Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami added that Ryleigh’s role in the Kaua‘i High School Key Club led to the club’s success through its various service projects during the pandemic that included writing letters to hospitalized children, drive-by canned food drives, mailing filled-out coloring pages to kupuna.
Cheryl Shintani, the Kiwanis Club of Kaua‘i president, said the extra touch is because both Kaneshiro and Kawakami are members of the Kiwanis Club that made the scholarship presentation, outside on the lawn of the historic County Building because of the pandemic.
Following the attainment of her Business Administration degree, Ryleigh said she plans to return home to work.
“Enjoy the trip,” Kawakami said. “And when you’re ready to come back home, home will be waiting.”
Since 1989, the Kiwanis Club of Kaua‘i has provided $90,000 in scholarships for deserving Key Club members. The recipients are awarded based on their leadership, community service activities, academic achievements, need, advisor comments, and an essay.
The Kiwanis Club of Kaua‘i raises most of the scholarship funds through various fundraisers throughout the year, including their “Steak Fry” lunch, and car washes that were held pre-pandemic.
The Kiwanis Club, under the leadership of President Shintani, typically meets twice a month and has moved its meetings to remote because of the COVID-19.
