“During a time when it was so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it reminded me that there is good in this world and showed me that people care deeply about our community and its future,” Lahainaluna High School class of 2024 graduate and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa student Cecelia Steiner told a room full of supporters at the UH Foundation Scholarship Dinner on April 7.
Steiner, whose home was destroyed in the devastating 2023 Lahaina wildfires, shared her journey of loss, perseverance and gratitude for the support that has allowed her to pursue her college dreams at UH Mānoa. She is one of the students from Lahainaluna’s class of 2024 attending one of UH’s 10 campuses through a special scholarship offered in the aftermath of the fire. The scholarship initiative, announced in fall 2023, supports students whose lives and education were upended by the disaster.
“Especially after the fire and losing my home, we were focused on rebuilding and it was just another thing to worry about, the financial part,” said Steiner, a first-generation college student. “When UH offered a scholarship and paid for school, it changed my world because not having to worry about the financial aspects was huge.”
The August 2023 fire, one of the deadliest in U.S. history, changed everything overnight. Steiner was staying in Wailuku when flames ripped through Lahaina, destroying more than 2,200 structures and claiming more than 100 lives.
“My dad was at the house by himself,” she recalled. “He needed to evacuate…There was so much smoke in the air that it was like blocking the sun. He was getting everything together in the dark.”
Steiner didn’t see her parents for four days, with cell service down and roads closed. When they reunited, her father said they had lost the family’s home and truck. In the weeks after the fire, Steiner made the difficult decision to transfer to a high school on the other side of Maui so she could stay on track to graduate.
“I was a senior, I needed to make sure I was graduating,” she said. “They weren’t telling us when school was going to reopen, so I didn’t want to risk my chances.”
Eventually, she returned to Lahainaluna, where she served as student body president, played soccer, worked a part-time restaurant job and finished high school. She noted the impact of UH’s scholarship went beyond herself.
“Only about 62% of high school graduates in the United States attend college, but my class—like 85%—went to college,” Steiner said. “We broke a record for Lahainaluna, the most graduates to go to college.”
Steiner, a psychology major in the College of Social Sciences, hopes to eventually attend graduate school and return to Lahaina to give back.
“This generosity was not just a gift for me, it was a lifeline for my classmates and their families, many who faced similar challenges,” she said during her speech at the scholarship dinner. “I am hopeful that with the knowledge and experiences we gain, my class will bring that hope and strength back to Lahaina to rebuild not just structures, but the heart of our town.”
—By Marc Arakaki
Lights, Camera, Career! National gold for UH Community College CTE showcase
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