HONOLULU — Kapa‘a High School graduate Alaka‘i Gonsalves and Island School graduate Wailana Marvin were named the Kaua‘i award winners of the Hawaii Medical Service Association Kaimana Awards during a year when high-school sports were overshadowed by the gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The HMSA Kaimana Awards and Scholarship Program recognizes outstanding all-around achievements of public and independent high-school students with $5,000 scholarships for educational expenses.
The program that measures success in academics, athletics, community service, healthy activities and sportsmanship recognized 15 students statewide.
Gonsalves hails from the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation, where he played volleyball during his sophomore and junior years, helping lead the team to a Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II runner-up finish.
He was a KIF all-star in basketball in his sophomore and junior years, ran cross country and finished as an HHSAA championship participant.
Gonsalves is going to the Brigham Young University Provo in Utah to study construction management following his graduation. He earned a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average, and took college classes, earning 30 credits at Kaua‘i Community College and the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
He was a member of the Kapa‘a National Honor Society and was a member of the Kapa‘a High School Student Council.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high-school and other sports, Gonsalves started his own business — Melt Cookie — where he baked, marketed and sold homemade cookies, using the business as a learning opportunity.
In October, he donated a portion of the cookie sales to help fight breast cancer, and provided a $1,500 award to a member of the community affected by the pandemic, states the HMSA website.
Marvin, a graduate of Island School, plans on attending the University of Colorado, Boulder, with plans to major in integrative physiology and a minor in molecular, cellular and developmental biology.
During her high school career, Marvin made the High Honor Roll for four years, and was inducted into the school’s National Honor Society during her sophomore year.
She also was on the girls volleyball team for three years, one as team captain. With more than 10 years of club volleyball experience, Marvin was able to travel to Japan to learn from professional Japanese players and coaches while practicing and competing against Japanese high-school teams.
Additionally, Marvin was a part of the Voyager girls soccer team for two years.
According to the HMSA website, volunteering is important to Marvin, and some of her proudest community-service moments took place while she shadowed physicians at the Makana North Shore Urgent Care in Princeville. This experience only stoked her interest in pursuing a profession in medicine.
Applications and application elements for the 2021-22 HMSA Kaimana Awards and Scholarship Program will be announced.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
