Karen Fujishima-Lee Memorial Student Support Endowment
| History: |
REASON FOR THE GIFT
By establishing this Fund, Michael T. Lee is providing perpetual funding for the annual Karen Fujishima-Lee Memorial Scholarship. The Fund will provide scholarship assistance to traditional and non-traditional-aged students who are furthering their pursuit of higher education at Leeward Community College, and who have financial needs created by balancing demands of attending or returning to college against the demands of family, child care, jobs, commuting, disabilities or limited fiscal resources.
ABOUT THE HONOREE
Mr. Lee is honoring in perpetuity, his wife, Karen Yuriko Fujishima-Lee’s (1949-2008) life-long commitment to teaching, building student self-esteem, self-confidence, belief in their ability to set and achieve new goals, and encouraging their pursuit of knowledge. The creation of this scholarship honors Karen and allows for her legacy to have impact in scholarship recipients’ accomplishments as they obtain their higher education and go on to a better life for themselves and their families.
Karen was a Professor of Mathematics at Leeward Community College (1979-2008). While she took pride in her professorship, she was especially proud of becoming a Master Japanese Dance Instructor (Shihan, Hanayagi Mitsuaki II after her mentor and master Hanayagi Mitsuaki) and leading the Hanayagi Dancing Academy Hawaii Foundation, where her students affectionately called her Nidaime. This accomplishment represented a journey of 55 years from student to teacher, which included obtaining a professional name in dance (Hanayagi Mitsuyuri and in shamisen (Kineya Satsugiku).
Teaching at Leeward Community College was an extension of her years of teaching traditional Japanese dancing and shamisen, building student self-esteem, self-worth, and self-confidence. Her success at Leeward Community College is mirrored by student Dillion Wier’s testimonial, “She was the first teacher in my college years that made a difference in the way that I wanted to learn. She was always polite and didn’t brush you off if you needed extra help. She helped build confidence and self-esteem in me by her powerful encouragement and positive attitude. She was one of those special teachers.”
Karen considered the faculty and students of Leeward Community College her ‘ohana and wanted to continue teaching at Leeward Community College longer than her lifetime. Karen began her teaching career at Leeward Community College in 1979 as a lecturer in geology and math, obtaining her full professor of mathematics in 2006. Her faculty peers were responsible for her receiving the University of Hawai‘i, 2008 Regent’s Medal for Excellence in Teaching. At Leeward Community College, she worked tirelessly on the Math and Science Division Personnel Committee, Biology Hiring Committee, Tenure Review and Promotions Committee, Accreditation Self-Study Committee and Faculty Senate. She was also a Leeward Community College news editor, and president and vice president of the Hawai‘i and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She participated in the Pacific Island Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges, Taste of the Stars (L’ulu), Family Fun Fair, Excellence in Education Colloquia and Hawai‘i National Great Teacher Seminars.
Her life journey to her professorship at Leeward Community College reflects a diversity of challenges and interests. She graduated as valedictorian from Hawai‘i Baptist Academy, where she was class president and received an outstanding student award in 1967. From 1967-1969 she was an undergraduate at Carson-Neuman College, Tennessee, but returned to Hawai‘i where she obtained her bachelor in geology from the University of Hawai‘i in 1972. In 1973 she served as yeoman on UH Research Vessel, Kana Keoki, during the North Pacific reconnaissance of the Hess Rise. Karen earned her master’s in geology from the University of Hawai‘i in 1975. In 1976 she received a Rotary International scholarship to study geology at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, finishing a scientific paper in the one year residence, a significant feat for a Rotarian scholar. In 1992 she went on to earn a master’s in education from the University of Hawai‘i. Through all of this Karen also found time for voice lessons, played the harmonica, ‘ukulele and piano, learned hula and a Scottish fling, and participated in singing contests.
Her accomplishments throughout her lifetime exemplify her quest for knowledge and excellence. But more importantly, she valued teaching, finding ways to help each individual student, understanding that every individual has the ability to learn and become successful, that it was up to the teacher to tailor the instruction to the individual. She believed it was her duty to build that confidence in every student she taught at Leeward Community College. It was very important to her that each student realize they could not fail if they tried and persevered, and it was up to her to adjust her teaching schedule to help those students who were challenged by the demands of family, jobs, transportation and disabilities. Karen’s memorial scholarship is meant to continue her support to those students.
ABOUT THE DONOR
Michael T. Lee was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. He attended Kailua High School, and obtained a degree in biology from the University of Oregon in 1967. Mr. Lee has a long career as an environmental and water resource planner and regulator with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers working throughout the Pacific Ocean Basin, Asia and the United States, finishing his career in Washington D.C. at the Institute for Water Resources in 2001. He continues to work as an environmental and water resource planner and regulatory consultant from his home, which he built for his wife Karen Fujishima-Lee.
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| Description: |
The purpose of this Fund is to provide general financial support for traditional and non-traditional-aged students, who are furthering their pursuit of higher education at Leeward Community College, and who have financial needs created by balancing the demands of attending or returning to college against the demands of family, child care, jobs, commuting, disabilities or limited fiscal resources. Funds shall be used for, but not be limited to, the costs associated with attendance (i.e. tuition, books, fees, etc.) and non-traditional financial needs that impede attending or returning to college (student aid.) |
| Level: |
Undergraduate |
| High School: |
N/A |
| Residency: |
N/A |
| GPA: |
GPA of 2.0 or above. |
| Enrollment Status: |
Full-time or Part-time. |
| Contact Person: |
Student Services |
| Contact Department: |
Leeward CC Financial Aid Office |
| Contact Address: |
96-045 Ala Ike
Pearl City, HI 96782 |
| Contact Website: |
http://www.leeward.hawaii.edu/finaid/ |
| Contact Phone: |
(808) 455-0606 |
| Contact Email: |
[email protected] |
| Application Info: |
https://uhsys.scholarships.ngwebsolutions.com |
| Press Release: |
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