Students enrolled in KCC’s culinary program may qualify for a $5,000 scholarship sponsored by The Kahala Hotel and Resort through the James Beard Foundation.
Last year, The Kahala Hotel and Resort put on a celebration for Julia Child’s 100th birthday. At this celebration, part of the proceeds went to the James Beard Foundation to help create a scholarship. James Beard and Julia Child created this foundation together.
Dante Camara, General Manager at Hoku’s Restaurant at The Kahala Hotel and Resort, explained that after the scholarship was founded, an institution that would be a suitable beneficiary of this scholarship was to be selected.
“I felt KCC was the choice,” he said.
Charlie Aldinger, public relations manager for The Kahala, explained that the scholarships awarded by the James Beard Foundation vary from year to year depending on the donors.
Culinary students could win a $5000 scholarship for the fall semester.
The scholarship application and process will be online starting April 1, and the deadline will be May 15.
When students access the website, they will need to click the “Education” tab and the JBF scholarships will appear, along with The Kahala Hotel and Resort Scholarship for KCC. From there, more information about grants, scholarships, and the foundation will be available.
The awarding will be announced in late August and or early September.
In preparation for the application process, Camara suggests students become familiar with the foundation and what it stands for.
“I think that will help if an essay is involved and to make students more palatable [for the scholarship].”
Students are rated according to a “standardized system based on such factors as grade point average, extracurricular activities including work experience, letters of recommendation, and financial need,” Aldinger wrote.
Applications for the JBF scholarships are evaluated and reviewed by Scholarship America.
If anyone applying for the scholarship has any questions, mark your calendars, Camara will be on campus, April 1 to shed some light on the scholarship and application process.
“I’m going to bring my computer and show students where to go [on the JBF website],” Camara said. ““No question is a bad question.”
Camara will be visiting different classrooms to present more information and answer any questions students might have.
“The Kahala is proud to encourage students from Hawaii in culinary excellence through the support of the James Beard Foundation education program,” Aldinger wrote in an email correspondence. “We wish all those who apply the best of luck!”