Aspiring ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi teachers, future lawyers advocating for the lāhui, a theater performer bringing moʻolelo to life on stage, and a registered dietitian nutritionist who wants to improve health outcomes for Indigenous communities — these are just a few of the 14 student scholars chosen this year by the Hoʻomau Foundation.
Through its Kamery Lee, Jr. Scholarship, along with mentorship and networking opportunities, the foundation empowers Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students, whether living in Hawaiʻi or on the continent, to pursue their academic goals while perpetuating culture and traditions. Some are hula practitioners, paddlers and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi speakers, carrying traditions forward.
“And you know, their plan is that they want to continue that throughout their life and possibly come back home to Hawaiʻi and support the next generation in the community,” said JoNelle Sood, founder and president of the Hoʻomau Foundation.
Sood, a Kanaka Maoli born and raised in California, experienced firsthand how receiving a college degree opened doors to opportunities, leading her to high tech positions. But, Sood says, she noticed very little Hawaiian or Polynesian representation in the workforce.
She founded the Hoʻomau Foundation in 2020 to help change that by supporting Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander college students through scholarships, mentorships and networking opportunities. The Kamery Lee Jr. Scholarship is named in honor of her late father, who she says was a “proud Native Hawaiian man” who moved to California for better opportunities.
One of the foundation’s big picture goals is to create lasting generational impacts by inspiring other Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to pursue higher education and continue serving their communities.
Their annual fundraising gala is the foundation’s primary method of raising funds for scholarships. The most recent one was on September 24 at the Outrigger Canoe Club.
“It was a fun night. We had a live music, hula, live and silent auctions, and a beautiful dinner,” Sood said. Hoʻomau scholars were also there to meet guests and “share their stories about how Hoʻomau Foundation has impacted them.”
Since its inception, the foundation has awarded six rounds of scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 per person. And so far, eight recipients have graduated. The impacts of the program have been meaningful for students, who are growing their networks in their chosen fields and landing internships.
The 2025-2026 school year is the largest cohort to date with its 14 recipients. This year, 85% of them are from Hawaiʻi while the rest are from the continent. Sood says half of the students go to the continental U.S. for education while half stay in Hawaiʻi either on Oʻahu or another island.
“We’re excited to have our first recipient come back as a mentor,” Sood said. “That’s all part of our sustainability and growth plan. We hope a lot of these students come back and mentor the younger generation.”
Kauahoa Hermosura is the first Hoʻomau scholar to return as a mentor. When he applied for the scholarship in 2022, he was his school’s Pacific Islander club president and had founded his own nonprofit, Palai Foundation, focused on Hawaiian education and leadership on Kauaʻi.
“I first learned about the scholarship online while I was doing scholarship research for Native Hawaiian students,” Hermosura said.
Feeling aligned to Hoʻomau Foundation’s values, he applied. “As much support as we can get for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, especially going into higher education, I think is super important.”
Hermosura graduated with a degree in marketing and human resources from Menlo College in California in 2023. He’s now the associate director of marketing and alumni relations for the college but hopes to eventually return to Hawaiʻi and run his nonprofit full time.
Becoming a mentor now is a full-circle moment, as he is able to be there for a Hoʻomau scholar just as his own mentor was available to him. It’s a supportive relationship that can last beyond the year. “I also have great connections for my mentee, which is another part of it, in my eyes – being able to be a guide for them and a connector for them. I just support them overall,” he said.
Pairing scholars with mentors is also a powerful way to show students the kind of representation that Sood hopes to see more of in the future. It has the potential to create a change, not just in individual student’s lives, but across the community as more graduates thrive in various fields.
“Longterm, we’re hoping to see health needs change, education levels change, and the dropout level change,” Sood said.
And then, for the next generation, the hope is that they will be “seeing these individuals in their community having these types of roles, and realizing that they can do it, too.”
