| EVENTS CALENDAR (NOTE: MARCH 6 TH MEETING PLACED CHANGED) March 6 - 9:30 am Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens Gail Awakuni, Principal Campbell High School "Future of Public Schools in Hawaii" April 3 - 9:30 am Branch Annual Meeting and Potluck Ho'omaluhia Botanical Gardens May 1 Scholarship Luncheon Pohai Nani June 5 - 9:30 am WWC, Hale Akoakoa, 105 Dr. Colette Brown UH School of Social Work "Gerontology and Aging" |
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| AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN WINDWARD O'AHU BRANCH CELEBRATING 50 YEARS . . . 1959 - 2009 |
| 2009-2010 Grant Recipients (from left to right) Kree Espinda, Elizabeth Kaleleiki, Bethany Kimokeo, Michael Ann Fellez, Gwen Lazear and Gina Ifenuk. Congratulations to everyone! |
EDUCATIONAL GRANTS FOR 2009 - 2010
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Windward Branch awarded six grants for the 2009 -
2010 academic year. The grants are to be used for educational expenses at a regionally accredited,
post-secondary institution in the state of Hawaii. Grants are paid directly to the institution after verification
of acceptance of the recipient. The grant is for study at the undergraduate level only, for use in the year in
which it is awarded. For more information and qualifications for applying for the AAUW Windward Branch
scholarship, go to our Educational Grants letter. To download the application form, click on 2010-2011
scholarship application.
This year the grants were awarded at our annual Scholarship Luncheon held on May 2 at the Pohai Nani
Retirement Community. Six scholarships were given to windward women qualifying for the grants. The
Susan B. Anthony Bank, Sacagewea Branch, awarded its own $2,000 grant to Elizabeth Kaleleiki who will
major in Elementary Education at the University of Hawaii, West O'ahu campus.
One of our outstanding grant recipients, Pamela Nakanelua, shared her story at the Scholarship Luncheon.
Pamela, a non-traditional student who returned to college as a means to becoming self sufficient, received our
AAUW grants in 2007 and 2008. She is a single parent with three children and one grandchild. Pamela
graduated from the University of Hawaii this year majoring in Family Resources. Pamela was also a member
of Phi Upsilon Omicron, the national honor society for members of Family and Consumer Sciences. She was
a TA for a Women's Studies course; presented workshops on successful scholarship attainment for women and
low-income students; was active in recruiting students to UH Manoa's Student Support Services and was a
volunteer at the UH Manoa Women's Center.
Pamela has been selected by AAUW as one of only ten members of the Student Advisory Council (SAC) for
the 2008-09 year. The ten women selected come from a variety of backgrounds and have held a range of
leadership positions on their campuses and are involved with AAUW as advisers and local leaders. The SAC
members will also attend the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders in June 2009 as
student leaders. Pamela also spearheaded an Equal Pay Day event at UH Manoa where she gave away
tee-shirts printed with "Keep the Change Until Women Get Real Change" and sold cookies provided by the
members of the Windward Branch. The cookies sold for $.78 for women and $1.00 for men! Read more about
Pamela's Equal Pay event at http://blog-aauw.org/2009/05/08/my-journey-toward-keeping-the-change/.
Congratulations to Pamela for a job well done!
Another outstanding grant recipient of the Windward Branch of AAUW is Jessica May. Jessica died in 2008
but left a lasting legacy the windward community will not forget. She lost her 13-year old brother to a gun
accident which led Jessica to becoming involved in Hawaii's gun responsibility laws. She testified before the
Legislature that adults must be held responsible if they leave firearms accessible to a child. Hawaii was the
second state to pass such a law. She also testified to have the "Organ Donor" option put on our drivers
licenses - because her brother had been an organ donor.
Despite difficulty with a breathing problem, Jessica graduated in the top 5 of her high school graduating class,
then went on to earning a degree in accounting from the University of Hawaii, all on scholarships received
from us as well as other organizations. It took her 10 years to receive her degree, along with working
full-time and raising a child. She finally was able to utilize her degree by working in payroll at HMSA - and
was so happy. Unfortunately her life ended all too soon at the age of 31. That breathing problem turned out
to be a rare lung disease. Although her life was short, Jessica's struggle and accomplishments epitomizes the
kind of women who benefit from our scholarship grant program.
| Go to iGive.com and start shopping! A portion of every dollar you spend goes to our grant recipients. Register now. |
