PUHI — The first two endowments have been established to support the Wai‘ale‘ale scholarship project at Kaua‘i Community College, from Dr. Roberta Weil and the LaFrance Foundation.
The program, funded by donors and community foundations, encourages and finances non-college-bound high-school students and adults to attend, and successfully complete, their first year of college.
It has been life-changing for individuals and their families, KCC representatives said in a press release.
Since inception in 2010, the Waiʻaleʻale Project has served 781 students, ages 18 to 66. Nearly 300 students have received bachelor’s or associate’s degrees and/or certifications, and nearly 400 degrees and certificates have been awarded.
Statistics show that 60% of students in the Wai‘ale‘ale Project return for the second year, while 44% of the non-Wai‘ale‘ale student body returns for a second year.
“As endowments, these scholarships will perpetuate the special legacy of their namesakes for generations and help shape the futures of many families working hard to get the education they need to forge a stable future,” said KCC Chancellor Joseph Daisy.
Weil established the Weil ‘Ohana Wai‘ale‘ale Scholarship Endowment with a $35,000 gift. Supporting non-traditional students has been one of Weil’s lifelong passions.
After starting a family, she enrolled in community college in her late twenties, where she was the oldest student in her class. Managing family and school responsibilities was challenging, but she took one class at a time, ultimately earning an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree in American studies, and master’s degree in education. She was awarded her Ph.D. in higher education when she was 50 years old.
Weil’s career included teaching in an elementary school, working with young men in a youth prison, and serving as assistant dean of community services at Coastline Community College in Southern California.
Later, she served as the director of admissions and academic affairs for graduate students at the University of California at San Diego. Once retired, Weil and her late husband Paul moved to Kaua‘i.
“After marriage and children I returned to college and was one of the earliest, nontraditional students at Rio Hondo Community College.” Roberta Weil said. “The Wai‘ale‘ale Project allows me to help other nontraditional students succeed in college. These students face many more hardships than I did, and I hope this endowment will enable them to fulfill their dreams and educational successes.”
Wai‘ale‘ale Project Program Coordinator Lahea Salazar praised Weil’s pioneering spirit, saying it is a perfect match for the groundbreaking Wai‘ale‘ale Project.
“As a non-traditional student herself, she knows firsthand how challenging juggling family and higher education can be, and how important supports are to help with that journey.” Salazar said.
“With this named scholarship, student recipients have a role model they can relate to and be inspired by as they too seek to fulfil their potential and build a future for their families and Kaua‘i.”
Anela Kapaka-Rhoades established a foundation to honor the memory of her mother LaFrance Kapaka-Arboleda and to help Hawai‘i’s youth access higher education. LaFrance Kapaka-Arboleda of Anahola was a respected cultural resource and very active in the Hawaiian community.
She was a champion of the underprivileged, and served on numerous nonprofit and government boards and commissions addressing issues from affordable housing, economic development, restoration of cultural sites and land preservation.
Anela Kapaka-Rhoades, who pledged $42,000 to establish the endowment, said, “My mother was a courageous visionary who championed causes that she believed would benefit all the people of Hawai‘i.
“The Wai‘ale‘ale Project represents what she stood for. She vowed to take care of our children on Kaua‘i. She was an amazing woman who believed in the Hawaiian people, and she wanted nothing but the best for them. This scholarship is my way of keeping her legacy alive,” Kapaka-Rhoades said.
