Building confidence, creating community: The Lunalilo Scholars journey

When Jennifer Wong-Ala defended her doctoral dissertation at Oregon State University, she glanced at her Zoom screen and saw a familiar name: L. Kaneta. In that moment, the newly minted PhD thought about the incredible journey that brought her here – from her humble beginnings in Waimānalo, where college felt like a distant dream, to earning a doctorate.

“I never imagined I’d earn a PhD,” Wong-Ala said. “When I learned I had been selected for the first-ever Lunalilo Scholars cohort at Kapiʻolani Community College, I cried. That moment changed everything for me. The program gave me a foundation, a sense of belonging and the confidence to keep going.

More than a decade later, that same sense of transformation echoes through the experiences of Kapilialoha Kidder, Jamilyn Moriguchi and Sydney Burgher – all former Lunalilo Scholars who now help others find their footing in college. Each carries a story of perseverance: balancing work and family, navigating the uncertainties of being college students and discovering confidence through community. Their participation inspired their family to also reimagine their lives, including Kidder’s father who returned to Kapiolani CC after 20 years and became a Lunalilo Scholar.

“Change has always been a little scary for me,” Burgher admitted. “When I started the Lunalilo Scholars Program, I found myself in small groups with people I’d never met. But by the end of the weeklong Summer Bridge program, those strangers had become friends and that sense of connection inspired me to come back as a peer mentor.”

Building Confidence Through Connection

The Summer Bridge experience helps students transition to college, build academic readiness and find community. Scholars begin as part of a cohort, guided by peer mentors who provide both academic and personal support throughout the year.

“Our Summer Bridge program is really about breaking down perceptions,” said LaVache Scanlan, who has led the Lunalilo Scholars Program since its inception in 2012. “We start with something called WYSIWYG – ‘What You See Is What You Get’ – where students explore how their personal experiences shape the way they see the world and one another. Our hope is to dispel the notion that college isn’t for them and ensure every Scholar feels it’s within reach.”

That message resonated deeply with Moriguchi. Now 28 she serves as an Alakaʻi peer mentor, and giving back to a program that gave her so much.

“I didn’t even want to go to college before I learned about the Lunalilo Scholars Program,” said Moriguchi, who graduated from Kapiʻolani CC in May and now attends UH West Oʻahu. “I really felt like a sense of belonging here, especially at the Kīkaha o Laeʻahi Center. It feels like my second home.”

A Vision for Access and Equity

Founded by Lester and Marian Kaneta, the Lunalilo Scholars Program has grown from its initial cohort of 22 students to an average of 60-90 recipients per year. More than 900 scholars have now completed the program, demonstrating higher retention and graduation rates than comparable student groups.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the late John Morton, former vice president for community colleges,” said the Kanetas, who chose to cede the naming honor of a new Welcome Center – opening in February 2026 – to Morton in recognition of his nearly five decades of championing access and equity in education.

Thanks to generous donors, students like Wong-Ala, Kidder, Moriguchi and Burgher are able to pursue their higher education.

“When I learned that I’d been accepted into the Lunalilo Scholars Program, I couldn’t believe it,” Wong-Ala said. “The Lunalilo Scholars Program helped me find stability, purpose and a network of support that understood what it meant to start from scratch and keep going.”