Bring Joe's Family to His Graduation

Aloha e kakou! This GoFundMe is on behalf of a former student of mine turned 'ohana (family) from Hawaii Island. I started working with his Kohala High School AP Biology class back in 2017 and his ambition in project-based learning and design was just getting started. I helped guide his research and entry to the West Hawaii District Science Fair on "The Impact of Effective Microorganisms (EM) on the Growth of Kalo Varieties," where he won a bid to the State of Hawaii Science & Engineering Fair. No small task! (see above images of us in 2018 at that fair - and the most recent one of us on RIT's campus throwing shakas)

Since then, Joe has shown tremendous grit and perseverance through adversity small and large: switching high schools in 2018 to access more rigorous courses, securing a full ride tuition to Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), starting his freshman year in New York State (his first time off-island...ever) during a pandemic, annually applying and receiving 2-4 scholarships for Native Hawaiians, and immersing himself in a new life, challenging academic and extracurricular activities at RIT and last summer, his first major internship at a company in Washington, D.C! Phew.

This spring, Joe will graduate from RIT and I couldn't be prouder!

However, almost all of his family still live back in Hawaii - and as you know, this is an expensive voyage to make. Not to mention two connecting flights, jet lag and major cultural differences between upstate New York and tropical Hawaii.

I'm hoping to raise $3400 to help his mother, grandmother and maybe sister attend his graduation ceremony May 11th - 12th, all of whom otherwise would not be able to make the trip.

Will you help contribute to a fund to honor this young man's efforts and his family? All money will go directly to Joe's family's flight and accommodation costs.*

Mahalo! (Thank you) And please feel free to reach out to me with any questions!

*We're hoping to raise this money by the end of March so his family can buy tickets in advance while ticket rates are reasonable.