Over 270 donors and students gathered at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on November 6 for the UH Shidler College of Business Scholarship Luncheon. This annual event recognizes donors for their commitment to education and gives them an opportunity to meet their scholarship recipients. This school year, the college awarded over $1 million in 340 scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students at Shidler.
For the fourth consecutive year, Enterprise Rent-A-Car served as the title sponsor for the Luncheon. Prior to the luncheon, Enterprise presented a workshop on career and professional development aimed at preparing students for future success.
“Enterprise Rent-A-Car is proud to play a role in the helping to support the development of the future leaders of Hawaii through our continued partnership with the Shidler College of Business,” said Chris Sbarbaro, Enterprise Vice President of Sales & Marketing, External Affairs.
This year’s luncheon featured keynote speaker and scholarship donor Guy Kamitaki, co-owner treasurer of Maui Varieties, Ltd. (HouseMart), the parent company of ACE Hardware Hawaii and Ben Franklin Crafts. In 2013, the Kamitaki family established a $35,000 endowed scholarship in honor of their parents Tadami and Kimei Kamitaki, and in 2017 they donated $200,000 to renovate and name the Shidler’s Career Services Office to support student internships and job placement.
“It is an honor to recognize and celebrate the generosity of our donors,” said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. “This annual event provides the college with an opportunity to share heartwarming stories of giving and its extraordinary impact on students so that donors can experience the impact of their generosity.”
Undergraduate student speaker Annie Lin said, “Scholarships have served as a catalyst for me to take on new opportunities and explore a variety of career paths, experience diverse cultures and become involved in my community—all which would not have been accessible without financial support.” Lin received the May and Richard Leung Endowed Scholarship. She plans to attend the Stern School of Business at New York University for her master’s degree and eventually work in the airlines/travel industry.
Graduate student speaker David McCleary enrolled in the Global MBA program to find his true passion. “Today, I am extremely grateful for all of the opportunities that I have been given. I have been honored and blessed to serve as the Graduate Business Student Association president, get involved in the community, and meet amazing people that I can now call my mentors, colleagues, and friends,” said McCleary. With his focus in business operations and analytics, McCleary plans to use his skills to help businesses function more efficiently. McCleary received the Jack and Zelie Myers Endowed Scholarship and the Shidler College of Business Endowed Scholarship for Future Leaders.
Since 2005, the number of scholarships awarded more than doubled from 161 to 340. On average, 15% of Shidler students receive merit-based scholarship support.
To view a full list of the 2017-2018 scholarship recipients and event photos visit: shidler.hawaii.edu/scholarshipluncheon. For information on how to support Shidler students via scholarships, please contact Unyong Nakata, executive director of development, at unyong.nakata@uhfoundation.org or (808) 286-0702.
