KILAUEA — The Zonta Club of Hanalei recently awarded scholarships totaling $32,000 to 15 Kaua‘i women.
The club held its 2021 awards ceremony in Kilauea, where 13 recipients were present to receive their awards.
Through this scholarship program, applicants can be either recent graduates from high school or individuals of all ages looking to complete a bachelor’s degree. The club has been helping women islandwide to pursue college degrees and get a head start on their careers for the past 10 years.
Karen Abubo, club scholarship chair, said the club often supports students throughout their four years of higher education, allowing those who were previously awarded to reapply in the following years while attending college.
“It’s an example of how the Hawaiian community (of Kaua‘i) gives back to the island and its people.”
This year, two of the scholarships given were for $3,000, with donations made through the Kirsten L. Salmon Memorial Scholarship for Nursing Excellence and the Hunt Family Foundation Scholarship. Awardees of these two scholarships were Tatsiana Daskevich of Kaua‘i Community College and Jessica Hreljac of Kaua‘i High School.
Each of the other 13 scholarships are for $2,000, and the recipients include Llewelyn Agpoa of KCC, Leonila Fulgencio of Kaua‘i High, Braelyn Cayaban of Waimea High School, Sophia Riley of Island School, Napua Canales of Kaua‘i High, Shelby Banach of KCC, Kirra Lindman of the University of California at Berkeley, Ashley Ricciardi of Kapa‘a High School, U‘ilani Thompson of Kapa‘a High, Lei Sitani of Kapa‘a High, Zsa Zsa Du Bose of Waimea High School, Kelsey Molina of KCC and Tu Nguyen of the University of Hawai‘a at Manoa.
Both Lindman and Molina are scholarship recipients not just this year but in 2020 as well.
Lindman, of Ha‘ena, is studying sustainable architecture at the UC-Berkeley. Lindman gives a long list of the possibilities that her degree offers, adding that city planning plays an important part in her career goals, and shares her experiences.
“It has been going really good. And I’m excited about my educational opportunity. It’s very rigorous up there, so I’m really working hard,” she said.
“It’s definitely a learning process because it’s different from how I was taught to study in high school. My career goal relating to that is sustainable design, so that’s sustainable in terms of environment, economy, social lives, cultural lives and practices that are going on, and I want to preserve those, especially in Hawai‘i,” Lindman said.
Over the past 10 years, the club scholarship program has awarded nearly $200,000 to Kaua‘i women.
