Native Hawaiian Scholarship Fairs Coming To Maui

Clyde Nāmu‘o, OHA chief executive officer. File photo by Wendy Osher.

By Sonia Isotov

Financial aid deadlines approach with the new year, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is helping to connect native Hawaiians to available aid through a series of scholarship fairs across the state.

OHA is sponsoring a series of 12 scholarship fairs starting Tuesday, December 6 in Waianae and ending Wednesday, January 25 in Hana.

Known as the Native Hawaiian Scholarship Aha Program, these fairs are part of a partnership with the University of Hawaii, Native Hawaiian Education Association; Gear Up Hawaii; and the Pacific Financial Aid Association. The fairs are intended to provide native Hawaiians with greater access to financial aid.

“OHA’s involvement in the scholarship fairs stems from a strengthened focus on helping to ensure that employers have the skilled workers they need to better contribute to the state’s economic vitality and competitiveness,” said Clyde W. Namu‘o, chief executive officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. “We are approaching our commitment to higher education for native Hawaiians with a renewed sense of urgency.”

Here’s the schedule for the four scholarship fairs to be held in Maui County Molokai, Maui, and Lanai scholarship fairs:

• Molokai Kulana ‘Oiwi Center, December 14, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 pm

• Maui College, Pilina Building, December 14, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Hana School Cafeteria, January 25, 2012, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Läna‘i School Cafeteria, January 19, 2012, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.