Hōkū Kaʻahaʻāina Receives 2017-18 H.W. Wilson Scholarship

The LIS Program is pleased to announce that Hōkū Kaʻahaʻāina was selected as a recipient of the 2017-2018 H.W. Wilson Scholarship, which is generously funded by the H.W. Wilson Foundation.

Hoku shared the following about herself with the LIS Program:

After seven years of college on the mainland, study abroad, and teaching English in Japan on the JET Program, I was feeling rather homesick. The next question was this: what would I do when I finally returned home? Iʻm the kind of person who always needs a plan of action, so winging it upon arrival was definitely not an option. When trying to puzzle my future out, I saw one person who knew where she was going, and she was going there fast: my fellow Kamehameha Schools alumna Kylie Kaʻeo. Through her commitment to the community and her passion for libraries, I was inspired to pursue a degree in LIS like she did.

Approximately one year later, Iʻm in library school as a part-time student and thanks to the H.W. Wilson Foundation scholarship, Iʻll be able to move to full-time status for the upcoming academic year. When not in class, I can usually be found at work in the Richardson Law Library or ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi. Although my next goal is working in the local public library system, working in these different settings with a wide cast of characters is proving to be a great experience. Itʻs funny how my life has come to revolve around libraries in such a short amount of time.