The Paubox Kahikina Scholarship helps Native Hawaiian students pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and Tech in general. Its purpose is to offer financial support and create a strong network for these students. The scholarship makes education more affordable and connects students with professionals, giving them valuable opportunities to learn and grow in their chosen STEM or Tech fields. This scholarship is about more than just money; it's about building a community and empowering Native Hawaiian students to succeed in STEM or Tech careers.

See also: The big ideas behind the Paubox Kahikina Scholarship

 

As a 2023 recipient, Erika Kwee is now a rising senior at MIT studying mechanical engineering. Here is a word from Erika:

“These past few years have passed by incredibly quickly, but I have learned so much and am grateful for the opportunities I have had to explore my interests. I have enjoyed studying mechanical engineering at MIT because of the opportunities to work on hands-on projects. Designing and building things excites me most about engineering, and it has been fun to work on a variety of creative projects. This year, I designed and injection-molded yo-yos for a manufacturing class, conducted an experiment to compare the seam strength of different sewn stitch types, and created a fish-themed book and posters for a class on visual communication.

In the spring, I traveled to Florida with Arcturus, MIT’s autonomous robotics team, for the RoboBoat 2026 competition. Our team designed and built an autonomous boat capable of performing tasks such as navigation, docking, and aiming at targets. Seeing the boat operate in the water and complete some of the tasks was very rewarding. While we encountered challenges, our boat showed improvements compared to previous years, and we learned a lot from the experience. I had a great time with my team members and meeting other teams from around the world.

This summer, I am conducting research at MIT on ocean wave energy converters. I am designing linear dampers that simulate power take-off systems used to extract energy from ocean waves. These dampers will be used in future tow tank experiments involving arrays of wave energy devices. This allows researchers to optimize power extraction by tuning the behavior of the devices under incident waves.

Mahalo to Hoala Greevy and Paubox for supporting my education throughout the years. The Paubox Kahikina Scholarship has provided valuable resources and networking opportunities. The winter networking event has been a great opportunity to connect with fellow scholarship recipients and meet mentors in Hawaiʻi who are working in fields that interest me. These connections have helped me explore potential career paths and strengthened my desire to pursue engineering in a way that aligns with Hawaiʻi’s values. During the coming year, I hope to further explore the applications of ocean engineering and pursue my interests in mechanical design.”

Read more: Paubox Kahikina Scholarship Recipient Reflection | Erika Kwee