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Rising freshman earns Pueo Pilot Scholarship to attend Maui Preparatory Academy

By Staff | May 9, 2019

This year, Dillon Jonke is the recipient of the Pueo Pilot Scholarship.

NAPILI – Maui Preparatory Academy is thrilled to announce the winner of the 2019-20 Pueo Pilot Scholarship, a four-year, fully funded merit scholarship .

Each year, rising high school students from all over Maui County apply for the scholarship at this independent school in Napili.

This year, students applied from Lahaina Intermediate School, Sacred Hearts Academy, St. Anthony School, Kihei Charter and others.

Through a detailed application and personal interview process, ambitious boys and girls shared their talents, passions and dreams with the teachers and administrators of Maui Prep.

The scholarship is awarded to a student with a strong academic record who also demonstrates leadership potential in the fine and performing arts, community service, athletics and/or student government.

In short, the school wants to attract high-impact change-makers to contribute to Maui Prep’s transformative learning community, as well as the broader West Maui community.

This year, Dillon Jonke is the recipient of the Pueo Pilot Scholarship. The son of Scott and Kerstin Jonke is currently finishing his eighth grade year at Kihei Charter School.

In his tenure at Kihei Charter, Dillon earned the respect and admiration of his teachers, coaches and classmates. One teacher called him “a true leader with great maturity and independence,” and another called him “a perfect role model for any child or adult to follow.” Dillon has excelled in the classroom at Kihei Charter, earning top grades and glowing reviews from his teachers for critical thinking, initiative and public speaking.

Dillon is also one of the hardest working youth golfers in Maui County.

“I have participated in golf for just over eight years. During these years of working hard and practicing, I have achieved scores of 68 at the Waiehu Course and Maui Lani Course. At 12 years old, I competed in a Hawaii State Junior Golf tournament and won the competition with a score of 73 the first round and a 69 the final round to win at the Kapalua Bay Course. I considered this a challenge that became an achievement due to practice, hard work, perseverance and confidence.”

Dillon trains intensively for his success, between 15 and 30 hours a week, and that’s how he has become one of the top golfers in the State of Hawaii.

Dillon hopes one day to attend UCLA and to join the Professional Golf Association (PGA). He will be the first of his family to attend college.

Recent recipients of the Pueo Pilot Scholarship include:

Kysha Altura, Class of 2018, a leader in student government, cum-laude graduate and an MIL and HHSAA swimming champion who earned a full scholarship to Fordham University in New York City;

Heidi Mahan, Class of 2019, valedictorian, and a cross country and track athlete who will attend Santa Clara University in the fall;

Peyton Gillespie, Class of 2021, a boarding student from Molokai who was featured in the school musical, excels in his courses and this year participated on the Pueo cross country, swimming and track teams;

Aiesha Pradhan, Class of 2022, originally of Lahaina Intermediate School, who has set a high bar in the classroom, emerged as a service leader in the Rotary Interact Club and competed successfully on the Pueo paddling and tennis teams.

Maui Preparatory Academy is an independent day and boarding school serving students in preschool through Grade 12. Situated on 22 acres on a hilltop in Napili, the school is in the midst of an exciting transformation under first-year Head of School Robert Landau and Board of Trustees Chair Jim Bozich.

Work is busily underway on the school’s new Bozich Center for Athletics and Performing Arts, which will be ready to host events in early 2020. Meanwhile, the school and faculty are hard at work on Vision 2020, a transformative paradigm shift that will put personal relationships, relevant classwork and student empowerment at the core of the school’s future work with the students and community of West Maui.

Applications for the 2019-20 school year are still being accepted. To learn more, call (808) 665-9966.