Thankful for the opportunity scholarship brings

Pualena Lange is a freshman at the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, majoring in exploratory health sciences with the goal of earning a bachelor of science degree in nursing. She grew up in Waimea on Hawai’i Island and has a twin sister who is majoring in accounting at Hawai’i Community College and says she’s very proud of her! Pualena is the recipient of the Alec and Kay Keith Scholarship Fund. This is an excerpt of her thank you letter to donors.

I just started my classes at UH Hilo and I am loving it so far. I chose the Hilo campus because, through the tours and programs I had on this campus, I experienced the Vulcan lifestyle and I really enjoyed it. I like that the campus is smaller because it is easier for me to get to each class. The class sizes are also smaller, and it was easy to become acquainted with my classmates. I have a lot of the same classmates in different classes. 

Outside of my classes I enjoy playing pool and ping pong in my friends’ dorm lobbies. I also started having game nights with my classmates I have become close with. 

To my donors

I would like to say thank you to the donors who provided me with this scholarship because without the money I received through scholarships like this I wouldn't have been able to afford college. Prior to the fall semester, the car I was using broke down and I no longer had a way to get to high school, work and, eventually, college. With the money I made this summer I bought a used car, which took up most of the savings I had. Therefore, I really wouldn't have been able to pay for college out of pocket. I am extremely thankful for this opportunity.