WAIPOULI — The audience gasped when Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce President Mark Perriello announced that Adriana Hernandez, one of six scholarship recipients, was heading to Harvard University.
Perriello was joined by Kaua‘i Chamber Board Chair Beth Tokioka, Mayor Derek Kawakami, and Kaua‘i County Councilmembers Bernard Carvalho Jr., and Felicia Cowden in presenting the scholarships to five high school graduates and one Kaua‘i Community College student, Wednesday during the Chamber’s Second Quarterly Meeting at the Sheraton Kaua‘i Coconut Beach luau hale.
“Come back,” Carvalho told the recipients. “There’s a lot of work to do here.”
Each of the high school graduates, including Hernandez, Zoe Carvalho, Dominica De Trolio, Ella Offley and Aron Taguiam, each received $2,000 packages. Lilio Masi, the KCC student, was presented a $500 award.
“Lilio just got her Associate in Science in Business,” said Dirk Soma, one of the KCC business instructors. “She’s got her A.S., but now wants the bachelor’s degree. She’s planning on continuing at the University of Hawai‘i, West O‘ahu Campus through the University Center at Kaua‘i Community College.”
Hernandez, a valedictorian at the Kaua‘i High School graduation in May, is indeed going to Harvard after being accepted for admission to 19 other higher learning institutions, including Stanford University, Yale University and Princeton University.
Zoe Carvalho, who on Saturday night earned one of the Kaua‘i Filipino Community Council scholarships at the 2022 Miss Kaua‘i Filipina Scholarship Pageant, will be heading to Colorado State University.
“This is an expensive school,” said her dad, Kenneth Carvalho. “She can use all the help she can get.”
Dominica De Trolio, one of two Island School graduates receiving a chamber scholarship, will be attending the University of Nevada at Reno.
Ella Offley, the other Voyager graduate who did not list her achievements in track and field among her accomplishments of being on the National Honor Society, the Aloha Ambassadors, Interact Club, and outstanding contributor to the school’s soccer and girls volleyball programs, will be attending the University of California, Los Angeles.
Aron Taguiam, a graduate of Kaua‘i High School and the sole male recipient of this year’s chamber scholarships, will be attending Arizona State University following his high school career. At school, he was a member of student government, the Kaua‘i High School Leo Club, and a contributor of many hours of volunteerism, including being a referee for the Hawai‘i Youth Soccer Association, the Kaua‘i Economic Opportunity, Malama Hule‘ia, the Salvation Army, and the Kaua‘i Independent Food Bank.
Funds for the Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce Scholarships are derived primarily from the annual golf tournament that persisted through the conditions imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The next Kaua‘i Chamber of Commerce event will be the Southwest Airlines Luncheon on June 29 at the Royal Sonesta Kaua‘i Resort.
Information: www.kauaichamber.org.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
