Paubox Kahikina STEM Scholarship 2022
Aloha, my name is Allena Villanueva and I am very honored and thankful to join a cohort of brilliant students in STEM as a 2022 Paubox Kahikina Scholarship recipient. I am Punahou School ’22 graduate and currently a freshman at the University of Southern California studying to earn a degree in Computer Science and hopefully a minor in Marketing. With this degree, I aspire to work to create a more equitable tech world.
In my senior year of high school, I found my passion for creating more opportunities for Hawaiians in tech and have been actively involved in the Purple Maiʻa Foundation for over a year. I began as an intern for a few of the Scratch and biomimicry classes and implemented a hands-on robotics course. This summer, I was lucky to work with 15 brilliant students on hand-on engineering concepts through waʻa designs. Because of the capabilities of Zoom, I am able to continue my work at Purple Maiʻa online from California. Now as a co-Kumu in the Da Ponoverse program for the Purple Maiʻa Foundation, I am teaching students to develop particle systems in Unity and harness their skills in C# and JavaScript twice a week. My work at Purple Maiʻa has been the most rewarding and fulfilling part of my life. I learn a lot from the students each day and I love being able to make a difference at home from thousands of miles away.
At USC, I am also a Web Developer for USC Enrollment Services. I really love being able to work on the back end of websites and continue to strengthen my HTML skills. I chose to pursue a degree in computer science because I’ve always been fascinated by the logic behind programming and how fun it is to solve problems with code. My job as a web developer has increased my appetite for learning and I am really passionate about my career.
I have also joined a few clubs at USC. I am a member of the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) club as part of the Malawi design team. A large problem in Chitala (a village in Malawi, Africa) is access to clean latrines. A big reason a lot of students do not end up going to school is because their bathrooms are falling apart and there is little access to hygienic products and hand washing stations. We are using CAD systems to design sustainable, clean latrines that may also educate people on the importance of hygiene to prevent diseases. In Summer 2023, we will be traveling to Malawi to physically build the latrines for a local school that lacks the proper infrastructure to support their students and teachers.
To be completely honest, it’s really hard for me to be so far away from Hawaiʻi and away from my home, culture, and family. I love the people and opportunities at USC and living in Los Angeles is exciting and eye opening. But I cannot wait to come home and continue to pay my education forward to the Hawaiian people. Being so far away from home has really grounded me in my values and Hawaiian heritage. Being at USC has pushed me even further to make a difference in my community and make a place for Hawaiians in STEM, since there are not many here. Although I’m in LA, I will use the education I’m getting here to pay it back home. To combat homesickness, I have joined the USC Hawaiʻi club and have spent many days in the dorms making spam musubi (even though they’re very messy sometimes) and listening to Bruddah Iz. Luckily, me and my friends receive lots of care packages from home! Love my ohana forever.
The Paubox Kahikina Scholarship has reduced the financial burden college poses on my family. As a student working two jobs, I am very thankful for the extra help affording my USC tuition. Now, I can study hard at USC without the stress, anxiety, and pressure of affording my education and I can focus more on my studies. It means a lot to me as a Native Hawaiian to be here and establish myself as a Native woman in STEM in sunny California. The world feels a lot bigger here but no matter how far away I am from home, I will always love my home and culture and I am honored to be here.
I express my deepest gratitude to Mr. Hoala Greevy and the scholarship team for believing in me and supporting me through this journey. Congratulations to all of the Paubox recipients and mahalo.
