Five Maui County students awarded $5,000 scholarships each from AlohaCare

AlohaCare awarded seven $5,000 academic scholarships to Hawaiʻi students from four islands — three from Maui, two from Oʻahu and one each from Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

“Our annual AlohaCare Scholarship’s mission is to encourage workforce development and support students seeking careers in healthcare,” said AlohaCare CEO Francoise Culley-Trotman. “Our team is grateful that we are able to help students follow their educational dreams.” 

AlohaCare scholarships are granted to members or their dependents who are pursuing health-related post-secondary degrees or programs.

The following are the 2022 recipients:

• Lyu Burdette – Maui: Lyu Burdette is pursuing a Bachelor in Social Work degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Upon graduation she plans to seek employment opportunities that would help troubled Maui youth learn skills to become independent and stable adults.
• Sherae Hanchett – Maui: Sherae Hanchett attends the University of Hawaii Maui College. Hanchett is in her last year of the nursing program and on schedule to graduate in May of 2023 with an associate of science in nursing. Following that she will continue her education at the University of Phoenix pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Hanchett’s goal is to practice in the community of Hāna, Maui and use her skills to promote the health and well-being of the native Hawaiian community. 
• Kristelle Turalva-Albano – Maui: Kristelle Turalva-Albano is pursuing an Associate of Science Registered Nurse (RN) degree at UH Maui College. In 2024, she plans to attend UH Mānoa or UH Hilo following her graduation from UH Maui College. Her goal is to become a RN and return to work in the community she was raised in, Lahaina.
• Micah Manuel – Lānaʻi: Micah Manuel of Lānaʻi City is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Minot State University in North Dakota, after receiving her Associates in Arts from Lake Region State College. A high school triathlete who graduated from Lānaʻi High, Manuel is studying accounting and plans to return home to Lānaʻi following her graduation. Manuel has worked as a front desk representative at Lānaʻi Community Health Center and hopes to return to work in the financial department there once she completes her bachelor’s degree
• Michael Arce – Molokaʻi: Michael Arce has been dedicated to the field of social work for 15 years. He began the Master of Social Work degree program this fall at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa after receiving a Bachelor of Social Work degree in May 2022. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Molokai Community Health Center and the Molokai Church of the Nazarene. 
• Alisha Kahookele – Oʻahu: Alisha Kahookele is studying to be a medical assistant at the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement. Following her graduation from the program, Kahookele hopes to work in her home community at the Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, while she attends school to become a registered nurse. 
• Casey Simzer – Oʻahu: Casey Simzer attends the Agripharmtech program at Leeward Community College. Upon graduation, she plans to enroll in the Hawaiian and Indigenous Health and Healing degree program at University of Hawaiʻi West Oʻahu campus. Following her education, she aspires to work in rural parts of Hawaiʻi with those who have limited access to services. 

AlohaCare scholarship opportunities are provided annually, with applications available in the spring of 2023.

AlohaCare is a community-led, nonprofit health plan founded in 1994 by Hawaiʻi’s community health centers and is the only local health plan solely dedicated to serving those eligible for Hawai`i’s QUEST Integration Medicaid and Medicare program.

For more information, visit imualoa.alohacare.org.