Nearly 350 donors and students attended the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business Scholarship Luncheon at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Resort on November 5, 2018. The annual event honors scholarship donors and their student recipients, and allows them to meet one another. This year, the college awarded $1.1 million in scholarships.
For undergraduate speaker Eryn Yuasa, receiving several scholarships allowed her to participate in student organizations, internships, and study abroad opportunities at the college without the need to work. “I grew up in a modest household on Oʻahu and have been through the public school system my entire life,” says Yuasa. “I got my first job in my junior year of high school and got used to working while going to school. Through the scholarships that I received at the Shidler College of Business, I got to do so much more and focus on things that would better me as a person and aid in my professional development.”
The number of scholarships awarded have more than doubled from 161 in 2005 to 360 this year. On average, 15 percent of Shidler students receive merit- and need-based scholarship support. Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, financial need, specific area of concentration, community service and/or other criteria established by the donor.
“We are extremely grateful that our alumni, friends and the business community are willing to invest in our students’ future,” said Dean Vance Roley. “Scholarships help ease students’ concern about rising tuition costs and increasing college loan debts. Scholarships also make it possible to keep talented students from leaving Hawaiʻi while still acquiring a world-class education.”
Keynote speaker was alumnus and scholarship donor Terry Lee, president and CEO of Lee Financial Group Hawaiʻi. Since 2010, his scholarship has provided $56,000 in awards to high-achieving freshmen and sophomores enrolled in the Shidler Freshman Direct Admit Program.
“I’m happy to have the opportunity to support the next generation of business leaders in Hawaiʻi,” says Lee. “My hope is that these scholarships help take some financial pressure off the students so they can focus on achieving their goals.”
Read more on the Shilder College of Business website.
—By Dolly Omiya
