Liliana Okimoto, a Waianae native and transfer student, won a full year of free tuition at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Friday, May 22, 2026.
She was selected as the winner of the eighth annual "Take Me to Manoa" scholarship giveaway.
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Okimoto, who spent her freshman year at the University of Puget Sound in Washington, was surprised with a giant check at the campus bookstore.
The announcement was broadcast live on the Sunrise program by Billy V of Hawaii News Now.
Contest Details and Winning Entry
The competition was open to incoming fall 2026 Hawaii freshmen and transfer students.
Nearly 60 video entries were submitted, each explaining why the university was the right choice or how the tuition would impact their future.
Okimoto plans to study psychology and studio art on a possible pre-health track.
She submitted a minute-long video detailing her desire to return home from the continental United States to serve her community.
"Many people told me that going to the mainland would be the best for me, and I am very grateful for my time here," Okimoto said.
"But I've come to realize that UH Manoa can offer me something that no other school can: a chance to be an active member in the beautiful community that raised me."
In her social media entry, she expressed her goals for the upcoming academic year.
"Hawaiʻi is where my heart is and under the guidance of the amazing faculty and staff at UH Mānoa, I know I can grow into the person I want to become—someone who devotes themselves to learning in order to better serve their community, so take me home.
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Take me to Mānoa," she said.
University and Family Reactions
University leaders gathered at the campus bookstore to welcome Okimoto.
President Wendy Hensel said, "We are bringing someone home from the mainland who wants to come back to the University of Hawaii, and she's getting free tuition.
What's more fun than that?"
Interim Provost Vassilis L. Syrmos noted that Okimoto is the first transfer student to receive this honor.
"As our first transfer student to receive this honor, she is a shining example of a student returning home from the continent for whom finding the right fit is of utmost importance, and we are glad to be that destination of choice for her," he said.
The prize was made possible through a partnership with the university's federal credit union.
Sean Parsa, AVP of Member Experience at UHFCU, said, "We're very proud of being able to support the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and also the students here and bringing her back home."
Okimoto will attend the university concurrently with her mother, Michelle, who works as a school librarian and is enrolled in a graduate program for library and information science.
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Michelle Okimoto said, "I'm just so glad to have her home. It's icing on the cake that we get to be students together."
