Team physician endows Hilo volleyball scholarship
October 19th, 2011 | by Cheryl Ernst | Published in Sports
From left, Coach Tino Reyes, physician John Uohara, Athletic Director Dexter Irvin
Hilo obstetrician and gynecologist John K. Uohara is delivering opportunities to scholar athletes at UH Hilo.
Uohara has established the Uohara Family Endowed Excellence Scholarship in Women’s Volleyball with a $20,000 gift, which is being doubled by a campus matching gift program through an anonymous donor. The scholarship fund will support members of the women’s volleyball team at UH Hilo who demonstrate academic excellence.
Uohara has been volunteer team physician for the Vulcan women’s volleyball team since 1979 and extended his services to women’s teams in cross country, tennis, softball, golf and soccer. On September 3 he was inducted into the Vulcan Athletic Hall of Fame for his longtime service to UH Hilo.
In carrying the Uohara family name, the endowment recognizes the fulfillment of his family’s dreams and perpetuates his family’s belief in education, Uohara says. His great-grandfather delivered babies on a Hawaiʻi sugar plantation despite scant medical training. His grandfather, Shinichi Uohara, had only a third grade education but hoped to someday see a qualified doctor in the family.
John Uohara fulfilled that dream in 1975, when he was a member of the first class to graduate from UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children and returned to Hilo, where he is on staff at Hilo Medical Center and a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Uohara’s gift acknowledges the success of both Hilo scholar athletes and the women’s volleyball program, says Athletic Director Dexter Irvin. “I hope his generosity sets the example for others as we launch our new Vulcan Legacy Scholarship initiative. Our ultimate goal is to create a scholarship endowment for every single one of our team sports.”
To learn more about supporting UH Hilo, email Margaret Shiba, call her at (808) 933-0829 or make a gift online.
Tags: athletics, UH Foundation, UH Hilo, Vol. 36 No. 3, volleyball, Vulcans
