{"id":513,"date":"2026-05-23T12:35:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:35:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=513"},"modified":"2026-05-23T12:35:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:35:06","slug":"take-me-to-manoa-winner-surprised-with-free-year-of-tuition-at-uh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=513","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Take Me to Manoa\u2019 winner surprised with free year of tuition at UH"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The winner of the University of Hawaii at Manoa\u2019s \u201cTake Me to Manoa\u201d scholarship giveaway was surprised Friday when she walked into the campus bookstore and received a giant check.<\/p>\n

Read more Beloved dog graduates from UH Hilo nursing program<\/a><\/p>\n

Born and raised in Waianae, Liliana Okimoto graduated from Iolani School last year and spent her freshman year at the University of Puget Sound in Washington state.<\/p>\n

But living on the continent, she realized she missed home.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people told me that going to the mainland would be the best for me, and I am very grateful for my time here,\u201d Okimoto said in her contest entry video. \u201cBut I\u2019ve come to realize that UH Manoa can offer me something that no other school can: a chance to be an active member in the beautiful community that raised me.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Watch Okimoto\u2019s full entry video:<\/b><\/p>\n

Okimoto plans to continue her studies in psychology and studio art at UH Manoa this fall.<\/p>\n

She thought she was visiting the department\u2019s undergraduate chair, but was greeted instead by HNN\u2019s Billy V, who announced her as this year\u2019s winner and recipient of a full year of tuition.<\/p>\n

Read more Magnitude 6.0 earthquake on Hawaii island shakes the state; no tsunami generated<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in shock,\u201d Okimoto said.<\/p>\n

UH president Wendy Hensel and other university leaders, including interim provost Vassilis Syrmos, and athletics director Matt Elliott, were also on hand to welcome her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are bringing someone home from the mainland who wants to come back to the University of Hawaii, and she\u2019s getting free tuition. What\u2019s more fun than that?\u201d said Hensel.<\/p>\n

Now in its eighth year, the annual Take Me to Manoa scholarship competition is sponsored by UH Manoa, UH Federal Credit Union, and Hawaii News Now.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

It is open to Hawaii residents who are enrolled at UH Manoa for the upcoming fall semester as a first-time freshman or transfer student.<\/p>\n

Read more First Alert Forecast: Holiday weekend starts with an earthquake; blustery trades<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Liliana Okimoto, a Waianae native and UH Manoa transfer student, was surprised Friday as this year’s winner of the \u201cTake Me to Manoa\u201d scholarship giveaway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Take Me to Manoa\u2019 winner surprised with free year of tuition at UH - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=513\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Take Me to Manoa\u2019 winner surprised with free year of tuition at UH - 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