Alleka Kim, first-time winner of the Kuilei Chancellor's Scholarship, has proven that she is an outstanding student with enormous heart and dedication.

The Kuilei Chancellor's Scholarship made its debut this semester.

She has set an excellent standard for all upcoming candidates for the scholarship.

Kim, 18, 2009 graduate of McKinley High School, applied for the scholarship at the end of her senior year in high school.

The Kuilei Chancellor's Scholarship was established to help recent graduates of high school transition to KCC.

It also gives preference to students who are from populations that are under-represented in the higher education.

"There are actually two awards per year, but only one met the standards of the scholarship," said Sheldon Tawata, Coordinator of the Kuilei high school to college connections program.

Each award is disbursed over two semesters. $500 is given out in fall and $500 in spring semester.

While there were four $1,000 scholarships available, Kim was the only recipient.

Recipients are required to register in a first-year experience course, lead three campus tours, and meet with the Kuilei High School and College Connections Program coordinator at least two times a semester.

When picking the winner, Tawata mentioned some characteristics the applicants should be able to show to the school.

"The applicants had to meet the requirements, and their personal statement had to clearly show their commitment to college with explanations on the how's and why's they made their decision," said Tawata.

The scholarship is only good for the student's first year here at KCC.

While Kim is experiencing her first semester at KCC, she isn't starting off slowly — she has a full schedule of classes and work.

With a school schedule of five classes ranging from English 100 to Pacific Island studies, Kim also works at least three days a week at Matsugen restaurant. She's thankful that the restaurant is flexible with her schedule.

"I try to work on the days I don't have many classes," Kim said. "I try to balance out my schedule."

Not only does Kim succeed in balancing out her work and school life, she's busy being fluent in both English, Korean and she even understands some Japanese.

Though she is a liberal arts major for now, she has plans of possibly entering the medical field, and transferring to the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Kim already has plans that she wants to follow; the second semester she might take some classes related to her chosen field. She'd take classes such as microbiology, or zoology.

By taking time to take the classes at KCC, she will then decide of the medical field is something she'll still want to pursue.

"The hope is that I can offer this scholarship for many years," Tawata said.