Hawai‘i Promise helps hundreds with financial hurdles

From UH News, Aug 2, 2021

Almost 2,000 recipients, the most ever, received Hawai‘i Promise scholarship aid from the University of Hawai‘i’s seven community colleges for the 2020-21 academic year. Nearly $3 million was awarded with an average of $1,551 given to 1,900 recipients who qualified for resident tuition and showed financial need.  

Students are first awarded Pell grants, UH scholarships and private scholarships before being awarded a Hawaiʻi Promise scholarship for unmet direct costs such as tuition, fees, books, supplies and local transportation. A high percentage of recipients are underrepresented students.

The scholarship can be life changing. Some recent graduates who were multi-year recipients recently wrote about what the Hawai‘i Promise scholarship did for them.

Mariah Castro, Hawai‘i Community College

“I'm a single mother to a soon-to-be 11-year-old, and the struggle to stay afloat while also striving to get ahead has been ongoing since deciding to go back to school. For me, having the opportunity to be a recipient of the Hawai'i Promise Scholarship significantly changed my ability to return to school and become an RN (registered nurse).”

Dennis Daquioag, Jr., Honolulu Community College

“The Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship helped me a lot, and without it I would be struggling. Hopefully the scholarship will help many more students achieve their goals.” 

Kevin-Clark Labador, Leeward Community College

“The Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship has provided me with financial aid that saved me so much money. Being a full-time student with two part-time jobs, I didn’t have to worry about my tuition and I was still able to study what I wanted to do. It has helped me pay for my books, supplies [and] classes.”

 Sarah Lukela, Leeward CC

 “As a mom with two young children at home, being a recipient of the Hawaiʻi Promise Scholarship allowed me to not worry about having to delay completing my degree due to family responsibilities. One of the most helpful things about the scholarship was it helped to keep that part of my tuition off my credit cards, ensuring my education will never be a burden.”

Apply today

The deadline to apply to any of the seven UH Community Colleges is August 8. More information about the Hawaiʻi Promise scholarship and other financial aid available for UH Community College students can be found online. Classes for the fall semester start on August 23.