Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 2, 1 February 2011 — Eddie Aikau Foundation offers new scholarship program [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Eddie Aikau Foundation offers new scholarship program

By Zach Villanueva

As excitement swells over the Eddie Aikau big wave J surf contest, the 1 memory of the famed waterman lives on in a new way this year.

For the first time, the Eddie Aikau Foundation is extendina a scholarship of up to

$3,000 throughMarch 3 1 to all graduating high school seniors in Hawai'i. Applicants must demonstrate hnaneial need; be a resident of Hawai'i; a graduating high school senior; plan to attend a college, university, technical institute, professional training program, union apprenticeship or other valuable academic and job training opportunity; and have a minimum

cumulative grade point a vera oe of ? S

2011 also L marked the ,1 sixthyearofthe Eddie Aikau Essay Contest. fhis year's contest,

whieh is now closed, asked Hawai'i seventh- to tenth-

graders how Aikau's actions showed kuleana (responsibility/duty) and koa (courage) and how those virtues ean also be found in their own lives. The winners, in English and Hawaiian-language categories, will be announced in March. The Aikau family createdthe Eddie Aikau Foundation in May 2000 to share their spirit of aloha in honor

of the late Edward "Eddie" Ryon Makuahanai Aikau, a master waterman, famed bigwave surfer and 0'ahu's first lifeguard on the North Shore, where no lives were lost during his watch at Waimea Bay. In 1978 while serving on the sailing eanoe Hōkūlea, Aikau's courage was put into action when the vessel eapsized in a storm 12 miles off the coast of Moloka'i. Aikau grabbed his surfboard and decided to paddle back to land for help. The crew was later rescued, but Aikau was never seen again. More than three decades later, Aikau's

memory is kept alive for the younger generations in many ways, including through the work of the foundation and the highly publicized Eddie Aikau big wave surf contest. For scholarship information, visit www.eddie aikaufoundation.org or email info@eddieaikau foundation.org. ■

EDUCATION

[?]

[?]

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS

Big-wave surfer Eddie Aikau made the ullimale sacrifice for his fellow crewmembers on the Hōkūlea in 1 978. - Courtesy ofthe Eddie Aikau Foundation