Preparing the Next Generation of Educators
Student Teacher Scholarships, sponsored by the Helen MacKay Memorial
Each year, HEA awards $2,000 scholarships to student teachers who are attending a stateapproved or nationally accredited institution of higher learning who plan to teach in a Hawaii Department of Education school after they graduate. These scholarships are awarded to student teachers to minimize their need for employment during their student teaching semester so they can devote all their attention to helping others.
Congratulations to this year’s three recipients: Anna Marie Nip, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree in early childhood education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Aiya Souphilavong, who earned an associate degree in teaching from Leeward Community College last year and is currently attending the University of Hawaii West Oahu; Jake Yoshimura, who will attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall semester.
Each of them shared their reasons for pursuing teaching as a career and their aspirations for the future in their scholarship application:
Anna Marie Nip
Anna Marie Nip explained that she came from a “family of helpers.”
“It started with my randparents and my parents. When someone called with a request, we went to lend a hand. Now it’s my turn to help when called upon. Helping others is what makes me really happy and feels good. Knowing that someone out there is able to carry on with their day and life with less stress or strife is what keeps me wanting to do what I want to do, teach.”
Her personal experience also influenced her decision to be an educator. “The first day I dropped my oldest son off at head start, I was a wreck. I thought what am I going to do with myself? I left him with his teachers and went home. For six hours I sat and watched the clock tick on by. When it was time to pick him up he had the biggest smile on his face. Before leaving the classroom, he told his teacher, “thank you, I’ll be back tomorrow.” Every day he told me about his day and all the activities he did. When I decided to go back to school, I chose to take the pathway of being an early childhood educator.”
Aiya Souphilavong
Aiya Souphilavong, who has worked at Kalihi Kai Elementary for the past three years with students in the kindergarten to second grade. She is looking forward to her student teaching semester in the spring of 2026.
“I want to become a teacher because I like to help students be the better versions of themselves. I also enjoy the feeling of helping students learn when they finally understand the concepts,” she wrote. “I hope to be a change in my future students’ lives and make a positive impact.”
Jake Yoshimura
Jake Yoshimura will be a student teaching at llima Intermediate School and Waipahu High School. At the UH, he serves as a drum major and section leader of the UH Marching Band and as the principal bassoonist with the UH Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. Jake’s dream is to be a music teacher.
“My inspiration for becoming a music teacher started when I joined the marching band. The tasks given to new students in marching band are challenging,” he wrote. “Fortunately, I was able to grasp these concepts quickly so my teachers asked me to help teach my fellow freshman. This gave me an opportunity to appreciate how great my teachers were. Observing how they broke down concepts into chunks was amazing and watching students light up when they understood a concept made me want to be a teacher.”
In addition to the HEA scholarship, Jake was awarded the Richard S. Lum Scholarship, which is given annually to a student in the UH music department for organizing outreach concerts on the neighbor island and investing time to support Kailua Intermediate, Kawananakoa Middle School, Moanalua Middle School, Mililani High School, and Radford High School.
Hawaii’s students and the future of education are in good hands!
