• Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union Awards $24.000 in Scholarships to Big Island Students

    June 14, 2022
    KAILUA-KONA, HI—The dreams of eight 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 183 applications from 17 Big Island High Schools. The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship is specifically for a post-high school graduate currently attending college or going back to college. Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union has provided scholarships to Hawaii Island students for more than 36 years.

    The eight scholarships are named after a volunteer or a manager who made significant contributions to the credit union. The deserving students are:
     
    • The John Y. Iwane Scholarship was presented to Matthew Labasan, a graduate of Waiakea High School. Matthew plans to attend the University of Massachusetts Amherst and study Environmental Engineering.

    • The Peter T. Hirata Scholarship was awarded to Montana Lagat of Kamehameha Schools Hawaii. Montana plans to attend Stanford University and where she will study Biochemistry.

    • The Albert Akana Scholarship was presented to Jasmin Kim, a graduate of Kealakehe High School. Jasmin plans to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

    • The Katsumasa Tomita Scholarship was awarded to Kuumakanaleiwilimekealohamakamae Atay of Hilo High School. Kuumakanaleiwilimekealohamakamae plans to pursue a career in Psychology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo.

    • The Frank Ishii Scholarship was presented to Jake Cano, a graduate of Honokaa High School. Jake plans to attend Hawaii Community College and pursue a career in Information Technology.

    • The Mitsugi Inaba Scholarship was awarded to Kayla Pak of Konawaena High School. Kayla plans on studying Kinesiology at Pacific University.

    • The Michael Asam Scholarship was presented to Teige Lorenzo-Akamu, a graduate of Kohala High School. Teige plans on pursuing a career in Early Childhood Education at     Grand Canyon University.
     
    • The Yasunori Deguchi Scholarship was awarded to Duncan Anderson who is a graduate of Kohala High School and is currently attending Pacific University in pursuit of a career in Environmental Biology.

    HCFCU is a not-for-profit, federally insured financial institution owned by its more than 46,000 members. HCFCU’s branches are located in Hilo, Honokaa, Kailua-Kona, Kaloko, Kealakekua, Kohala. Also, HCFCU has Student Credit Unions in Hilo, Kealakehe, Kohala and Konawaena High Schools. In addition to financial services from checking and savings, HCFCU provides service-minded financial professionals to help facilitate mortgage, land, construction, small business, educational, personal and auto loans; drive up tellers; credit and debit cards with rewards; online and mobile banking; investment services and youth programs. HCFCU also supports numerous Hawaii Island non-profit organizations and community events. Membership in Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union is open to all Hawaii Island residents. To learn more visit www.hicommfcu.com.
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