LIHU‘E — Five students, who are currently studying in a college or university, were named recipients of the 2023 Contractors Association of Kaua‘i scholarships on Thursday during the CAK quarterly membership meeting held at the Philippine Cultural Center.
A CAK spokesperson expressed pleasure in the selections because there are not that many choices for students, who are already in post-high school education.
Thomas-Jay “T-Jay” Shigemoto, Kailee Oyama, Kailash Letman, Destrey Shibuya and Julia Safford were announced this year’s recipients by emcee County Council Chair Mel Rapozo at the meeting where several hundred attendees enjoyed a gourmet bento and an appetizer station.
Unfortunately, due to work being done at their respective schools, two of the awardees were not able to be present for their awards.
Julia Safford, the daughter of Laura Goodrich, has already left for Saint Mary’s College’s 3/2 program with the University of Notre Dame, where she is a junior with a civil engineering major. On her graduation, Julia will receive degrees in mathematics,and civil engineering, and will be commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force. She is the recipient of The Hawai‘i Gas/CAK scholarship.
T-Jay, currently an account executive with The Hawai‘i Gas, was named recipient of The Richard &Hisae Minatoya Memorial Scholarship. T-Jay, whose award was accepted by his parents, Tom and April Shigemoto, is pursuing his masters in business administration at the Shidler School of Business at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He earned his bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Hawai‘i, Hilo.
Kailash Letman, the son of Hiroko and Jon Letman, was named recipient to The Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship. He received his award from Roy Shioi. Kailash will be a sophomore architecture major at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Mass., where he was on the dean’s list during his freshman year. He is also a member of the Wentworth Architecture Club and American Institute of Architecture students.
Kailee Oyama, the. daughter of Mark and Wendy Oyama of Mark’s Place and Contemporary Flavors Catering, is going to be a sophomore civil engineering student at Santa Clara University, where she is active in the Society of Women Engineers, Japanese Student Association and the Hawai‘i Club. She receives The Guy Matsunaga Memorial Scholarship.
Destrey Shibuya, the son of Kathy and Scott Shibuya, has been accepted at the University of Hawai‘i School of Engineering starting in the fall. He will be transferring from the College of Wooster in Ohio. His father, and grandfather were both CAK members, and he joined his family in volunteering at the CAK scholarship golf tournament, which is primary source of funding for the annual CAK scholarships. Destrey was named the recipient of the CAK Scholarship.
