RAM members help students reach for the sky
For many students, a scholarship is more than a financial reprieve—it is also the promise of a brighter future. Just ask the students who are now pursuing their educational and career goals with the help of scholarship programs supported by members of the Realtors Association of Maui (RAM).
Anita White of Island Sotheby’s International Realty serves on the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Honolulu Branch’s Tweet Coleman Aviation Scholarship selection committee. An aviation trailblazer, Tweet Coleman is one of the first women to become a commercial airline pilot and was part of the first all-female flight crew to fly a Boeing 727. To be eligible for the annual scholarship, applicants must be Hawaii residents with an undergraduate or graduate degree who are seeking an FAA pilot certificate.
White has a sentimental attachment to the scholarship: She’s a former recipient. It helped her become a certified flight instructor, Big Island volcano tour pilot for Mokulele Airlines and founding member of the Maui 99s (a chapter of The Ninety-Nines, Inc., an international organization of female pilots). The recipients of this year’s Tweet Coleman Aviation Scholarship are Oahu residents Caitlin Basillo and Tiffany Flemings. The aspiring aviatresses each received $5,000 to continue their flight training in Hawaii.
Karin Carlson of Wailea Realty Corp. + Windermere Real Estate, Judy Gray of Wailea Point Realty, Mark Harbison of Coldwell
Realtors Association of Maui (RAM) members contribute to many scholarships programs for local youth, including the Rotary Club of Kihei-Wailea’s Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship, which was presented this year to Kihei Charter School graduate Victoria Fonville (left) and the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset’s annual “Go for the Green” academic scholarship, which is awarded to West Maui, Molokai or Lanai high school seniors, including 2019 Molokai High School graduate Evelyn Haas (right, pictured here with Rotarian Ryan Beenken).
Banker Island Properties and Mike O’Dwyer of Wailea Realty Corp. + Windermere Real Estate are members of the Rotary Club of KiheiWailea. The club recently presented a $5,000 Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship to Victoria Fonville, a graduate of Kihei Charter School. This fall, Fonville will attend the University
of Idaho, where she will study chemistry with plans to pursue a career in forensic science. The Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation was founded in 1976 by Rotary District 5000 (which includes all of Hawaii’s 48 Rotary clubs) Governor Maurice J. “Sully” Sullivan, who wanted to help Hawaii’s high school graduates realize their potential by attending a college or university of their choice. Every year, Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship awards are given to graduating high school seniors across the state.
Another $5,000 Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation scholarship was presented to Molokai High School graduate Maria Angst by the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, whose members include Sharon Beach of Susan Jackson Real Estate, Heidi Dollinger of Island
Sotheby’s International Realty, Nancy Montoya of Keller Williams Realty
Maui, Leanna Roberts of iTrip Vacations Maui,
Kyoko Wills of Old Republic Title and Katie Zimmerman of Keller Williams Realty Maui. This fall, Angst will attend the University of San Diego, where she plans to pursue a degree in environmental engineering. She also received one of the club’s two $2,500 “Go for the Green” academic scholarships; the second recipient is Olivia Bozich of Maui Preparatory Academy, who will study relevant marketing with a focus on animal and wildlife protection at the University of WisconsinMadison this fall. Now in its fifth year, the scholarship is funded through the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset’s annual “Go for the Green” St. Patrick’s Day event. The scholarship award is given to students whose chosen field of study will benefit the environment; it reflects the club’s commitment to environmental initiatives and the long-term educational goals of local youth. To be eligible for the scholarship, an applicant must be a graduating senior residing and attending high school in West Maui, Lanai or Molokai.
To learn more about the annual Tweet Coleman Aviation Scholarship, visit https://honoluluhi.aauw.net/tweet-coleman-aviationscholarship. For more information about the Hawaii Rotary Youth Foundation, visit www.hawaiirotaryyouthfoundation.org.