Masaki and Momoe Kunimoto Memorial AwardHonolulu’s James Niino honored for contributions to vocational education. Read more
Underwater Methane PathwaysManoa researchers discover a new pathway for methane that could impact greenhouse gasses. Read moreLifetime Achievement AwardThe Society of Professional Journalists honors Manoa’s Beverly Ann Deepe Keever. Read more
Healthcare Degree Distance LearningWest O‘ahu offers their healthcare administration degree via distance learning. Read moreUnderwater RobotsHigh school students learn about science and mechanics through GEAR UP summer program. Read more
KudosHilo’s Kanoe Wilson and Manoa’s Jane Freeman Moulin, Richard Ogoshi, Brian Turano and Goro Uehara. Read more
New Accounting ScholarshipAssociation of Government Accountants of Hawai'i establishes a scholarship for future accountants and auditors. Read moreCultural TourismManoa's Heather Diamond published American Aloha: Cultural Tourism and the Negotiation of Tradition. Read more
UH EventsHawai'i and Kapi'olani’s Abled Hawai'i Artists Festival, Manoa’s Hanauma Bay educational activities and other events. Read more
Chujiro and Keru Oda, circa 1897.
Hilo Scholarship
Russell Oda and his wife Aki established an endowed scholarship at Hilo to honor the memory of Russell’s grandmother, Keru Oda.
Keru Oda immigrated to Hawai'i from Japan with her husband Chujiro, working in the Paukaa sugar cane fields to support their eight children. After her children were grown, she raised her grandson Russell until he was 16 years old. Through Russell, she finally learned to read and write Japanese katakana at the age of 63.
Today, the descendants of Keru and Chujiro Oda include accountants, engineers, contractors, teachers, doctors, nurses, realtors, attorneys, bankers and architects. Their success provides powerful testimony to the emphasis on education instilled in them by a wise woman who was herself unable to attend school.
“’You are grandma’s boy,’ she always told me,” says Oda. “So I tried hard not to do anything bad that would bring shame or disgrace to the family. I know she would be very happy knowing that she is being honored with a scholarship in her name.”