Paubox Kahikina Scholarship Recipient Katelyn Onzuka: 2025 update

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

Katelyn Onzuka is one of the Paubox Kahikina Scholarship 2024 recipients and is now attending Hawaii Pacific University, studying toward a doctorate in physical therapy. Here is a word from Katelyn: 

“Aloha mai kakou, my name is Katelyn Onzuka. I go by Fuubai, and today I’m giving you guys my first year recap of attending physical therapy school. To begin with, for those that don’t know, I am attending Hawaii Pacific University in their Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. Some of the unique features of this program are that it is both accelerated and hybrid, so instead of the traditional three-year program, it’s condensed to two years. So with that in mind, you can imagine the increased rigor, the increased challenge, and the increase in coursework. 

At first, I will not lie, it was very overwhelming, but I learned so much about myself throughout all of these challenges that I’ve been able to overcome, no matter how stressful. PT school has been, I’m constantly reminded through this scholarship that there are people behind me that truly do believe in my potential and that has reinforced my commitment to continuing this program holua through all the challenges because I know in the end it will pay off when I’m able to make an impact on the communities of Hawaii. So not only has Paubox Kahikana Scholarship given me just motivation, it’s also provided me with financial relief. 

PT school is not cheap, the average is $100,000 and up, so just having people that see my potential and are willing to just support me financially has been extremely beneficial because it’s allowed me to focus fully on my studies and my clinical development without the constant stress of worrying how I will be able to pay for the next term. It’s enabled me to invest time in just mastering the foundational concepts that have been taught in my first year and integrating them into every single time I walk into the lab or the clinic. 

One thing that I’m grateful for in this program, too, is that I’ve had the chance to work with patients already in my first year, which has been awesome because I’ve been able to work with people of all types of different diagnoses. Whether that be Parkinson’s, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and so forth. It has really opened my eyes that I’m definitely in the right career field it is such a rewarding educational pathway for me despite all the hardship that the school may have, just as soon as I walk in the clinic I cannot help but have a smile on my face because I know how much of an impact we have on the community.

Yeah, that’s it on my PT journey. It’s been eventful, it’s been fun. I can’t wait to see what else comes my way in this program, and for those who aren’t aware with this program is accelerated, it’s all year round, so the only break we have is two weeks of winter. So I’m continuing in school in the summer and so forth, so it was funny that this first year recap came around because it just reminded me how fast time flies. I’ve been so focused and just doing the best I possibly can in this program to prove to those who supported me that I will make you guys proud, and so it’s been awesome. I’ve just finished my term four and am not in term five (there are a total of 12 terms), so almost halfway there. Thank you again, Paubox Kahikana scholarship, for giving me the motivation and financial relief to just hold a mua through this rigorous program, because I know it will pay off in the end of the day. 

Mahalo mua. "