DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM In the Waianae High School football locker room Friday, Kevin Kauweloa looked over one of his school notebooks that he usually has there. He and his teammates were suiting up for a preseason game against Kapolei High School.

Beating the odds

A Waianae student picks up
his pace after brain surgery

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By Keiko Kiele Akana-Gooch
kakana-gooch@starbulletin.com

When doctors found a tumor in Kevin Kauweloa's brain last May, the first thing the teenager thought was that he couldn't play football anymore.

Kauweloa had to sit out one year of football after surgery to remove the tumor, which was benign.

"He just fell apart," said his mother, Sharon. "He felt his football career was over."

So instead, the Waianae High School student dedicated his junior year to his studies and to assisting the football coach.

Now, more than a year after the surgery, Kauweloa is a co-captain of his school's varsity football team and the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship for his scholastic achievements and commitment to learning.

Derrick Tsuruda, one of the teachers who nominated Kauweloa for the award, said: "He is very hard-working. One thing that made him stand out from his peers was, he would always stay after class." Those daily sessions were at least an hour and a half long and helped him better understand mathematical problem-solving strategies, Tsuruda said.

Kauweloa spent this summer in College Connections Hawaii SAT-preparation classes, trying to raise his SAT scores. The CCH scholarship Kauweloa won will provide him with individual advising, college counseling and financial planning.

"I just wanted to excel in my grades and go to college," Kauweloa said.

Not only did he raise his combined SAT score by 150 points, he now surpasses the minimum application requirements for his first college of choice, University of Washington.

Because of his experience in the hospital, Kauweloa plans to study medicine.

"When I used to walk around (the hospital), I would see other patients uncomfortable. I just want to help others," he said.

In the meantime, Kauweloa is helping others through community service. He is a member of three school clubs that sponsor community service activities.

"Now he's in the Leo club," said Kevin's father, Roland. "They want him to be president, and he just joined!"

He remembers a time when his son was doing just enough to get by with C's and D's in school.

While Kauweloa didn't consider himself a slacker, he also knew he wasn't a hard worker.

"I thought football was more important," Kauweloa said.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Kauweloa, a linebacker, rumbled down the field after picking up a Kapolei fumble in a game Friday night.

Now, nothing less than an A will do. "(My friends) even called me 'psycho' because of the way I work with my school assignments," Kauweloa said.

Last year, Kauweloa sometimes brought lunch from home so he could spend lunch breaks getting extra help from his English teacher.

"Schoolwork is a whole lot more important than cruising around during lunch," Kauweloa said.

Kauweloa credits his new priorities to the brain tumor and more maturity.

Lisa James, the other CCH teacher who nominated Kauweloa for the award, said: "It's a big thing to see a scholar athlete in the sense of a football player. (Kevin) tried to break that stereotype."

Waianae varsity football head coach Daniel Matsumoto says Kauweloa's determination extends to the football field. Kauweloa had great potential his sophomore year and is the most promising this year among the team's long list of linebackers, despite missing an entire football season.

"He fights for everything that he can," Matsumoto said. "He's an overachiever."

While being a devout student and athlete, Kauweloa's challenges have taught others, like his mother, lessons in life.

"I learned from my son that you don't take life for granted," Sharon Kauweloa said.

The Kauweloas attribute Kevin's good health to God. But Kevin still requires brain scans every six months to ensure the tumor hasn't grown back.

"I've been thinking about that: What will happen to me" if the tumor returns, Kauweloa said.

"I try to keep my faith in the Lord, and it's been working out so far."