Huliau Alumni Council Scholarship
Our Huliau Alumni Council Scholarship Program is excited to announce the fourth year of our scholarship program created to support and inspire graduating high school seniors from Maui County in their pursuit of higher education. This year's scholarship for the 2025–2026 academic year is open to high school seniors graduating in the 2024-2025 academic year, including those who have not participated in any Huliau programs.About the Scholarship
Maui Huliau Foundation’s mission is to promote environmental literacy and leadership among Maui youth through unique hands-on programs which seek to educate and empower youth to become future stewards of our natural environment.
Scholarship Objective
The principal objective of this scholarship program is to support and encourage current high school seniors who are passionate about sustainability and protecting the ʻāina, in continuing their studies through higher education.
Scholarship Award Amount
The total distribution for the 2025- 2026 academic year is $7,500, awarded as one $5,000 scholarship to the first place candidate and one $2,500 scholarship for the second place candidate. Additional funding for this year’s scholarships is being generously provided by the AJA Foundation.
Use of Scholarship Funds
Scholarship awards may be applied toward tuition, housing, or other costs directly related to undergraduate study.
Basis of Award
The Scholarship Committee, comprised of members of the Huliau Alumni Council and the Maui Huliau Board of Directors, will make the final selection of students to receive a scholarship based on their review of the application form and essay questions. The scholarships will be awarded based on a variety of criteria including: academic qualifications, financial need, educational plans and career goals, and interest in community and/or environmental service, as demonstrated in answers to the application questions.
Financial need may be documented through the (optional) submission of FAFSA documents. This report can be obtained by completing the online application for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2024 – 2025 academic school year on the Federal Student Aid website.
Applications for our 2025 scholarship are now closed. Information on our 2026 scholarship will be added in January 2026.
The Committee may request additional information to complete its evaluation. The selection committee may choose to schedule Zoom interviews with the top candidates to determine scholarship recipients. Applicants will hear back from our selection committee by the end of April.
Congratulations to our 2024 scholarship recipients!
Below are profiles of the winners of our 2024 scholarship who were selected out of 19 applicants.
John Rick Bumanglag, Maui High School
John Rick Bumanglag recently graduated from Maui High and, after graduating, plans to study political science and biology with the goal of becoming a physician in the future.
As an ambassador for the global campaign, Pledge to our Keiki, John Rick shares, “I have seen the urgency in taking action in the environment and the issues that it is facing that will change its trajectory for the rest of our lives.” He continues, “I aspire to be a change maker and putting this passion into action through volunteer efforts through our local non-profits and organizations as well as active activism such as Pledge to Our Keiki. We must shed light on this and the many other environmental issues of our land by first seeing that we can truly make an impact one step at a time.”
Hoʻomaikaʻi iā ʻoe e John Rick! We wish you all the best on your college journey! ✨🎓
Emmi-Lin Felten, Kamehameha Schools Maui
Emmi-Lin Felten recently graduated from Kamehameha Schools Maui and, after graduating, plans to attend Pacific University Oregon to major in environmental science policy and conservation.
Emmi-Lin’s passion for the environment and her cultural heritage is unmistakable; in her application she shares, “In Hawaii, our cultural identity is synonymously bound with the natural environment. Nevertheless, economic growth and illegal exploitation of natural resources can undermine the fragile harmony between human presence and ecology. As I continue to grow and fulfill the role of being a part of a better change, I have instilled the Hawaiian culture and illustrated through learning the hula, ʻōlelo hawaiʻi, moʻolelo, working in the loʻi, the skills to pound and create paʻi ʻai to provide for my ʻohana and my ability to convey information to younger generations on how we can revive our culture.”
Hoʻomaikaʻi iā ʻoe e Emmi-Lin! We wish you all the best on your college journey! ✨🎓
Congratulations to our 2023 recipients!
Below are profiles of the winners of our first scholarship competition in the 2022-23 school year who were selected out of 36 applicants.
Talia Agliam, Lānaʻi High School
Lily Ahrnsbrak, Maui High School
Lily is a senior at Maui High School and, after graduating, plans to attend the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to major in either Marine Biology or Environmental Science.
Lily has a passion for protecting her home from pollution and has been involved in many beach clean-ups through her school, community, and Maui Huliau. This past school year, we advised Lily through her senior project focusing on sustainability measures at Maui hotels. She partnered with Kalikolehua Storer from the Hyatt Regency and Lily was able to create a film highlighting the work the Hyatt has done in terms of renewable energy, water conservation, and food sustainability.
In her application, she reminisces on her experience with our Leadership Council:
“The Huliau Leadership Council influences us to do a student-led project to help and change our community. I chose to do a coral related project and my plan is to be led by the Maui Ocean Center Marine Institute on how to grow and nurture coral. I plan on rebuilding the coral that has been destroyed by coral bleaching, unsafe sunscreen, ocean temperatures rising, and debris in my hometown. I want to be part of the change!”
Hoʻomaikaʻi iā ʻoe e Lily! We wish you all of the best on your college journey!
Congratulations to our 2022 recipients!
Below are profiles of the winners of our first scholarship competition in the 2021-22 school year who were selected out of 19 applicants.
Kyrie Sisouvong, Baldwin High School
One of our two Huliau Alumni Council Scholarship first year recipients is Kyrie Sisouvong, a senior at Baldwin High School who plans to attend Seattle University and major in Environmental Science, with an emphasis in water conservation. Kyrie’s extra-curricular high school experiences include marching band, Key Club, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, UHMCʻs Upward Bound and Environmental Science Summer Bridge programs, Hawaiʻi Youth Climate Coalition and being part of our Huliau Leadership Council.
Kyrie has been involved with youth-led campaigns tackling some of the biggest environmental problems facing Hawaiʻi including climate change, plastic pollution, and protecting our freshwater resources. In her application, Kyrie reflected on the importance of protecting wai:
“The saying “water is life” is especially significant on an island with limited resources, we need fresh water for consumption, agriculture, the recharging of our aquifers, and much more. Water is a universal staple in ALL of our communities, it’s a property that connects us all–despite our differences, or where we live. Through my future and current work in Environmental Science, I hope to raise awareness of the importance of wai, and ways to most efficiently conserve and use it. I also want to bring the “Aloha spirit” to fruition through activism, community service, and raising awareness.”
Congratulations, Kyrie! We wish you all of the best on your college journey!
Moani Tiare Atay, Kamehameha Schools Maui
One of our two Huliau Alumni Council Scholarship first year recipients is Moani Tiare Atay, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Maui Campus who plans to study Environmental Science in college. Moani’s extra-curricular high school experiences range from student government to canoe paddling, to serving as a crew member for Hui o Waʻa Kaulua.
During her 250 hours of community service being involved with Maui’s transoceanic double-hulled voyaging canoe named Moʻokiha o Piʻilani, Moani shared in her application about adapting to the “waʻa perspective”:
“When you are floating about at sea on a 62-foot vessel with 15 other people, you learn how to preserve your resources and work together to survive. Similarly, now more than ever, Maui County is facing huge issues with access to our natural resources and everyone is witnessing firsthand how important it is to preserve this precious supply. This experience has helped me realize my career goal of working in the environmental field in Hawaiʻi to provide a better future for the next generation using the mindset and skills I have learned from our waʻa. By pursuing an education and career in Environmental Science, I can combine my knowledge of Hawaiian culture and my love for the environment to fulfill my promise of aloha ʻāina and mālama hōnua forever and always.”
Congratulations to Moani and we wish you all the best on your college journey!