HONOLULU — Roland Casamina, founder and CEO of House of Finance, Inc. and founding president of the Filipino Community (FilCom) Center, has establish a $50,000 endowed scholarship at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business. The Roland Casamina and House of Finance, Inc. Endowed Scholarship will provide tuition support for undergraduate business students who demonstrate leadership potential and a commitment to community service.
Casamina said, "I'm just happy to be able to give back, no matter how small, to the University that gave me so much."
Born in a small province in the Philippines, a young Casamina arrived in Hawaiʻi in the late '60s. Hoping for a better life, he worked as a busboy while attending Farrington High School and supported himself as a waiter during his college years at the University of Hawaiʻi.
Soon after graduation, at 22, Casamina was hired as a branch manager for International Savings and Loan. He quickly rose up the ranks to vice president and eventually left in 1995 to establish the House of Finance, Inc., a company that specializes in residential loan funding.
In 2010 and 2011, Pacific Business News ranked House of Finance, Inc. 15th in residential loan funding in Hawaiʻi, out-funding many of the mid-size banks in the State.
In 2002, Casamina and partner Eddie Flores, Jr. were instrumental in procuring donations from the community
and building the Filipino
Community Center in Waipahu.
Casamina received his BBA from the Shidler College of Business in 1976. He and his wife Evelyn have four children and two grandchildren.
"We want to thank Roland, Evelyn, and their entire family for their commitment to improving academic opportunities for our local students," said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business. "The Casamina family is already well-known for their support of the FilCom Center. However, with this scholarship gift, they have expanded their legacy by making higher education possible for more of Hawaiʻi's students."
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The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Established in 1949 as the College of Business Administration, the College was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. The Shidler College of Business is renowned for its expertise in international management education and is consistently ranked among the nation's top 25 graduate schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report. Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the College is a professional school offering a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The UH Shidler College of Business is the only graduate program in the State of Hawaiʻi accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit www.shidler.hawaii.edu.
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students matriculate in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit manoa.hawaii.edu and manoa.hawaii.edu/media. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter twitter.com/UHManoaNews.
The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
