The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Alumni & Friends Association awarded four students with its 2015-16 scholarships.
Keala Cowell and Joanna Norton each received $2,000, and Joyce Lilly and Chelsea Sato were awarded $1,000 to be applied toward their education at UH Hilo.
Cowell graduated from Pahala High School and is seeking a bachelor of science degree in agriculture in the pre-veterinary track. She plans on applying to Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences next fall. Cowell was involved with the Student Union and served as senator of the College of Agriculture for the UH Hilo Student Association.
Norton graduated from UH Hilo with a B.A. in biology and will be entering the TCBES master degree program this fall. She has been working since last spring as a research technician under Professor Rebecca Ostertag, experimenting with the restoration of hybrid forests with native and non-invasive species.
“He alii ka aina,” this land is your chief. Inspired by this statement, Lilly is pursuing a B.A. in Hawaiian studies and a B.S. in agriculture with a tropical horticulture specialty. She plans to build a career in environmental conservation.
A graduate of Waiakea High School, Sato is working on a double major in chemistry and mathematics. She participated in the Global Education and Exchange program by studying in South Korea for a year, and assisted students from South Korea and Palau through the International Buddy Program.
The UH Hilo Alumni and Friends Association organizes two signature events annually to fund these scholarships: the Alumni Scholarship Golf Tournament, to be held at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on Saturday, October 24, and the Distinguished Alumni and Service Awards Banquet, to be held on Saturday, February 27, 2016. Thirty-six alumni scholarships have been awarded to UH Hilo students in the past decade.