The Office of Hawaiian Affairs gives out $500,000 a year in college scholarships for Hawaiian students, and this academic year the money is going only to students at the University of Hawaii — not those at mainland colleges.
That came as a surprise to brothers Jacob and Jonah Luning-Hoshino of Ewa Beach, who had received $2,000 OHA grants in previous years toward their tuition at Midland University in Fremont, Neb.
“I just found out about it, and I was kind of bummed out,” said Jonah Luning-Hoshino, who is about to start his senior year. “Had I known that they switched it over to UH students only, I wouldn’t have applied and wasted all my professors’ time and my time.”
“I thought the whole point of college is to go out and experience the world and come back and share that experience with Hawaii,” added the adventurous 21-year-old, who has studied abroad in Tanzania.
The shift in recipients came after OHA put its scholarship program out for competitive bid in 2015 and the University of Hawaii prevailed over the Hawaii Community Foundation, which had administered OHA awards in the past.
The UH proposal was chosen because it aimed to reach more students (175 versus 136 for HCF) and included robust support services to help scholarship recipients stay on track, especially nontraditional students, according to Sterling Wong, OHA public relations officer.
OHA is seeking to increase the number of Native Hawaiians earning vocational certificates or degrees, especially in science, technology, engineering and math. The scholarship program will be put up for bid again.
“We understand that students who go away for college have financial needs as well,” Wong said. “It’s a balancing act. I think the UH proposal, that they were reaching more students and they were providing wraparound services, sort of tipped the scale in their favor. We’ll see what happens with the next solicitation.”
The OHA scholarships are competitive, with roughly
1 in 7 applicants getting awards last year. For the coming academic year,
175 OHA scholarships were granted to students on all
10 UH campuses, ranging from $2,000 for community college students to $5,000 for doctoral students.
Students who applied through the Hawaii Community Foundation website filled out a “Common Application” and were funneled into various scholarship competitions based on eligibility. So applicants didn’t realize the OHA grants were no longer an option for students outside of the UH system.
To ease the transition, OHA split scholarship funds between UH and HCF in the last academic year. Recipients were supposed to be informed that the next round would be just for UH students.
But word didn’t reach Luning-Hoshino and his brother Jacob, a law student at University of Idaho in Boise who received OHA awards all four years as an undergraduate. Both Kamehameha Schools graduates attended Midland on wrestling scholarships. Chosen as “Academic All-Americans,” with strong grades and recommendations, they anticipated receiving the OHA money again.
Both brothers received $8,000 Na Ho‘okama a Pauahi scholarships from Kamehameha Schools, for which they are grateful. OHA is a small player in the scholarship world compared with Kamehameha Schools.
Meanwhile, Davelyn Kaaihue of Waianae landed an OHA Native Hawaiian Science &Engineering Mentorship Program Scholarship and a Kamehameha scholarship for this academic year. A mother of three, she is working toward a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and is already interning with a company in the field.
Kaaihue had left college the first time to take care of her ailing mother. She went on to marry and have kids, home-schooling them until her middle child was a high school senior. But with her marriage on the rocks, she realized she needed to go back to school herself.
She started at Leeward Community College, thinking of social work, but a professor encouraged her to pursue engineering.
“He knew I loved math,” said Kaaihue, who is 50. “I love challenges and I love problem-solving.”
It was tough commuting to college, dealing with a divorce and taking care of her children. Kaaihue gets very little sleep but she has persevered, and expects her degree in December.
“I’m almost there — and to think that I was going to give up at one point,” she said. “The OHA Scholars and the Native Hawaiian Science and Engineering Mentorship Program has been really, really supportive. They are very encouraging. They keep after you so you don’t slack.”
She added, “Everything just kind of fell into place. I realized I can do it. The light went on.”
Her youngest, now 15, perhaps inspired by her example, is already sampling college classes while at Nanakuli High School.
The Luning-Hoshino brothers aren’t sure how they are going to close their financial gap, and might have to borrow. Jonah Luning-Hoshino has a work-study job, but that goes toward living expenses.
“I’ve got to buckle down like I always do,” he said. “I believe in taking life in stride and just keep on going. You’ve got to play with what you’re dealt.”
