$400,000 in
scholarships awarded

The Ko Olina Training Fund
helps Leeward residents be
active in the area's future

More than 400 West Oahu residents will now be able to pursue a college degree and more training in their fields of interest after receiving scholarships from the Ko Olina Training Fund.

"Without these scholarships they wouldn't be able to afford to go to school," said Maggie Li, a spokeswoman for Ko Olina Resort, who added that a total of $400,000 was awarded to the recipients at a reception yesterday afternoon at the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort Spa at Ko Olina.

The Ko Olina Training Fund's goal is to help Leeward residents become active in the area's future.

"The response to the training fund has surpassed our expectations," said Jeffrey Stone, president of the training fund board. "We have received well over 1,200 applications in our first two years of the program."

One of the recipients, who is employed at the resort, received a scholarship this year and plans to use it to study travel industry management in the state educational system this fall. Her long-term goal is to help her neighbors continue to learn and find homes in the area.

The latest batch of recipients brings the total scholarships awarded during the program's first two years to nearly $1 million.

The board considers applicants' educational background, work experience, goals and interest. Anyone is eligible, with preference for scholarships given to those who live and work along the Leeward Coast from Kaena Point to Honokai Hale.

The program requires that the scholarships be given to "individuals participating in visitor industry-related educational and training programs."

Ko Olina Resort principals, Gov. Linda Lingle and area Sen. Colleen Hanabusa developed the program in 2003.

The initial program funding was made possible by donations from Ko Olina Charities and the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, a major landowner on the Leeward Coast. This year's scholarships were funded by Ko Olina Charities.