Scholarship Essay Winners 2007

FIRST PLACE: Megan R.M. Lamson Marine Conservancy: The time is ripe to protect Ka'u's precious ocean resources

I am working on my Masters Degree in Tropical Conservation Biology & Environmental Science at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. For my thesis, I plan to conduct a one-year research project to characterize the local fish population at Honu'apo Bay in Ka'u, to confirm that the area is an essential marine habitat that merits legal protection. I will link the world of marine resource management and my own research with community outreach and public education. Over the next several years, I hope to organize and implement a marine science curriculum for the students of Na'alehu Elementary and Ka'u High School. This program would focus on the natural history of Hawai'i Island, using hands-on science projects and field trips as the main teaching tools.

On a short-term basis, I want to share my love and enthusiasm for our ocean and its inhabitants with local youth so we can form an alliance that fosters conservation efforts in Ka'u. I plan to collaborate with other Ka'u residents and community groups to develop a multifaceted community-based marine management plan specific to our area - blending traditional ecological knowledge with recent with recent scientific breakthroughs. My long-term goal is to continue my research emphasis along Ka'u's coastline and to promote marine conservation here as a career. I will persevere with this objective until all of Ka'u's myriad natural resources are adequately protected.

Here in Ka'u, we are blessed with one of the largest and most pristine coastlines in all the Hawaiian Islands. I hope to inspire the next generation to appreciate their natural surroundings and to acquire a mind-set of sustainability and conservation that they can later pass on to their children. We cannot force our rules upon the ocean, but we can use our best resources (from old time kapuna wisdom to cutting-edge scientific research) to remedy the previous harm incurred, and to minimize our ecological footprints into the future. Please help me lead Ka'u towards this purpose.

SECOND PLACE: Alexandra M. Kaupu

Saving Ka'u

My main concerns for Ka'u, is its preservation as a rural area. I believe that Ka'u deserves the acknowledgement as a strong independent community. However, I do not wish to promote the expansion of Ka'u. It is a wonderful gift that we are a strong community thriving without the expansions of hotels and industrial buildings. I envision this as my goal and gift to the community. With acknowledgement we can gain preservation of our natural treasures and historical background.

My choice in degree is BFA in Visual Communications. With such a degree I will learn how to effectively communicate an idea, thought, and/or issue through art. Society has grown towards computer technology, meaning that our traditional ways of advertisement are getting old. With this degree I will have all the knowledge and experience in advertising using computer technology.

Art has always been my passion as well as dance. I have gotten many awards in art throughout my years in school. I have received two certificates in mural painting, as well as Honorable Mention certificates for the Clark Realty contest, and Food Bank of Hawaii "Face It" logo contest. There have been some other projects such as the Keiki Fun Farm Day Advertisement in the community as well as the newspaper. Currently I am working on an entry for the Big Island Video Contest on Anti-Drugs. So with my experience and knowledge in art I envision the two becoming a major asset in making my dreams for me and Ka'u come true.

THIRD PLACE: Kane Snow Thomas

My Future's Opportunity

I would like to thank the Ocean View Chamber of Commerce for giving me an opportunity to receive such a wonderful scholarship, for it will make a difference in the role I will play in my home, Ka'u. I have lived in Ka'u all my life. The greatest thing I could do for my homeland is to play a profound impact in the evolution of Ka'u, and protect it from things I already see could change it forever.

As a youth, I played in the waters at many of the beaches on my island. My family used to go to Pine Trees and camp for, I don't know how long. It used to be like that at a lot of other places, but not any more; you need permits and long weekends. Time goes on; and change happens; and I have seen it. I was at the rocket launch-pad protest, holding up picket signs, and at the prison protest. All these changes were stopped because they would have ruined the places we love.

My time has come, as a young man, time to make my step-up, like those before me. I am the youth fighting for the youth. Ka'u is the last hold-out, but we are still holding out. Kawa Bay is the only beach on the island where you can access the beach uninhibited in any way. This, in my lifetime, is going to be threatened. I want an education that can stand up to the injustices.