Dennis Fujimoto/The Garden Island
Deshaynee Iseri and Veronica “Bonnie” Nagahisa celebrate their YWCA of Kauai scholarships with parents, the YWCA staff and board members on Monday, June 16, 2025, at the YWCA Women’s Center.
LIHUE — The YWCA of Kauai presented scholarships on Monday to two Kauai recipients — Deshaynee Iseri and Veronica “Bonnie” Nagahisa — before a small group that included the recipients’ parents, YWCA staff and board members.
LIHUE — The YWCA of Kauai presented scholarships on Monday to two Kauai recipients — Deshaynee Iseri and Veronica “Bonnie” Nagahisa — before a small group that included the recipients’ parents, YWCA staff and board members.
“The YWCA of Kauai is passionate in the belief that women have a right to equal opportunity in pursuing their dreams and making decisions that best meet their personal goals,” said Debbie Edgerton of the YWCA Scholastic Committee. “This scholarship is our commitment to encourage and support our young women of Kauai in achieving their pursuits.”
Edgerton said this year, the YWCA of Kauai had to screen through 35 applications before Iseri and Nagahisa emerged at the top.
“These students represent the very best of what the YWCA looks for in the scholarship applicants — academic excellence, a spirit of perseverance, and especially a deep commitment to making a difference in our community, aligning with the YWCA’s mission,” Edgerton said.
Iseri, who was born and raised in Anahola, went to Kamehameha Schools, and graduated from Chaminade University. The third-year student at A.T. Still University, and the site senator for the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, earned a $1,000 scholarship.
“In her essay, Deshaynee spoke of her grandmother, raised in the post-annexation era, who was punished for speaking olelo Hawaii in school and eventually displaced from lands that her family had cared for over generations,” Edgerton said. “This cultural trauma stripped her of identity and agency, leading to profound physical and emotional suffering. … She developed multiple chronic illnesses and spent years on dialysis, losing her vision in the process.”
Iseri said at 8years old, she became one of her grandmother’s caregivers.
“I saw firsthand how a system that ignores history and culture can fail to deliver true healing,” Iseri wrote in her essay. “It was through this experience that I realized my calling. I chose family medicine not only because it focuses on continuity of care and long term relationships, but because it embraces a holistic view, one that can integrate both Western medicine and Indigenous Knowledge.
“I aspire to become the kind of physician who doesn’t just diagnose and prescribe, but who listens, understands and advocates,” she continued. “A healer who affirms cultural identity and honors the lived experiences of Native Hawaiian families like mine. I envision returning home to Kauai as a physician grounded in aloha, cultural humility and deep connection to the land and people.”
Edgerton said Nagahisa impressed the community with her academic accomplishments, graduating from both Kapaa High School and from Chaminade University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. The recipient of a $2,000 scholarship reflects a deep understanding of her desire to be a part of systemic change.
“As I continue my education journey, I am inspired by the olele noi‘eau, ‘He alii ka aina, he kauwa ke kanaka — The land is chief, and the person is its servant,’” Nagahisa wrote in her essay. “This teaches me that we have a responsibility to uplift and serve the community, especially those who are most vulnerable. The community that has supported me during my toughest times is the same one I hope to give back to, whether through teaching, advocacy, or helping others find their own strength in the face of adversity.”
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