For 48-year-old Kriss Yeow, receiving the Linka and Michael Mullikin Endowed Scholarship wasn’t just financial aid; it was the validation of a 25-year-old dream she thought might never come true.
For much of her life, Yeow put the needs of others first, spending decades caring for her family. Her journey was also marked by geographic instability, forcing her to cycle through different educational systems across Malaysia, Christmas Island and Australia.
But after settling in Hawaiʻi nine years ago, Yeow realized it was time to take her turn.
“It felt like I was making good on the promise my grandmother always saw in me,” Yeow said. “Grandmother never stopped believing that one day I would soldier on towards a higher education. Now I hear her telling me, ‘keep going, Kriss,’ until you get that degree.”
Drawn to by its deep connection to Hawaiian culture and its welcoming, aloha-spirited environment, Yeow is now an undergraduate studying Natural Resource and Environmental Management, with a minor in botany.
Resilient non-traditional students
None of this, she said, would be possible without the generosity of donors, such as the Mullikins. Yeow’s journey is a powerful reminder of the resilience of non-traditional students, a demographic that Kapiʻolani CC is deeply committed to supporting.
“Non-traditional students bring their wisdom and real-world experience to the classroom—perspectives that high schoolers coming to college for the first time simply wouldn’t have,” said Veronica Ogata, dean of Arts and Sciences. “It creates a beautiful dynamic where both generations learn from one another.”
Read more 东精影业 Giving Day stories
Complex financial barriers are often the defining factor for non-traditional students to achieve a college degree.
“For students to continue schooling, finances have always been the number one issue,” said David Nāwaʻa Napoleon, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs. “Scholarships absolutely level the playing field for students. Any way we can support our students through these scholarships is what we need to be doing.”
On , your gift to the ensures students like Yeow have resources to earn their degrees.
Read more about the and more Giving Day opportunities.