Contractors Association of Kauai awards $21,000 in scholarships to students
Eight Kauai students split $21,000 in construction scholarships, with several aiming for engineering, HVAC and electrical careers tied to island jobs.
Contractors Association of Kauai gave $21,000 in scholarships to eight Kauai college students during its general membership meeting at the Kauai Philippines Cultural Center in Puhi.
The awards, presented on June 25, went to Tyren Sasil, Pamela Corpuz, Nicholas Gandeza, Kyler Konishi, Swede Sandblom, Edison Medina, Kulea Kauwe and Wil Fermin. Kauai Complex Area Superintendent Leila Maeda Kobayashi attended and congratulated the students and the association’s scholarship chair, Kaulupono Perez.
Pamela Corpuz received a $2,500 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship to attend Kauai Community College and study Electrical Installation and Maintenance Technology. Kulea Kauwe, who is studying HVAC Refrigeration Technician at Honolulu Community College, also received a $2,500 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship. Kyler Konishi received a $2,500 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship and plans to return to Hawaii after graduating from the University of California, San Diego.
Nicholas “Nic” Gandeza received a $4,000 Guy Matsunaga Memorial Scholarship to study Civil Engineering at Oregon State University after completing Kauai High School Engineering Technology pathway work and advanced math at Kauai Community College. Tyren Sasil, a Waimea High School valedictorian who worked part-time at JB’s Plumbing and took part in the Waimea High Engineering pathway program, received a $4,500 Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship to study Mechanical Engineering at Grand Canyon University.
CAK was established in 1957 as a trade association of licensed contractors, suppliers and businesses tied to Kauai’s construction industry, and it administers the Kenneth Shioi Memorial Scholarship for students at Kauai Community College training for carpentry, electrician or HVAC work. CAK had up to $11,000 available for scholarships, a figure that was exceeded by this year’s awards and topped the $12,500 shared by eight recipients in 2025 and the $11,500 given to seven students in 2024.
Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism data put construction jobs in the state up 3.0 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while Kauai was the only county where private building authorizations increased. Kauai residential-only private building authorizations climbed $3.7 million, or 11.3 percent, in the same period.
Līhue is expected to absorb most of the island’s growth and meet demand for more than 4,000 housing units by 2035, even as other Kauai planning discussions have cited a need for about 9,000 homes by that year. The County of Kauai’s Lima Ola Workforce Housing Development in Eleele will eventually include about 550 affordable units.
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