The devastation from the Maui wildfires has been front and center on the minds of most of Hawaiʻi. Some University of Hawaiʻi students, faculty, staff and alumni have been able to assist in the recovery.
University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu student Kamehalani Ortiz, who is majoring in public administration with an emphasis on disaster preparedness and emergency management, is a recipient of the Chandler Scholarship in Social Sciences, and recently assisted with Maui fire relief efforts.
“Every principle of emergency management I learned at UH West Oʻahu found its practical application in coordinating relief efforts, assisting with community needs, and assuring the well-being of the affected individuals,” Ortiz said. “It was about ensuring people had what they needed when they needed it the most. That would not have been possible without all the donors’ support.”
Ortiz was one of the featured student speakers at the He Lei Mahalo – UH West Oʻahu Scholarship Luncheon on September 29, which drew about 100 students, donors, supporters, administrators, faculty and staff. Presented by UH West Oʻahu and the UH Foundation, the event celebrated the donors who made generous gifts to support student scholarships at the campus, and also honored the recipients.
$17 million in scholarships
UH Foundation Vice President for Development Karla Zarate-Ramirez shared that last year, UH distributed about $17 million to 5,000 students throughout all 10 campuses.
“Thanks to the generosity from our donors in this room and the ones who could not make it here today, last year we awarded almost $400,000 to 116 UH West Oʻahu students,” Zarate-Ramirez said. “And this year we’re on track to award even more.”
Dr. Rockne C. Freitas Scholarship at UH West Oʻahu
Among the donors in attendance was Makai Freitas, representing the Dr. Rockne C. Freitas Scholarship at UH West Oʻahu. Freitas is the son of the late former chancellor.
“Dad felt that education was a path forward,” Freitas said. “I think he felt that that was a key component in the advancement of our local people, Native Hawaiians in particular.”
At the luncheon, Freitas sat at a table alongside UH West Oʻahu student Shayna Bing, a recipient of the Dr. Rockne C. Freitas Scholarship at UH West Oʻahu, as well as other scholarships, including the Charles R. Hemenway Scholarship – UH West Oʻahu Fund, the Joshua Hagi Armacost Endowed Scholarship, and the Osher Reentry Scholarship – University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu.
“These scholarships truly give me a second chance in life to rewrite the course of who I am,” said Bing, a mother of three. “Having the time and financial support to learn new skills, while I have personal and professional development, expands my career opportunities.”
Bing is double majoring in sociology and psychology, and pursuing a double certification in Hawaiian and Indigenous health and healing, and substance abuse and addictions studies. She plans to graduate in spring 2025, and hopes to earn a doctorate to become a pediatric clinical psychologist.
“When you change one person’s trajectory in a positive direction, their reach brings along their acquaintances, their friends, their ʻohana and their immediate community,” Bing said. “Providing these financial seeds of hope contribute to not only one life changing, but the larger growth of our Hawaiʻi people and the overarching health of our future generations here in Hawaiʻi.”
Full circle
UH West Oʻahu Alumni Association Vice President David Dinh attended the event as a representative for the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu Alumni Association Scholarship Fund. Dinh is a 2013 graduate of UH West Oʻahu, where he earned a business administration degree with a concentration in marketing, and is now a business instructor there.
“It’s nice to see going full circle, you know, I was able to come to school here through grants, scholarship,” Dinh said. “The table has turned and we’re the ones giving scholarships now.”
Dinh encourages others to consider donating to the UH Foundation, the fundraising organization for UH System.
He said, “Give students the opportunity to go to school to better our community because they’re going to be the next generation of leaders.”
To make a donation to UH West Oʻahu or to learn more about donating, email darian.padilla@uhfoundation.org or call (808) 594-6851.
Read more at Ka Puna o Kaloʻi.
—by Zenaida Serrano Arvman
