Since 2012, the Turtle Bay Foundation has awarded $1.5 million in scholarships and grants to nearly 600 students and more than 70 nonprofits.
This year, the charity had its best year yet, awarding $200,000 to 86 local students from Koʻolauloa and the North Shore of Oʻahu for college scolarships.
“Investing in our local youth is one of the most powerful ways we can give back to the place we call home,” said Doug Chang, president of Turtle Bay Foundation and general manager of The Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay, in a statement. “With the support of our generous sponsors and donors, the Turtle Bay Foundation can open doors of opportunity for North Shore and Koʻolauloa scholars — helping them pursue higher education, focus on their goals and bring that knowledge back to uplift our communities.”
The Turtle Bay Foundation Foundation is the charitable arm of The Ritz-Carlton O‘ahu, Turtle Bay and its partners, which incudle Host Hotels & Resorts, Areté Collective, Turtle Bay Golf and Kuilima Farm.
This year, five ‘Ilima Scholars received $10,000 each “for their outstanding academic achievement, leadership and commitment to community service,” according to the foundation. They were:
· Aheirani Anderson, a 2025 Kahuku High & Intermediate School graduate, who plans to major in pre-business at Brigham Young University in Utah.
· Sione Pasi, a 2025 Kahuku graduate from Hauʻula, who plans to study business at the University of Montana Western.
· Lilly Hunter, a 2025 Kahuku graduate, who plans to major in biology at Brigham Young University Hawaiʻi.
· Pōmaika‘i Ikalani, born and raised in Waialua, who plans to major in business marketing at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and obtain her pilot’s license at Barber’s Point Flight School.
· Emalia Freitas, a Lāʻie resident pursuing a data science degree at Willamette University in Oregon.
Born and raised in Kahuku, Malakai Vendiola received the Barbara Keen Scholarship, named after a team member at The Ritz-Carlton O‘ahu, Turtle Bay, who personally donated funds to create a STEM-focused scholarship, which the foundation matched.
Vendiola, who is currently enrolled in the Journeyman Electrician Apprenticeship Program at Honolulu Community College, received a $2,000 scholarship, as well as a laptop. He said his dad is an electrician.
Come mid-July, he will be heading to the Mainland to play baseball and study computer science with a focus in Artificial Intelligence at College of the Redwoods, a community college in Eureka, California.
When he was younger, Vendiola said he wanted to be a professional baseball player when he grew up. “I wanted to make it to the MLB,” he told Aloha State Daily. “But in 10th grade, my mom introduced me to computer science. With the rise of AI, I would like to learn code and create things to benefit people, in health or any other areas of their lives.”
“The scholarship for the Turtle Bay Foundation will help me financially with housing and allow me focus on learning instead of worrying about paying for school.”
Vendiola graduated from Kahuku High & Intermediate School last month as one of 27 valedictorians with a grade point average above 4.0. His senior capstone project was in computer science, and he said he had about 30 seconds to contribute to his 2025 class graduation speech.
“Our group talked about the song ʻWhere is the Love?ʻ by The Black Eyed Peas; especially now, we need to come together and love one another.”
When asked what would make Hawaiʻi a better place to live and work, he said, “For public schools in Kahuku, we donʻt have too many career resources. Providing more opportunities for the next generation, education-wise, would be helpful.”
Vendiola served with student organization National Honor Society, volunteering with beach clean-ups and other service projects. He also played football and baseball. The shortstop and center fielder “plays any position,” he said with a laugh, and was recognized as player of the year for the last two years.
“My advice to my peers is to stay consistent. A lot of people have dreams but it doesnʻt come to reality if you just sit at home and think about it,” he told ASD. “If you have an idea or want to do something youʻre passionate about, just go out and do it!
“Itʻs OK to fail, that is a part of it. If youʻre not failing, that means youʻre not trying.”
Leavng home for college, Vendiola said heʻll “miss the culture, the people and the aloha” the most.
Looking ahead, he is excited to play baseball in California, be indepependent and live on his own.
“I’m very blessed and honored to be recognized as a recipient of this scholarship. Not only does it support me financially, but it feels like someone believes that I can make a differentce in this world.”
Turtle Bay Foundation said it “selects recipients based on academic performance, financial need, extracurricular activities and community involvement.”
For more information, visit turtlebayfoundation.org.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
