Scholarship recipients who were able to attend the award program and lunch were (from left) Taylie Teraoka, Isabella Ayau, Troy Concepcion, Lance Morikawa Jr., Kaitlin Kitagawa, Aliyah Casayuran and Taelor Ferrer.

KAHULUI — Ten scholarships of $1,000 were presented to 2023 graduates of high schools on Maui by the Maui’s Sons and Daughters of the Nisei Veterans/Maui AJA Veterans Scholarship Program.

The recipients are:

• Isabella Ayau, Kamehameha Schools-Maui Campus, daughter of Erik and Patricia Ayau;

• Kathleen Chloe Baniqued, Lahainaluna High School, daughter of Johnny and Monet Baniqued;

• Aliyah Casayuran, Maui High School, daughter of Alfonso and Jesse Casayuran;

• Troy Concepcion, Lahainaluna High School, son of Teody and Aileen Concepcion;

• Madison Yu-Cua, Lahainaluna High School, daughter of Dennis and Ainee Yu-Cua;

• Taelor Ferrer, Baldwin High School, daughter of Carlos and Erin Ferrer;

• Kaitlin Kitagawa, King Kekaulike High School, daughter of Glenn Kitagawa and Kathy Suzuki-Kitagawa;

• Lance Shizuo Morikawa Jr., Lahainaluna High School, son of Lance Sr. and Sandra Ann Morikawa;

• Danica Mae Palacio, Maui High School, daughter of Danny and Myrna Palacio;

• Taylie Teraoka, Baldwin High School, daughter of Todd and Melanie Teraoka.

The awards were presented June 10 at the Stanley Izumigawa Resource Center of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in Kahului.

The Maui AJA Veterans Inc. established the scholarship program and gave the first award in 1951.

Scholarships are awarded annually based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, an essay and financial need.

The major source of scholarship funding has been the annual Chrysanthemum Festival, formerly known as the Chrysanthemum Ball. Funds are raised by contestants who vie to be queen of the event. The 2022 queen was scholarship recipient Kaitlin Kitagawa.

Maui AJA Veterans ran the Chrysanthemum Ball since 1953, and provided hundreds of scholarships over the years. The veterans turned the event over to the Maui’s Sons and Daughters of the Nisei Veterans in 2007.

When Maui AJA Veterans Inc. dissolved in 2016, it distributed its funds to the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center and to Maui’s Sons and Daughters of the Nisei Veterans.

The MSDNV pledged to use its share to continue the tradition of providing scholarships to worthy Maui high school graduates. They honor Maui AJA Veterans Inc. by retaining its name in the title of the scholarship.