Criteria

GENERAL QUALIFICATION CRITERIA:

• Be a resident of Hawai‘i.
• Be a full-time student in an accredited two- or four-year college as a classified undergraduate student or a vocational program full-time student in or out of the State of Hawai‘i.
• Have a cumulative grade point average (G.P.A.) of 2.5 for graduating high school seniors or undergraduate students. If cumulative G.P.A. is less than 2.5 provide a letter of explanation for consideration.
• Official transcript required to be considered for this scholarship.  Your official transcript will need to be uploaded into your application prior to the deadline, so be mindful of the ordering and receiving timeline and process. Please contact your school registrar for the necessary documents. Contact us via email at hcchonoluluscholarship@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding this requirement.
• Priority is given to current paid members of Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu (HCCH), including directly related family members.
• HCCH bylaws/policy gives preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry.

2023 Scholarship Essay Questions

The Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu was founded by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole in 1918 with three objectives in mind at a time when socio- economic indicators were dismal for many Hawaiians. In order to help turn this situation around, Prince Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole had three founding objectives in mind when he established the Hawaiian Civic Club of Honolulu:

1) Elevate (restore) the social status of Hawaiians
2) Elevate (restore) the intellectual status of Hawaiians
3) Increase pride in race heritage and Hawaiian identity

Since our club’s founding, there have been many efforts to help meet these objectives.

Essays should be in clear narrative form and is largely based on your own opinion, experiences, history, and aspirations. Each essay should be no more than 750 words total. Please download and complete our Scholarship Essay Form 2023. Please be sure to address each point in the question you choose, be neat and complete.

Our kupuna taught us to be maiau—neat and careful in our work. In contrast, work that is kapulu careless, untidy, rushed, and incomplete – will be rated accordingly. Kulia i ka nuʻu – strive for the highest!

Your essays will be scored by the following criteria. Each essay will be worth a total of 50 points. An applicant must achieve a minimum score of 75% to be considered for an award.

Awards are subject to availability of funds.

Content: The essay contains sufficient information to explain and support the essay.

Grammar and Mechanics: The grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling are at a qualitative level that enhances the clarity and readability of the essay.

Style and Readability: The discussion is easy to read, contains word use appropriate to the topic, creative sentence structures, appropriate sentence length, and logical progression of ideas.

Essay as a Whole: The essay addresses the topic, follows the instructions, fits the image of a quality college essay discussion, and is submitted in a neatly presented format.