$30,000 Awarded in College Scholarships

The dreams of ten Hawaii Island high school graduates are closer to being fulfilled with the generous support of Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union (HCFCU). Through the credit union's annual scholarship program, the students will receive a $3,000 scholarship to attend two or four-year institutions of higher learning in the coming school year. The high school graduates were selected out of a field of 199 applications from 17 Big Island High Schools. The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship and the Edwin Ueda Scholarships are specifically for post-high school graduates currently attending college or going back to college. HCFCU has provided scholarships to Hawaii Island students for more than 36 years.

The ten scholarships are named after a volunteer or a manager who made significant contributions to the credit union. The deserving students are:

	The Albert Akana Scholarship was presented to Ciara Blaber, a graduate of Kealakehe High School.
	The Frank Ishii Scholarship was presented to Sophia Burgess, a graduate of Konawaena High School.
	The Ichiro Shikada Scholarship was presented to Kristine Domingo-Peregrino, a graduate of Honokaa High School.
	The John Y. Iwane Scholarship was presented to  McKenzie Tim Sing, a graduate of Ke Kula O Nawahiokalaniopuu Iki LPCS.
	The Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship was presented to Puuwaihaa Kalauokaaea-Kahele, a graduate of Hilo High School.
	The Michael Asam Scholarship was awarded to Adriana Leitch, a graduate of Kohala High School.
	The Mitsugi Inaba Scholarship was presented to Ava Leilani Shimabuku, a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Hawaii.
	The Peter T. Hirata Scholarship was awarded to Sienna Chanhmany, a graduate of Waiakea High School.
	The Edwin Ueda Scholarship was awarded to Vaihere Otare, who is a graduate of Kealakehe High School and is currently attending Hawaii Community College.
	The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship was awarded to Shyla Williams, who is a graduate of St. Joseph High School and is currently attending the Universiity of Hawaii at Hilo.