BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS
Leading by example
by Thea Boserio
My second year of university has just wound down, papers have been
graded, exams taken, and my room is all packed up. The stress of finishing
another year and getting ready to fly home to the Queen Charlotte Islands
is over, and I can breathe a sigh of relief. The year has been amazing
and it’s hard to believe that it’s all over. I have an entire summer back
in Canada to enjoy!
When I think back on my two years in Hawaii at Hawaii Pacific University (HPU), on the island of Oahu, it seems surreal. I’ve been able to experience many different cultures from around the world, due to the international status of HPU. Through some of the classes
I’ve taken I’ve been able to participate in many different cultural and community events that I might not otherwise have been able to experience, and that have been beneficial to my education. I’ve been able to go to a taro farm and help plant and clean up sacred Hawaiian temples that are normally restricted to the public, and participate in many other cultural events. Aside from school I’ve also, I will admit, made good use of all of Oahu’s gorgeous beaches, waterfalls, and hikes.
The Fernandez Earle Scholarship Foundation (FESF) has changed my life immensely. It’s hard to imagine what I would be doing if it weren’t for this amazing scholarship. My goals would have been the same, and I would be pursuing them with the same determination, however earning my degree in biology, and then later putting myself through medical school would have been extremely difficult on my own.
It’s been very interesting and motivating to see the effect that this scholarship has had on the community. When I first left to go to school, in Hawaii I received many congratulatory phone calls and e-mails. However I didn’t realize the extent of the effect it had on people until I started to receive e-mails and postcards from kids in the community who wanted to know all about Hawaii, and the scholarship. When I returned home I had people I didn’t even know coming up to me to tell me how proud they were of me, and how amazing Kane Fernandez and Roger Earle must have been to have people want to give us such a huge gift. Kids from the community also wanted to know all about the scholarship. I can’t count how many times I’ve had children as young as six come up to me and tell me that they are working hard in school because when they get to grade 12 there’re going to get the scholarship and go to school in Hawaii.
Perhaps the most motivating story, and best example of how the Fernandez Earle scholarship has affected the community, is of a small boy in grade five this year. In September I received an e-mail from him asking about Pearl Harbour; he was interested in learning about it and asked if I had been to see it. So I sent him an e-mail back with some information, and a few pictures that I had. I got an e-mail back telling me he was writing a paper about it for school and was very excited! Two months later I received another e-mail from the same boy asking if I could send him some samples of sand from Hawaii, because he was doing a project on different types of sand from around the world. So of course I toured around the island collecting sand to send to him.
The next time I saw him, he was full of smiles—he told me he was determined to get the scholarship when it was his turn to apply for it. He promised he was working hard in school, and was proud to tell me he had raised his grades considerably already. The funny thing about this little boy was that until he found out about the Fernandez Earle scholarship, he didn’t like school, and wasn’t motivated to work!
What’s so special to me about this scholarship is that it has been able to make a difference not only in my life, but in the communities on the Islands. Although I didn’t know Kane Fernandez or Roger Earle personally, I know that they were generous, remarkable people, and I’m proud to be a recipient of their scholarship. I can honestly say that I am and will be a proud ambassador for the Fernandez Earle scholarship for the rest of my life.
FESF News 2005
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