Waha Nui

Kekoa Taparra

Mililani High sophomore Viola Mocz has won an all-expense-paid trip to the CERN facility in France and Switzerland on the merits of her physics project at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair this month in Pittsburgh. Viola’s trip is sponsored by the European Organization for Nuclear Research. Her older siblings, Philip and Lucia, won their share of science fair honors in the past and are both students at Harvard now …

Waialua’s Mikaele Oloa won the People’s Choice award at the World Fireknife championships this month at Polynesian Cultural Center, and Kekoa Lagunte, also of Waialua, took second in the Junior Pacific Division for ages 6-11 … Each year, the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association salutes the top public school teens who help make Hawaii a better place and stand as model public high school graduates. The 2012 Citizenship Award (a $1,000 scholarship) went to 42 seniors, including Leilehua’s Maegan Tupinio, Mililani’s Melinda Sue Chinen and Waialua’s Khadija Karodia – co-sponsored by the DOE and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser …

Hold on, we’re not through. Local high school seniors winning 2012 Mamoru and Aiko Takitani Foundation $1,000 scholarship awards are Mililani’s Jessica Kawana, Leilehua’s Maegan Tupinio and Waialua’s Charee Wong. The late Takitanis founded Hawaiian Host chocolates and established the fund to give back to the community … And (finally?) Hawaii Youth Rotary Foundation has awarded $5,000 scholarships to Mililani High’s Jessica Kawana (going to Willamette University in Oregon) and Leilehua’s Maegan Tupinio (heading for Penn State) … Wheeler Elementary third-grader Alana Souza took second place for her poster in the Board of Water Supply’s annual Water Conservation contest. You can see her artwork at Kapolei Hale through June 14