10 Maui County students awarded $1K each by the Josh and Souk Jerman Foundation

Ten Maui County high school seniors were awarded $1,000 each by the Josh and Souk Jerman Foundation Scholarship program. Now in its 20th consecutive year, the Josh and Souk Jerman Foundation Scholarship program provides academic scholarships to local high school seniors who will attend an accredited four-year college or university. To date, the program has awarded more than $69,000 in scholarships to Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i students who have displayed a passion for returning to Maui County after college to contribute to the community.

Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded $1,000 scholarships to up to five recipients. In acknowledgment of students’ resilience in the face of adversity over the past two years, the Foundation chose to award $1,000 scholarships to 10 recipients in 2023. 

This year’s recipients are Taylor Aloy of Kamehameha Schools Maui, Kathleen Baniqued of Lahainaluna High School, Niko Banto of Maui Preparatory Academy, Taliah Cabatu of Maui High School, Helena Colletta of Seabury Hall, Mansa Devaki of Seabury Hall, Olapaholunape Duvachelle of Moloka‘i High School, Jacob Garcia of Kamehameha Schools Maui, Kaitlin Kitagawa of King Kekaulike High School, and Yuna Lee of Maui Preparatory Academy. 

In the fall, Lee will attend Gonzaga University with plans to study engineering and business. “I am happy to be one of the 10 recipients of this year’s scholarship,” she said. “I would like to thank Josh and Souk Jerman for gifting me this opportunity and allowing me to be a step closer to affording my college education. I will use this money to build my career in hopes to come back and do the same to help my community.”

Garcia will be attending Brown University, where he will study environmental science. “I am very honored and humbled to have been given this scholarship and so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Jerman for their generosity,” he said. “College tuitions are through the roof now, but I think it’s important for my generation to be able to strive for higher education without having to worry about how their family can pay for it. That’s why I believe that scholarships like the Josh and Souk Jerman Scholarship are so valuable because it allows students to start on their educational goals and then hopefully contribute to the future.”

Aloy will be heading off to Seattle University this fall with her sights set on becoming a women’s health professional. “To be recognized for my efforts to bring my education back to my home feels so special and motivates me to work 10 times as hard to make my community proud,” she said. “To Josh and Souk Jerman, I want to sincerely thank you for giving aspiring students on Maui the opportunities to further their education. Your generosity and kindness will help me achieve my dreams of establishing myself as a women’s health medical professional and advocate on Maui.”

Josh Jerman is an award-winning, top-producing real estate broker on Maui. He and his wife, Souksamlane, are the founders of the Josh and Souk Jerman Foundation Scholarship program. For more information about the program, visit http://jermanfoundation.org.