Biology major receives scholarship from non-profit supporting Micronesians in Hawai‘i
Pearlnalin Rilan Anien is a graduate of Marshall Islands High School and currently a junior at UH Hilo majoring in biology. She dreams of becoming a medical doctor to serve her community.
A biology student at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo has received a $1,500 scholarship from a non-profit group that supports college students from Micronesia.
Pearlnalin Rilan Anien is a recipient of the Dr. Joakim Peter Memorial Scholarship, which is managed by the Hilo-based Micronesians United—Big Island, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supporting the success of Micronesians in Hawai‘i. Recipients are known as A+JOJO Scholars.
“Being an A+JOJO Scholar will open up more opportunities to expand my services to the community,” says Anien. “I believe in hard work and perseverance. Without these two values, I would not have been where I am today.”
Anien is a graduate of Marshall Islands High School and currently a junior at UH Hilo majoring in biology. She dreams of becoming a medical doctor to serve her community.
According to the scholarship website:
The Dr. Joakim Peter Memorial Scholarship was created by a group of friends and colleagues of the late Dr. Joakim “Jojo” Peter. On June 1, 2019, the day after his funeral, they gathered at Zippyʻs on Vineyard in Honolulu for one final farewell breakfast at Jojoʻs favorite table where he spent endless hours working on his dissertation. After tearful remembrance of how he brought people together from different areas to serve alongside him in the work of social justice, the group (Team AJOJO) agreed to create a scholarship to keep his legacy alive among the young generation of COFA [Compact of Free Association] college students.
“There are very few scholarships dedicated to Micronesian specifically,” notes Anien in her profile on the scholarship website. “Those few but beneficial scholarships continue to help Micronesian students throughout the world pursue their academic goals and higher education. This particular scholarship is significant because it highlights some of the standards that I value and live by; resiliency and hard work.”
