The community is invited to watch the Big Island Press Club’s Facebook Live presentation of scholarship awards to five Big Island students on Tuesday, July 21,  and hear a talk by the Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice, the Honorable Mark Rechtenwald.   A 1978 Harvard University graduate, Recktenwald was a reporter for the United Press International Honolulu Bureau prior to pursuing a law degree, which he received in 1986 from the University of Chicago.

The Big Island Press Club is awarding scholarships totaling $5,600 to five students this year. The press club annually awards scholarships at this dinner to students pursuing a higher education in journalism or a related field.

The scholarship recipients are:

 

• Tianna Morimoto, a 2015 graduate of Konawaena High School and 2019 graduate of Chapman University with a degree in communication studies with a broadcast journalism minor. Morimoto, who interned at West Hawaii Today during the 2018-19 winter break, is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Nevada at Reno. Morimoto, a two-time BIPC scholarship winner, is the recipient of the $1,500 Bill Arballo Scholarship.

 

• Jordan Virtue, a 2016 graduate of Hawaii Preparatory Academy and 2020 graduate of Harvard University, where she was on the editorial staff of The Harvard Crimson, the school’s student-run daily newspaper. Virtue, who has published a feature story in the Washington Post about shave ice, is entering University of Oxford, where she’ll pursue a master’s degree in history. A three-time BIPC scholarship winner, she is the recipient of the $1,000 Marcia Reynolds Scholarship.

 

• Danielle Brown, a 2017 graduate of Hilo High School, and junior English major at George Fox University, where she is also an intercollegiate tennis player. Brown is a two-time BIPC scholarship winner and the recipient of $1,000 from the combined Bob Miller and Jack Markey scholarships.

 

• Piper Haitsuka, a 2019 graduate of Makua Lani Christian Academy and sophomore journalism major at California State University-Sacramento. Haitsuka is, for the second consecutive year, the recipient of the $600 Yukino Fukabori Scholarship.

 

• Ku’uhiapo Jeong, a 2020 graduate of Kamehameha Schools-Hawaii Campus, will enter the University of Hawaii at Hilo this fall, and has announced his intentions to study communications and psychology. Jeong is the recipient of the $500 Hugh Clark Scholarship.

Usually the Big Island Press Club scholarships are presented at a dinner, but because of COVID-19, the format was changed.  The public can view the scholarship ceremony on Tuesday, July 21 at 6:30 p.m.,  live via the Big Island Press Club’s public Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/TheBigIslandPressClub/. The ceremony will be archived on the page for later access, as well.

The BIPC Scholarship committee for 2020 is: Robert Duerr, writer for Hawaii Fishing News and numerous national outdoor publications, BIPC treasurer and committee chair; Royelen Boykie, self-employed social media consultant and BIPC board member; and John Burnett, police and courts reporter for Hawaii Tribune-Herald, BIPC immediate past president and three-time BIPC Scholarship recipient.

 

Photo is Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald at the opening of the Kona courthouse in October, 2019.