Faces of Serving Our Community Since 1916
Philanthropy
QUARTERLY NEWS FROM THE HAWAI‘I COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
2013 ISSUE 2
“I knew that if I wanted to improve my quality of life and support my growing family, I had to go back to school someday.”
Scholarship recipient and college graduate Ikaika Perreira with his family (L to R), mother Ulu, daughter Emalia, and wife Karen.
Setting Sights on College Success Though Ikaika Perreira works with visually impaired and blind youth on Kaua‘i, his own vision is crystal clear. The 33-year-old has always had a definite sense of where he wants to go and a plan for getting there. He had college in his sights by the time he graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1998 and turned down schools on the mainland that were beyond his budget. Instead, the Kaua‘i native attended BYU Hawai‘i and supplemented the scholarships he received by working part-time in the cafeteria and on the maintenance crew… ultimately graduating with a bachelor’s degree in General and Special Education. Life seemed to be proceeding just as Ikaika had planned it: He married his college sweetheart, taught at Kahuku High School, and had a newborn baby boy. That is, until his wife’s maternity leave ended and neither she nor Ikaika could bring themselves to leave the baby with a sitter. As the sole breadwinner, Ikaika dropped out of the UH master’s program he was in, started working nights as a waiter after teaching during the day, and moved the family back to Kaua‘i. “I knew that if I wanted to
improve my quality of life and support my growing family, I had to go back to school someday,” said Ikaika. Once again, he set a plan for himself and, thanks to funding that included the Koloa Scholarship at HCF, was able to complete a master’s degree program through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in Rehabilitation for the Blind. Ikaika is currently responsible for working one-on-one with students from grades K-12 across Kaua‘i, where he teaches reading, writing and math in braille, and provides support to both the families and the teachers of his students. It’s a big responsibility, but one that Ikaika truly enjoys. Now the father of three children under seven years old, he knows that, as hard as he worked to get where he is today, it would not have been possible without the help of people he has never met. And even though he is unaccustomed to being in the spotlight, Ikaika took the opportunity to address a group of HCF donors. “As scholarship donors, you don’t often get to see the joy on the receiver’s face,” said Ikaika. “So here I am to show you what gratitude looks like.” It’s clear his plan is back on track.