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The Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association celebrated its 19th class of the HMSA Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program recipients at Oʻahu Country Club on Sunday. The awards ceremony recognized 15 outstanding Hawaiʻi high school seniors for their achievements and nine local high schools for all-around excellence in academics, athletics, community service, healthy activities and sportsmanship.
Maui recipients are Madison Strand of King Kekaulike High School and Jasmyn Yoshikawa of Baldwin High School. Winning schools on Maui are Maui Preparatory Academy for small school, and Kamehameha Schools Maui in the large school division.
“This program is an investment in Hawaiʻi’s future. For 19 years and counting, it’s been an honor to support some of the best and brightest graduating seniors in Hawaiʻi, as well as select schools that work tirelessly to nurture the next generation of leaders,” said HMSA President and Chief Executive Officer Mark M. Mugiishi, M.D., F.A.C.S. “Many of our scholarship recipients continue to make meaningful contributions to our communities and we’re grateful to play a small part in their journey.”
HMSA has sponsored the Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program in partnership with the Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) since 2005.
At the awards ceremony, 15 students across the state received scholarships worth $5,000 each. Nine high schools were recognized for achieving the highest program scores in their league (classified by enrollment), in academics, athletics, community service, healthy activities and sportsmanship. The nine highest-scoring schools received $1,500 each.
To be eligible for a scholarship, student recipients had to graduate from a Hawaii high school in 2024 with a GPA of 2.75 or higher, participate in at least one HHSAA league-sanctioned sport, and demonstrate involvement in community service throughout their high school career. Recipients can use their scholarships to help pay for higher education, including tuition, books, computers, and room and board.
Dr. Mugiishi presented the awards and was joined by emcees Steve Uyehara and Liz Chun Uyehara. Uyehara is an anchor at Hawaii News Now and Chun Uyehara is the director of communications at Hawaii Pacific Health.
The scholarship selection committee included Katie Chang, executive director, Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders; Jenn Diesman, senior vice president of government policy and advocacy, HMSA; Debbie Nakanelua-Richards, director, government and community relations, Hawaiian Airlines; Dave Reardon, sports columnist, Honolulu Star-Advertiser; and Steve Uyehara.
The students and winning schools include:
2024 HMSA Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program: Winning Students
Big Island Interscholastic Federation
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
Kauaʻi Interscholastic Federation
Maui Interscholastic League
Oʻahu Interscholastic Association
2024 HMSA Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program: Winning Schools
Big Island Interscholastic Federation
Interscholastic League of Honolulu
Kauaʻi Interscholastic Federation
Maui Interscholastic League
Oʻahu Interscholastic Association
To learn more about the HMSA Kaimana Awards & Scholarship Program, visit hmsa.com/kaimana.