Chaminade University of Honolulu

Scholarship

Student Athlete

Haley Hayakawa ’24 has all the bases covered

Haley Hayakawa gets sworn in at the Kapolei field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Accepted into the FBI’s “Honors Internship Program,”Haley Hayakawa gets sworn in at the Kapolei field office.

Her fellow classmates think she’s playing Candy Crush on her laptop. But in actuality, Haley Hayakawa ’24 is eyeing her Google calendar, which is scattered with different colors, each representing a lab, class or work hours that she has committed to during the week.

When the California native is not in a class or lab, she’s out in left field, shagging flies as a member of the Women’s Softball team. And during the summer, Hayakawa was working 40 hours a week at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s field office in Kapolei, where she participated in the “Honors Internship Program,” which only accepts a sliver two percent of all its applications.

“It was my first full-time job,” said the 22-year-old Forensic Science major. “It has been the best experience I’ve ever had; everybody there wants to be there, and they all want to help you.”

An avid softball player since the eighth grade, Hayakawa committed to Chaminade University when she was a junior in high school, the earliest a student athlete can officially commit to a Division I or Division II college. 

“I was recruited by Division I and Division II schools, but some wouldn’t allow their recruits to participate in sports if they plan to major in a hard science because of all the required labs,” Hayakawa said. “Chaminade does, and it’s one of the reasons I chose to come here.”

She was also familiar with Chaminade’s Forensics Science program, which requires its students to complete a rigorous, 135-hour internship with such offices as the Honolulu Department of the Medical Examiner, police departments in Hawaii and Guam or the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory. 

“During my junior year, I interned with the Medical Examiner Department, which gets involved with deaths as a result of violence, substance abuse, trauma, accidents or suicide, among other suspicious causes of death,” Hayakawa explained. “After reading some of the suicide notes, I was thankful to be stressed out because those notes helped put things in perspective for me.”

An ambitious go-getter from an early age, Hayakawa is the only child and holds high expectations from herself—and not her parents, Greg and Myra Hayakawa. In fact, her father often tells her “to be open to changes, and not everything happens as planned.”

“In my freshman year, all I could eye was being awarded summa cum laude, which requires a 3.96 GPA,” Hayakawa notes. “I’ve only had one B and that was in Organic Biochemistry, which lowered my 4.0 GPA to 3.96.”

Ironically, one of her two American Chemical Society awards was being recognized as the Most Outstanding Student in Organic Biochemistry—despite her B—and Most Outstanding Student in Forensic Chemistry, nominated by David Carter, Ph.D., Forensic Sciences director and professor.

Haley Hayakawa gets ready to take off from second base.
Haley Hayakawa gets ready to take off from second base.

“She also has minors in Biochemistry and Chemistry,” Carter says. “She is a stellar athlete on the softball team and she also works as one of our Forensic Sciences Laboratory Assistants.”

Hayakawa’s collegiate experience has certainly had its challenges. Her freshman year was during the height of COVID, which meant Hale Lokelani Residence Hall was in lockdown mode, limiting her interaction with fellow students except for her roommate Naomi Noguchi from Kauai. It was also her first time living away from home, and she couldn’t leave campus for three weeks. Meanwhile, the softball team couldn’t take to the gym and was forced to conduct its workouts via Zoom videos.

“My classes were from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, which was crazy,” Hayakawa recalls. “I was so overwhelmed, and when I went home for the winter break, my parents asked if I was OK because I had lost 30 pounds.”

When she returned to campus in the spring, Hayakawa now had to juggle between her softball season and her studies, maintaining a batting average of .377—earning her the team’s batting champion— and a perfect 4.0 GPA. 

“It’s easy to manage time, when your time is managed for you,” Hayakawa quips. “I’m all in … all the time.”

As she completes her final year as a Silversword, Hayakawa fondly reflects back on her time on Kalaepohaku campus, on the softball field, in the labs and with her friends. She already has future plans to attend graduate school, after having turned down a job offer with the FBI field office in Kapolei. 

“I’ve always wanted to help the community through criminal justice,” says Hayakawa, who will graduate as summa cum laude, thus achieving her ultimate freshman goal. “I made the right decision to come to Chaminade, not only because of its small class sizes, but because I got to form relationships with my professors and formed new friendships.”

Top Cop Scholarships

Three Silverswords recognized for their commitment to criminal justice

Now in its 38th year, the Annual TOP COP Award Ceremony honors law enforcement and security professionals from several sectors, including law enforcement, private security, military and non-profit agencies.

“We are excited to be together in the same space and time to celebrate the dedication of our law enforcement and security professionals in the State of Hawaii,” said Law Enforcement and Security Coalition of Hawaii president Jeremiah Pahukula, Jr., during his opening remarks. “Your presence here today demonstrates your commitment to the safety and security of our island home and we are grateful for your support.”

Equally grateful are this year’s Top Cop Scholarship recipients, including Chaminade senior Chasity McKean ’24, who will graduate with a major in Criminal Justice and minor in Psychology. Receiving the ASIS Region 1D Scholarship, the Kapolei native plans on pursuing a career with the Honolulu Police Department.

“My initial plans post-degree is to join HPD and once I get in, work my way up the ladder to become a canine officer,” wrote McKean in her essay outlining her interest in a Criminal Justice degree. “However, I’m still keeping my options open since having a Criminal Justice degree is very broad and there is much I can do with it. I’ve been doing research and applying for internships to get different work experiences within the criminal justice field.”

Earning the Bob Flatting Scholarship was fellow Silversword Benjamin Carlin, who is working towards his Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. The U.S. Army Police Officer aspires to advance from an enlisted soldier to a commissioned officer with the United States Army’s Military Police Corps, which provides expertise in policing, detainment and stability operations in order to enhance security and enable mobility.

Aligned with the goals of the U.S. Army’s Military Police Corps, the Law Enforcement and Security Coalition of Hawai‘i adopted the Hawaiian expression of “E Pupukahi,” which holds the symbolic meaning of “working together as one to make Hawai‘i a safe place to live and work.”

“Working with these talented individuals who value the accomplishments of those who protect our communities has been my pleasure,” said Pahukula, Jr. “I look forward to their continued support.”

Chaminade senior Alisha Gifford’s lifetime ambition is to serve and protect her community. As this year’s Top Cop Scholarship awardee, Gifford is currently in the selection process of being an intern with HPD. Her longterm goal, however, is to pursue a career with the United States Air Force.

Yin and Yang

Thirty years later, two middle school besties will graduate in ’24

The last time they graduated was in 1994 from Mililani High School. And when May 2024 comes around, Rita Aponte ’24 and KerryLynn Vea ’24 will again don their caps and gowns, as they prepare to cross the stage of the Waikiki Shell to receive their bachelor’s degrees.  

BFFs since high school, Aponte and Vea were able to pursue their university degrees, thanks to Bank of Hawaii’s College Assistance Program (CAP), which allows its employees to get back on the path to obtaining their first four-year undergraduate degree with tuition reimbursement.  

Draped with lei, Rita Aponte, left, and KerryLynn Vea posed for their graduation photo from Mililani High School in 1994.

“The Bank started this program in 2016, and I started the following year,” says Aponte, Manager of Loan Operations with Bank of Hawaii. “And my bestie, KerryLynn, is also on this journey with me since we both always wanted to get our degrees.”  

Both Aponte and Vea chose to start their families at a young age, hindering them from attending college. The two friends since middle school always had plans to return to university, but family obligations and full-time jobs prevented them from entering the college system.

“I get emotional when I talk about CAP,” says Vea, who was in the credit union industry for 20 years before joining Bank of Hawaii in 2016 and is now its Assistant Vice President-Mortgage Compliance Analyst. “Before CAP, I was resigned not to get my college degree, rationalizing to myself, ‘Oh well, I don’t need a degree since I already have a career.’”  

The American Council of Education estimates that approximately 20 percent of graduate students and six percent of the much larger number of undergraduates receive some financial assistance from their employers to attend school. As many as a third of undergraduates in fields like business and engineering also receive tuition aid, which, on average, covers about one-third of the annual cost paid by post-secondary students.  

Initially, when Aponte and Vea enrolled in Bank of Hawaii’s CAP initiative, they were limited to four specific start times a year (January, April, July and October). Today, new applicants have the flexibility to enroll for courses on a monthly basis throughout the year, which is consistent with Chaminade’s online Flex program.  

“I’ve worked at credit unions where tuition assistance was always included in the employee manual book, but I never once saw it used,” Vea says. “Bank of Hawaii, on the other hand, vigorously promotes CAP and they champion it, putting funding behind it with no strings attached. The program is a 100 percent benefit to all employees.”  

Bank of Hawaii’s executives said they needed a partner that understood the Bank’s vision of what they wanted to achieve with its CAP program. However, they also wanted to make sure that the online learning experience was customized to the specific needs of the Bank’s employees since they wanted CAP to be “a real pillar and cornerstone of what Bank of Hawaii is all about.”

“We thought it was not only important to train our employees in specific banking-related issues, but also to help them expand their overall educational base,” says Peter Ho, Bank of Hawaii’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a video release. “From an education standpoint, the important thing is to really help shape the individual’s mind and spirit—and that’s what education is all about; that’s what college is all about.”  

Although, Aponte and Vea didn’t experience the traditional campus setting, they were able to take their classes online, via Chaminade’s Flex program model, allowing students to take one or two courses at a time—or more if they choose—as they work toward their degree. And the pace of coursework rests with them. They can complete online courses in as few as six weeks. Or, they can take their time, wrapping up a course in six months. Flex students are also able to complete courses wherever they are, even on the go.  

“It was a real struggle during the holiday season,” Aponte recalls. “Even when we went on vacation to Disney World, algebra came along with me.”  

KerryLynn Vea takes a break from her studies with her new son.
KerryLynn Vea takes a break from her studies with her six-week old granddaughter Ellie in 2018.

The Flex Online Undergraduate program is WSCUC-accredited (WASC Senior College and University Commission) and has a broad range of study disciplines, including business administration, criminology and criminal justice, historical and political studies, education and psychology. It is designed with working adults in mind, distancing itself from rigid term schedules and due dates to give students the flexibility they need to achieve a work-life-school balance and make progress toward reaching their goals.  

“I started at Leeward Community College for a semester and a half, but scheduling was really difficult,” Vea says. “I just couldn’t do it all with a full-time job, a family and attending classes; it was a lot.”  

Nor could Aponte.

“I didn’t think a college degree was in the books for me,” Aponte asserts. “It was always nagging at me to get my bachelor’s, but I used time and cost as excuses not to pursue it. And now I’m motivated to finish this and I can’t wait.”  

Thirty years will have elapsed by the time Aponte and Vea attain their bachelor’s degree, and through the three decades, they’ve raised families, enjoyed successful careers and supported each other through both good times and bad.  

“Getting the bachelor’s degree with Rita couldn’t get any better,” Vea says. “I always say I’m the Yin because I’m more subdued and quieter, and she’s the Yang because she’s more outgoing and vocal. We might be opposites, but through this college process, we’ve depended on each other and have been each other’s greatest cheerleader.”      

Welcome to the Class of 2027

Freshman and Hawaii Island native Shalei Parong was among a throng of incoming students who moved into the Hale Pohaku co-ed dormitory on August 17. Meanwhile, after attending the freshman Apo Haumana Retreat, Gavin Ritcheson, Chase Murray and Kanden Yamada bonded and became instant friends.

“It was a fun retreat,” said Yamada of Apo Haumana. “We learned more about Chaminade’s mission, Hawaii’s culture, and we met with our new faculty mentors. We also sang a lot of karaoke., too”  

This year, Chaminade University welcomed one of its largest incoming classes in recent history. The projected number of new students amounts to 1,572 undergraduate students and 642 graduate students for a total of 2,214 student enrollment. (The official final count is due Oct. 1.) The incoming class of freshmen and transfer students added up to 481, many of whom attended the New Student Orientation.

Madyson Jensen, left, and Epifania Petelo stand inside a Barbie box for incoming residents to have their photos taken.

This Fall, the University also noted a 34 percent increase in new students from Hawaii, thanks in large part to the Hawaiʻi Guarantee initiative, which makes tuition for local Hawaiʻi freshmen on par with tuition at UH Manoa.  

“It’s gratifying to see so many local high school graduates and others selecting Chaminade as the institute to pursue their higher education,” said Chaminade University President Dr. Lynn Babington. “We also have the highest graduation rate of Hawaii colleges, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and that’s something of which we’re really proud.”  

Also of note, 285 students live in university residence halls, with nine resident assistants guiding their dormitory experience that includes activities, and all safety and security procedures.  

“We enforce the dorm rules,” said Kieffer Hall resident assistants Mady Jensen ’26 and Epifana Petelo ’23, as they waited to check in incoming students. “We make sure that everyone abides by the curfews and other regulations.”  

New this year is Chaminade’s Major and Minor in the Sport and Event Management (SEM) program within the School of Business and Communication. It is the first college program of its kind in Hawaii, according to SEM professor Wendy Lam, Ph.D. Students will take an interdisciplinary approach to build their foundation of knowledge with courses in sports business administration, sports psychology, sustainability, law, ethics and communications.  

“Sports programs generate tremendous value to both our communities and Hawaii’s economy,” said Lam, Associate Professor of Business. “The future of the school is mission-focused, practical and exciting.”  

New graduate programs include the Education Specialist in School Psychology (EdS); Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership for Adaptation and Change (EdD–Sustainability Leadership concentration; Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)–BSN-DNP Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) certificate; and the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)–Post-Doctor Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP) Certificate.  

In addition to more than 60 majors and minors, the University’s Office of Student Engagement offers more than 30 active student clubs for students to join.  

“Looking ahead, we have an exciting year planned, and I am grateful in advance for all of the hard work and commitment of our faculty and staff members,” Babington said. “We are always here for our students.”    

Chaminade Scholar

Depending on the power grid in the countryside of Ukraine, Chaminade sophomore Victoria DelaCruz ’25 may or may not be able to teach American culture, environment and English to Kate (not her real name to protect her identity) through a volunteer role with ENGin, a nonprofit group that offers a unique opportunity to make a difference in a Ukrainian’s life. It’s a volunteer role that she pursued during her freshman year in 2021.

What she didn’t anticipate, though, was the Russian invasion of the second largest European country in February 2022. Still, the Saipan native persisted and persevered to maintain contact with Kate at least once a week to this very day.

“She wants to improve her English, and I’m trying to help her do that,” says DelaCruz, who opted to major in Data Science, Analytics and Visualization. “I am provided with class lessons, but I tailor them to fit with what I’m comfortable with.”

Growing up in the largest island in the Northern Mariana Islands, DelaCruz has always felt comfortable with helping her community, following her mom to work at KARIDAT, a not-for-profit, social service organization under the Catholic Charity Diocese of Chalan Kanoa. In 2018, when Super Typhoon Yutu, the strongest typhoon ever recorded to impact the Mariana Islands and the second-strongest to strike the United States or its territories, slammed into Saipan, DelaCruz was there.

Victoria DelaCruz helps out at the Kaimuki office of Aloha Harvest.

“She was doing basic intakes and helping out in the food pantry,” recalls mom Elaine DelaCruz, a Chaminade alumna who earned her bachelor’s degree in 1999 and her M.S. in Counseling Psychology (MSCP) in 2003. “She has always wanted to serve her community ever since she was a young girl.”

DelaCruz personifies the Chaminade Scholar, defined as a student who strives to discover his or her life vocation, to be a servant leader and to use God-given gifts and talents to pursue the common good. “Her reflection on service and the path she traveled to earn her internship with Aloha Harvest are inspiring,” says Bro. Ed Brink, a member of the Mission and Identity Committee that selects Chaminade Scholars. “She’s truly a remarkable young woman who exemplifies the Marianist education and values.”

While searching for a service project to fulfill one of the mandatory requirements of being a Chaminade Scholar, DelaCruz came upon the AmeriCorps Vista program and decided to become a member. The objective of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) is to provide needed resources to nonprofit organizations and public agencies to increase their capacity to lift communities out of poverty. It just so happened that Aloha Harvest was registering to participate in the VISTA program and looking for someone to work in its office.

“I started as a volunteer in late September 2022,” DelaCruz recalls. “At that point, Aloha Harvest was in the process of creating an AmeriCorps VISTA position (Program Data Evaluation Specialist), and found out I was a Data Science student. So, they asked me if I would be willing to fulfill that position, and that’s how I was recruited. My official first day as a full-time service member with Aloha Harvest was January 17, 2023, and I will be there until January 17, 2024.”

In addition to being a Chaminade Scholar, DelaCruz is also in the Experiential Honors Program, and she serves as vice president of the Chaminade Sustainability Council, the design manager for the Chaminade Student Programming Board and an Alliance Research Intern with the National Science Foundation.

DelaCruz credits her Chaminade Scholar status, not only for her monetary scholarship, but for helping her grow and commit to community service, which she plans to continue in Saipan after she graduates in 2024.

“When it comes to data science, there’s a great demand for it in Saipan, from the medical to the educational field,” DelaCruz asserts. “Saipan usually has to bring in people from the Mainland but it never lasts too long.”

And if you had told DelaCruz that she would be pursuing a degree in data science a year ago, she says she would have thought you were lying. “I never considered technology, and now I’m learning to code and use data,” she says. “I’m really glad I changed my major to DSAV because the skills that I have learned can be applied to so many fields. And I can use the knowledge that I gained and my passion for service to help my Chamorro community.”

Nursing Scholarship

Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union Announces New Scholarship Fund

During a check presentation to Chaminade President Dr. Lynn Babington, Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union’s Board Chairman, Neil Shimogawa, said this would be the first of hopefully many to follow in the years to come.

“We couldn’t do this without our community partners like yourselves,” said Dr. Babington to Shimogawa and fellow board members Ariel Chun, Director, and Alan Yasuda, Secretary. “Scholarships are often the optimal form of financial aid since, unlike student loans, scholarships do not need to be repaid.”

According to U.S. News & World Report, the average college student graduates with about $30,000 in student loans. That’s nearly a 25 percent increase from a decade ago. Many of these student loans carry high interest rates, and create a severe financial burden for young professionals. In contrast, scholarship programs can help students afford college without strings attached. As a result, scholarship recipients can pay off loans more quickly and use their extra income to start saving for the future.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many colleges and universities experienced significant budget cuts. And while public schools experienced a squeeze in funding, passing these costs along to students, Chaminade did the opposite. Instead of increasing its tuition, the university introduced its Hawaii Guarantee pilot program, which ensures all graduates of Hawaii high schools entering as first-time freshmen pay the exact same tuition rate as the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s annual resident undergraduate tuition, and an achievable path to graduate in four years.

These days, many scholarship opportunities target communities that haven’t historically had access to higher education. These include students from communities with lower household incomes and who also represent the first generation of their families to attend a four-year university.

While many scholarships are need-based, or select winners based on academic achievement, others prioritize community service. The latter is one of the reasons that spurred board members of the Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union to establish its scholarship at Chaminade.

“Chaminade has one of the best nursing programs in Hawaii, and it was a perfect fit for what we wanted to do for the community,” says Shimogawa, with Chun and Yasuda nodding in agreement. “Our scholarship fund is targeted at nursing students, who are entering a field that the community really needs.”

Chaminade’s student-centric focus also appealed to the three Board Members. “This is all for the students,” Babington said. “I was reading the remarks of our student speakers at Commencement this year and it was inspiring to hear, and it’s why I come to work every day.”