LIHUE — The Contractors Association of Kauai (CAK) honored eight scholarship recipients and their parents during the CAK general membership meeting Thursday at the Kauai Philippine Cultural Center.
Facing an audience that teased the 160-person mark, the CAK awarded a total of $12,500 in scholarships that were shared by recipients Kailash Letman, Kailee Oyama, Kai Gokan, Luke Gandeza, Kulea Kauwe, Kendra Suga, Kolokea Kamakele and Fred Padamada, Jr.
Letman, a 4-year CAK scholarship recipient, earned a $1,500 Hawaii Gas scholarship presented by Kauai Branch Manager Russell Winkelman. Letman, who is currently a senior architecture major at Wentwork Institute of Technology in Boston, was tied up with a project so his parents, Hiroko and Jon Letman, accepted the award in his stead.
Similarly, Oyama, a senior civil engineering major at Santa Clara University, had her parents, Wendy and Mark Oyama, accept her $2,000 Guy Matsunaga Memorial Scholarship. The 4-year CAK scholarship recipient graduated from Kauai High School.
Gokan was named the recipient of the $1,000 Richard, Yasuo and Hisae Minatoya Memorial Scholarship that was awarded to a CAK member, or dependent of a CAK member company staff or employee. Gokan, the son of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative employee Cory and Lani Gokan of Lihue, earned the scholarship to continue to study as an architecture major at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is currently a senior at UH.
Gandeza just got his high school diploma from Kauai High School where he graduated as a valedictorian. The son of Shelley and Joseph Gandeza of Lawai, he was named recipient of the $2,000 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship that will help him when he enters the University of Hawaii at Manoa as a civil engineering major.
Kauwe, graduating from Waimea High School in May, received the second $2,000 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship that will come in handy when he enters Honolulu Community College to study refrigeration and HVAC. He is the son of Cherisse and Kaulu Kauwe of Kalaheo.
Suga graduated Waimea High School as a valedictorian in May. She received a $1,000 CAK scholarship to use when she enters the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall with a civil engineering major. She is the daughter of Leilani and Kevin Suga of Hanapepe.
Kamakele, the daughter of Tiffany Rita and Leivyn Kamakele, also graduated from Waimea High School in May and received a $2,000 CAK scholarship. She, is planning to enroll at Kauai Community College as a pre-engineering major in the fall.
Padamada is another Waimea High School graduate who earned a $1,000 CAK scholarship that he will use when he enters the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall with a major in Environmental Design Architecture. He is the son of Rosalina and Fred Padamada of Waimea.
The Contractors Association of Kauai was established in 1957 as a trade association of licensed contractors, suppliers, and businesses affiliated with the construction industry on Kauai. CAK is also affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders.
Source: The Garden Island