About the Kūlia I Ka Nu‘u Scholarship

overview

Our goal is to support future leaders as role models for the Hawai‘i community. The Scholarship Program is aimed at strengthening the pipeline of Bay Area college-bound students and ensuring retention so that more students obtain their degrees. We seek to support qualified kamaʻāina, and assist them in making the transition from high school to college, and from Hawai‘i to the mainland.

Since 2005 we’ve awarded 52 scholarships to deserving students, and given out $118,000 in cumulative scholarships. Past recipients live throughout Northern California, Hawaiʻi, the broader US and world, and include industry leaders and current HCCNC Board Members to US Olympian athletes.

BENEFITs

In 2025, we will provide 3 scholarships of $3,500 each.

As part of our mentorship program (more below), each scholarship recipient will be paired with a HCCNC Community or Board Member in their area of study/career focus, and invited to our signature Five Star Aloha Gala.

Requirements

  • Kamaʻāina, defined by meeting any one of the following: a) born in Hawaiʻi, b) resident of Hawaiʻi for a minimum of five (5) years, c) has a parent that has lived in Hawaiʻi for a minimum of twenty (20) years.

  • United States citizen or permanent resident.

  • High school diploma (or its equivalent).

  • Will be enrolled as a full-time or half-time or accepted, as a student in any accredited two (2) or four (4) year degree granting institution of higher education in the San Francisco Bay Area or Northern California.

Applications

Applications require a written essay describing each applicant’s strengths, and how their education will benefit the Hawai‘i community, are evaluated on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated leadership qualities

  • Involvement in the community

  • Clarity of direction and goals

  • Academic achievement

  • Letters of recommendation

The 2025 scholarship application is now open through April 15, 2025.

Mentor Program

A vital component of the Scholarship Program is the Mentor Program. Each scholarship recipient will be assigned a mentor on recipient of the award. The mentor will be from the HCCNC Membership, Board of Directors, or broader community and network in the Bay Area, and paired with the recipient based on the recipients area of study or professional and/or personal connection.

Upon becoming a recipient of the scholarship, the HCCNC will introduce the scholar and the mentor, help facilitate an initial get together or meeting, and encourage ongoing dialogue and connection over the course of the scholars studies and career pursuits in addition to helping them stay plugged into the Hawaii community in Northern California.

There will also be multiple opportunities for the scholars to tap into the HCCNC membership and community, from networking to volunteer events.

Past Scholarship Recipient, DEREK NISHIKAWA

As a freshman at Santa Clara University, I was fortunate enough to be named one of the 2011 HCCNC scholarship recipients. At the Five Star Aloha Gala, I immediately felt like I was at home despite not knowing a single person there and being in San Francisco over 2,000 miles away from where I grew up, in Pearl City, O‘ahu. After that, I made an effort to volunteer at each of the subsequent galas to show my appreciation for the HCCNC and to give back to the organization that had graciously given me a scholarship. This continued after I graduated SCU with a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting in the summer of 2014 and as I began my career at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a public accountant in the San Jose audit practice later that fall.

I found myself attending each of the annual scholarship luncheons, where past scholarship recipients gathered to reconnect with the HCCNC to share what was going on in our lives and to get updates about the organization and events on the horizon. It was after one of these luncheons in 2016 where Karen Castillo had approached me about my interest in joining the board. This had caught me totally off guard as someone who only had 2 years of work experience under my belt, but after giving it some thought, I came to the realization that there was no better way for me to continue to give back to the HCCNC, than by joining the board. Fast forward through the application process and I was fortunate enough to be accepted onto the board and eventually, I ended up taking on the role as the Treasurer.

After joining the board, I found myself volunteering at a wide variety of events: selling food at the Japantown Cherry Blossom festival, hosting business mixers at SJ Hukilau, helping with toy drives for the SF firefighters, and spreading the word about the HCCNC at the San Mateo Aloha Festival. It was through these volunteer events where I was grateful to continue to be able to give back to the organization that had given so much to me during my time in the Bay Area.

As a Finance Director at Uniphore and serving on the HCCNC board for over seven years, I still find immense purpose in volunteering and helping the HCCNC and I'm proud to be a part of the scholarship committee, who helps to select the scholarship recipients.

From being a recipient, to being involved in the selection process really shows how things have come full circle for me during my involvement with the organization. I honestly couldn't be more grateful and proud to be a part of an organization that continues to find ways to give back to the Hawai‘i community in the San Francisco Bay Area.