Daina Landeza-Olivier, a Hawaiʻi Promise scholarship recipient, supports the scholarship’s expansion to four-year campuses. She earned an associate’s degree in Hawaiian studies from Kauaʻi Community College with the scholarship’s help after losing her jobs due to COVID-19. The scholarship is for University of Hawaiʻi Community College students with financial need and assisted over 1,700 students in 2023.
At 63, Landeza-Olivier, a single grandmother and former domestic violence specialist, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian and Indigenous health and healing online at UH West Oʻahu. She works part-time at Hanalei Taro and Juice Co. She sees the scholarship as vital for students at UH Mānoa, UH Hilo, and UH West Oʻahu.
The Hawaiʻi Promise scholarship has been beneficial. A 2023 report showed that recipients earn more credits, have higher passing rates, and are more likely to stay enrolled than non-recipients. About 60% of the recipients are Native Hawaiians, Filipinos, or from other underrepresented ethnic groups.