{"id":178982,"date":"2023-06-19T10:21:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T20:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=178982"},"modified":"2023-06-19T10:21:44","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T20:21:44","slug":"lorenzo-lgbtq-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/06\/19\/lorenzo-lgbtq-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"National LGBTQ<\/abbr> scholarship for Leeward CC<\/abbr> grad"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Kawena Lorenzo (center) at the Ke Ala ʻIke<\/span> Scholars ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Recent Leeward Community College<\/a> graduate Kawena Lorenzo was one of 23 recipients chosen from among thousands of applicants for the Flagship Scholarship from Point Foundation<\/a>, the largest LGBTQ<\/abbr> scholarship-granting nonprofit in the nation. Coming from a low-income family, being a first-generation college student, and identifying as M\u0101h\u016b (those who embody both male and female spirit), she is the third recipient from Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> since the scholarship\u2019s inception in 2002.<\/p>\n

Determined to pursue her goal of using education as a tool for social change, Lorenzo earned her liberal arts degree and certificate of Hawaiian Studies and graduated as a Phi Theta Kappa (honors) member and Ke Ala ʻIke<\/span> Scholar as she maintained a 4.0 GPA<\/abbr> while actively participating in various academic clubs and organizations.<\/p>\n

“My experiences have cultivated a resilience and perseverance in me that fuels my academic and personal growth,” said Lorenzo.<\/p>\n

Lorenzo applied for the Flagship Scholarship after being encouraged by her Leeward CC<\/abbr> Academic Advisor Leilani Puchalski. Awardees of the Flagship Scholarship must be “out” as a person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ<\/abbr> community, and must demonstrate outstanding academic achievement, leadership potential and a strong commitment to making a positive impact in their community.<\/p>\n

“Through the diversity and inclusivity that [Leeward CC<\/abbr>] fosters, I have gained unique perspectives, enriching my educational experience,” Lorenzo said. “Leeward [CC<\/abbr>] has allowed me to engage in constructive dialogues, work on impactful projects, and build a community that celebrates diversity.”<\/p>\n

Lorenzo is a peer mentor for the Lauhoe (first-year) Program<\/a> at Leeward CC<\/abbr>, has contributed as a communications manager for the Hauʻula<\/span> Homestead Project (helping to secure housing for underserved Native Hawaiian communities on Oʻahu<\/span>), and is a volunteer online crisis counselor for the Trevor Project<\/a>, working on suicide prevention among LGBTQ<\/abbr> youth.<\/p>\n

She plans to complete her bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Pacific studies at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> West Oʻahu<\/span><\/a>, then transfer to UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa<\/a> to pursue a PhD<\/abbr> in sociology. Upon completion, Lorenzo wants to come full circle and return as an academic advisor at Leeward CC<\/abbr>. By combining her passion for sociology and her desire to support and guide students, she hopes to make a meaningful impact on the educational journey of future generations.<\/p>\n

\"kawena
Lorenzo, student speaker at the Ke Ala ʻIke<\/span> Scholars ceremony<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kawena Lorenzo was awarded the Flagship Scholarship from Point Foundation, the largest LGBTQ<\/abbr> scholarship-granting nonprofit in the nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[65,690,572,660,71,947],"class_list":["post-178982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-leeward-community-college","tag-lgbtq","tag-scholarship","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178982"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178986,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178982\/revisions\/178986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}