After receiving a scholarship from local nonprofit Alu Like at the start of her college career 22 years ago, Hawaiʻi Community College and University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo alumna Janice Ikeda has come full circle in the Hawaiʻi Island community. Today, she serves as the executive director of Vibrant Hawaiʻi, a nonprofit collective-impact organization that has been convening resilience hubs, supporting digital literacy, distributing grants and micro-investments and more.
Ikeda’s work with Vibrant Hawaiʻi caught the attention of Gonzaga University leadership, and on May 13, 2023, she delivered the keynote address and was awarded an honorary doctor of law degree at Gonzaga University’s graduate school commencement.
It was a tremendous honor, Ikeda said, but noted it was an entire community of people being recognized.
“Before starting an ʻaha, or a meeting, we often ask folks, ‘Who are you bringing with you into this space?’” said Ikeda. “I brought with me everyone from Hawaiʻi Island and throughout our state who has been a part of this endeavor to build a thriving and vibrant Hawaiʻi. It was an honor that I received on behalf of us all.”
Ikeda was a young single mom at the time she encountered Alu Like, a nonprofit that distributes scholarships for Native Hawaiian students to attend college.
“I was feeling like a complete failure as a wife, as a mom, and as an adult,” Ikeda said.
Alu Like’s scholarship helped her enroll at Hawaiʻi CC where she majored in...
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