Academic Scholarships

Eddie Tangen Award
The legacy of Eddie Tangen, a pioneer in the development of Hawaii’s labor movement and past member of PAAC’s Board of Governors, is honored with a $300 award given yearly in his name to one PAAC student in grades 9-11.

Paul S. Honda Scholarship
Paul S. Honda, a distinguished member of PAAC’s Senior Advisory Council, established an endowment for this scholarship fund to promote Asian Studies and International Studies in higher education.  Three $1,000 scholarships and two $500 scholarship are given to graduating seniors involved in PAAC.

Scholarship Winners from 2011-2012
Eddie Tangen Award Recipient:

Precious Fernandez is now a senior at Campbell High School and the past historian and Vice President of the PAAC Club.  Precious is receiving an opportunity to travel abroad to Morocco through PAAC and its partner organization, OneWorldNow! this summer.  She has participated in numerous PAAC events including PAAC conferences while remaining involved in clubs and activities like the Graphic Club, Japan Club, Tennis, OWN!, Travel and Culture Club, and the Renaissance Club.  Precious is also active is service learning projects including helping children in literacy (through HEART at the Onemalu Transitional Shelter) as well as grant writing and historical preservation.  She stated in her essay that, “being involved in PAAC over the last three years has helped expand my understanding of world affairs [...] and become more aware of world issues and the effects I’m causing indirectly on other countries [...] Being aware of an issue is one step closer to understanding and finding a solution to make a difference in the world.”

Paul Honda Scholarship Recipients:

Clifford Alonzo is a graduate of Farrington High School and a two year member of the PAAC Club at his school.  He was also its Vice President this past year.  In 2011, he participated in PAAC’s Summer Study Tour to Vietnam.  He was also the President of the AKAMAI Finance Academy’s High School Chapter and was a member of the Pre-College Honors Program at the Korean Language Flagship Center.  Throughout high school Clifford has participated in Key Club, Gear-Up, Filipino-American Club, 3D-Animation Club, Robotics, and the Advance Placement Protest Group while still finding time to volunteer at the Global Literacy Foundation.  He plans to major in Asian Studies and International Business at the University of San Francisco.  Clifford stated in his essay, “PAAC made me see that in order to be a global leader, I need to be able to interact with the rest of the world [...] Last summer, PAAC gave me the privilege to explore Vietnam for a summer study tour.  Had I not come to Vietnam, had I not left my country, had I not left my island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, believe me, I would not be the person I am today.  My experience in Vietnam allowed me to grow as a person, but most importantly, it made me a stronger global leader for tomorrow.”

Brett Tanonaka is a graduate of Aiea High School and was the President of the PAAC club in his junior and senior year.  He was in the PAAC after-school class and in 2010 he traveled to Vietnam with PAAC’s Summer Study Tour.  Brett was also active in the National Honor Society, Japanese Club, Key Club, Leo Club, an Aiea Summer Fun Junior Leader, and was the treasurer in Student Government while playing high school baseball, soccer, and football.  Brett will study International Business Relations or Business at U.C. Berkeley.  He said in his essay, “my sophomore year I was selected to be a student ambassador to Vietnam.  Vietnam jolted my sense of self to its core [...] After returning from Vietnam, I began to research about the world economy.  From there, my curiosity of international relations sparked my dream of becoming an ambassador.”

Jesus Mendoza is a graduate of Farrington High School and a three year PAAC Club member.  In his senior year he was also participated in LEO club and volunteered extensively at events such as the Great Aloha Run, Honolulu Festival-Mikoshi, Scottish Festival, Japanese Cultural Festival, Splendors of China, as a Math Tutor, as well as helping to collect donations for Homeless Keiki.  Throughout various stages in high school he was also active in the Environmental Science Club, GEAR UP, Robotics, and was a Private in the JROTC.  Jesus plans to attend Honolulu Community College and focus on Liberal Arts.  He said in his essay,  “I have been participating in my school’s PAAC club since my sophomore year.  I’m glad that I have found a place that I truly belong in.  My participation with my PAAC club has given me a much clearer perspective and better understanding of the modern world I live in.”

Lily Zheng is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and was the PAAC Secretary and Historian in her senior year.  She also participated in Key Club, Leo Club, Air Riflery, NAEP, Anime Club, National Honor Society, Mun Lun Chinese School, and took advanced claases in Chinese Physical Culture Association, all in her senior year.  She also volunteered at the Diabetes Walk, Pinwheel for Prevention, and Splendor of China and was active throughout different stages in high school in things like Science Bowl, HOSA, International Culture Club, Special Olympics, Relay for Life Overnight Stay, and Nichiren Bon Dance Festival.  Lily will attend the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in the fall.  She said in her essay, “I took part in PAAC club’s two major events: the WorldQuest competition and conference.  The 2010-2011 WorldQuest introduced me to two new words: APEC and food security.  I didn’t know there was a group of nations working together to overcome barriers that can hinder the freedom of economic activities. [After learning about APEC] it led me to wonder what other alliances are out there that exists to keep peace.  [It] led me to think that worldly affairs are complicated yet connected, like a ball of tangled yarn.”

Ileana Argyris is a graduate of Kealakehe High School and was in the PAAC club for the past two years.  She was a member of the 2nd place team in PAAC’s statewide 2011 Chevron Academic WorldQuest Competition.  She also participated in Model United Nations, Ocean Sciences Bowl, Theatre, and was team captain for LifeSmarts as well as the internet manager for the Robotics team.  She still found time to volunteer for four years as a mentor for Kealakehe Intermediate School Robotics.  Ileana will attend the University of Hawai’i at Manoa to study Engineering.  She said in her essay, “my combined experiences in [PAAC] activities [such as Model APEC and WorldQuest] has awakened me to prominent global issues and changed my focus from the United States to the globalized world surrounding me.  Receiving this scholarship will assist me in becoming an engineer in the future.  As an engineer, I do not wish to only learn about global issues, I wish to help solve them.  I want to take an active part in the Non-Governmental Organization, Engineers Without Borders, so that I can help people all around the world, whether it means building wells for villages [...] or building homes for towns that were struck by natural disasters.  I want to change the world.”