Categorized | Education

Isle students scoop up Dorrance Scholarships

MEDIA RELEASE

The second cohort of prestigious Dorrance Scholarships has been awarded to 10 Hawaii Island high school students who will begin their studies at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in fall 2013.

The Dorrance Scholarship is an innovative, four-year award designed to benefit local students who are the first in their family to attend college.

Each year, up to 10 eligible students are awarded need-based scholarships of $8,000 per year to attend UH Hilo.

Awards are renewable for a total of eight semesters of funding, and additional cohorts of scholars will be added in subsequent years.

The 2013 recipients include:

* John Alokoa, Kealakehe High School, Waikoloa

* Rachel Gristock, Keaau High School, Kurtistown

* Tawanaka (Puki) Kaupu, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, Ocean View

* Richard Kerr, Hilo High School, Hilo

* Cheyenne Losalio, Konawaena High School, Captain Cook

* Gabriel Lubbess, Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, Keaau

* Stareynelle (Kaua) Mitchell, Ke Kulao Ehunuikaimalino, Holualoa

* Justin Shiigi, Hilo High School, Hilo

* Benjamin Wada, Christian Liberty Academy, Pahoa

* Luana Zablan, Kanu o ka Aina, Waimea

Prior to their freshman year, Dorrance Scholars will participate in a custom-designed summer bridge program to help them transition from high school to college.

In future summers, scholars will take part in international travel and employment preparation, bringing the estimated total value of each award to more than $60,000 for the entire four-year period.

“Higher education is the key to a brighter future,” Chancellor Donald Straney said. “The Dorrance Scholarship goes to the heart of our mission at UH Hilo, where some 70 percent of our students are the first in their family to attend college and an equal number rely on some form of financial aid.

“The support from the Dorrance family is a very important gift to UH Hilo and we are extremely grateful for their commitment to our Hawaii Island students,” he added.

UH Hilo’s program is an extension of the highly successful Dorrance Scholarship Programs that have operated in Arizona for the last 13 years.

The program is credited with opening the doors of higher education while boosting graduation rates for more than 400 first-generation college students.

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