{"id":226219,"date":"2025-12-03T13:44:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T23:44:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=226219"},"modified":"2025-12-03T13:45:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T23:45:43","slug":"lunalilo-scholars-at-kapiolani-cc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/12\/03\/lunalilo-scholars-at-kapiolani-cc\/","title":{"rendered":"Lunalilo Scholars find confidence, ‘second home’ at Kapi\u02bbolani CC<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Lunalilo
Lunalilo Scholars form lifelong bonds with their peers and mentors.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As peer mentors, Jamilyn Moriguchi and Sydney Burgher help other college students thrive. They were inspired by the Lunalilo Scholars Program<\/a> at Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College program, which energizes non-traditional students to pursue higher education by providing a foundation, sense of belonging and confidence.<\/p>\n

“I didn\u2019t even want to go to college before I learned about the Lunalilo Scholars Program,” said Moriguchi, who earned an associate\u2019s degree in psychology from <\/a>Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> in May, and now attends the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span>. “It felt like my second home.”<\/p>\n

Founded by Lester and Marian Kaneta in 2012, the Lunalilo Scholars Program has grown from its initial cohort of 22 students to an average of 60\u201390 recipients per year. More than 900 scholars have completed the program, demonstrating higher retention and graduation rates than comparable student groups.<\/p>\n

Burgher said, “When I started the Lunalilo Scholars Program, I found myself in small groups with people I\u2019d never met. But by the end of the weeklong Summer Bridge program, those strangers had become friends and that sense of connection inspired me to come back as a peer mentor.”<\/p>\n