A graduate student in the Doctor of Nursing Practice, Adult-Gerontological Primary Care Program this Fall, CHELSEA FUJITA says, ” The older adults of Hawaii have had a strong impact on me throughout my life, and it is my mission to give back to them. I intend to spend my career working diligently to advocate for the elderly population, exploring better ways to provide them with care, and by some day teaching gerontological nursing to hopefully inspire more people to get involved in caring for Hawaii’s kupuna.  The financial assistance you provided me will be of great help in paying for my education expenses.  I am extremely honored to receive the support of HPGS, whose mission is also mine, To improve the quality of life of Hawaii’s older adults.”

Hoping to graduate in May 2021 from the UH Manoa’s Masters of Social Work Advance Placement Program, TANI KAGESA wrote to HPGS:  “Thank you for making it possible to finish my MSW degree and for helping me start on my social work career with less debt.  I hope to support kupuna and their families during life transitions; to empower them to have quality of life in their golden years; to assist them in improving their physical and psychosocial well-being.  I’m especially passionate about bridging the gaps in the continuum of care, ensuring quality mental healthcare for older adults, as well as transforming our services to be culturally humble and relevant.  In the future, I hope to work on macro social work to make improvements in elder care services at the community level to positively impact more people.”

DANI WARING attends the UH West Oahu Bachelors of Arts in Public Administration-Long Term Care Program, looking to graduate in December 2021.  She tells HPGS:  “This scholarship allows me to pay for a fall course and subsequent study books so I don’t have to rely on my income to cover it.  From my first jot at Hale Makua Health Services (Maui), I knew that I was where I wanted to work through the rest of my working years.  I was fortunate to have great mentors throughout my years there who helped me narrow my focus and realize my goal of being a nursing administrator.  I wasn’t too sure if it would be in the same role but the energy, commitment and pure care that so much of the staff had for their residents had me hooked.  Thank you again for being a part of my achievement and I can only hope that I make my community and family proud.”

ERIC WOLFE, a 2020 Scholarship awardee, is now a registered nurse, employed at Kahala Nui, and is working toward becoming a gerontological nurse practitioner. As part of his graduate program, he will be conducting a project on decreasing caregiver burnout for those who work with patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Eric feels “the HPGS scholarship has supported me to pursue these goals and to better care for our Kupuna.”