Shidler College of Business awards 350 scholarships totaling over $1 million for 2016-2017

Group photo at the Shidler College of Business scholarship lunch.

The Shidler College of Business at UH Mānoa celebrated its successful scholarship program this week with business students and scholarship donors at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The College awarded over $1 million in scholarships for the 2016-2017 academic year.

Said Dan Schaberg, general manager/VP of Hawai‘i, “Enterprise Rent-A-Car and our sister brands, Alamo Rent-A-Car & National Car Rental, are truly honored to be the title sponsor for the Shidler Scholarship luncheon once again. Enterprise has participated in this scholarship event each year since its inception in 2005 and we understand the true importance of showing support for these future leaders who will make a positive impact not only on the State of Hawai‘i, but the world.” Enterprise is one of the college’s most steadfast scholarship and Business Night donors, having renewed its annual scholarship commitment for over 10 years.

The Shidler College of Business has the most robust scholarship program in the entire UH System. Since 2005, the number of scholarship awards has increased from 161 to 350, a growth of 117%. On average, 17% of Shidler students receive merit scholarship support.

This year’s luncheon featured scholarship donor Martin Welch, chief executive officer of Hawaiʻi Employers’ Mutual Insurance Company (HEMIC). “HEMIC is a proud supporter of the Shidler College of Business through our Robert L. Dove Jr. Endowed Scholarship for Insurance Excellence. This four-year scholarship honors our founding CEO, Bob Dove, whose vision and commitment to insurance and business education inspired us to take an active role in developing Hawai‘i’s business leaders of tomorrow,” said Welch.

HEMIC established the scholarship fund in 2014 to help the college recruit high performing freshmen from Hawai‘i high schools who wish to pursue a business degree at the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business.

Undergraduate student speaker Nicole Oka said, “I have tried to make the most of every opportunity that I am given, and the University of Hawai‘i and Shidler have given me plenty of them. Thanks largely in part to my scholarships, I will graduate with zero debt.”

As a recipient of the Oscar and Rosetta Fish Scholarship and Freeman Foundation Asian Study Abroad program, Oka was able to intern at Wells Fargo in San Francisco, participate in conferences and business case study competitions, and study abroad at Keio University in Tokyo. She also finds time to give back to the Native-Hawaiian community.

“We are extremely grateful to our alumni, the business community, and friends of the College for establishing scholarships for our students,” said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. “With the cost of tuition and books, academic scholarships enable our students to graduate on-time and without debt all the while taking full advantage of our academic and extracurricular programs.”

To view a full list of the 2016-2017 scholarship recipients and event photos visit:  shidler.hawaii.edu/scholarshipluncheon.

(Full caption for group photo) In back row, from left, are Vance Roley, dean, Shidler College of Business; Dan Schaberg, general manager/VP of Hawai‘i, Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Martin Welch, CEO, HEMIC; and Christopher “Kit” Elledge, graduate scholarship representative.  In front row, from left, are Maile Au, director of alumni relations, Shidler College of Business; Unyong Nakata, senior director of development, Shidler College of Business; Nicole Oka, undergraduate scholarship representative; Megan Tabata, Enterprise Scholarship recipient; Deidra Iseiri, Dove/HEMIC Scholarship recipient, Chris Sbarbaro, vice president- Hawaiʻi, sales & marketing, external affairs, Enterprise Rent-A-Car; and Bobby Senaha, vice president/publisher, Hawaiʻi Business.