Our College and Career Counselor Farris James provides dedicated guidance and valuable resources to support students throughout the college scholarship application process. With Assets School's low student-to-counselor ratio, she can offer personalized attention to help each student succeed.

One shining example is Noelani Glorioso '24. She offers these tips.

"Apply to as many scholarships as possible, even if you feel like you might not be selected," said Noelani Glorioso '24. "I didn't expect to receive a scholarship from the Hawaii Community Foundation because I felt there were many more qualified students. However, Mrs. James encouraged me to apply, and a few months later, I was awarded the scholarship. Another tip is to seek help from someone like Mrs. James. I met with her more than 10 times during my senior year for guidance on college and scholarship applications."

Through Noelani’s hard work and collaboration with Mrs. James, Noelani is using $28,000 in scholarships for her first semester at Chaminade University. As a result, she only had to pay $47 for her first semester's tuition.

Noelani is following her dreams to become an environmental scientist. "I want to improve our environment - not just for us and every creature on land and in the sea, but for future generations," Noelani explained.

Counselor Farris James emphasized the importance of perseverance and planning ahead. "Financial aid is not just loans," she said. "There are grants, scholarships, work-study programs, and private scholarships. There's lots of money they can apply for.  Scholarships are not only for top students. Financial aid is like going fishing. You might get something, and often you apply and get nothing. I like to see them try even if they don't get it. I am happy when they get it. Yay!"  

Reflecting on the journey, Noelani's mother shared her heartfelt appreciation: "When applying for universities, we expected to take out student loans, as we had exhausted her college fund to cover high school tuition. The financial scholarships received allowed Noelani to attend a private, on-island university of her choice."

Jordan McKenzie '24 also worked diligently to get financial aid with the guidance of Mrs. James. Jordan is studying aviation at Colorado Mesa University.

“I hadn’t cried in years until they started announcing the scholarships,” said Jordan’s father, Scott McKenzie. ”To mom’s and Jordan’s credit, they have worked hard to keep his grades up. He also works every summer in Alaska doing commercial fishing.”

Jordan said the scholarships helped him and and his family pay for flight school and the Colorado Mesa University tuition. "This would have been a very hard year without the scholarships because we did not have a good fishing season," Jordan explained.  "I would like to thank Mrs. James and Mr. Wagner for all the scholarship opportunities they helped me find and apply for. Also, my mom and dad have helped me out with school."

Jordan's mother, Robyn McKenzie, was delighted with his scholarships. "When Jordan received the Scholarship during graduation, I was so, so proud of him and his hard work. I cried. Jordan worked so hard his senior year receiving the scholarship that Mr. Wagner told him about that summer. He completed his private pilot’s license while maintaining high grades, captaining his basketball and volleyball teams, and applying for colleges and scholarships." 

Assets School is proud to empower students like Noelani and Jordan to reach their potential, one scholarship at a time. 

"I plan to continue applying for scholarships to support my education further," Noelani shared, reflecting her determination and gratitude for the opportunities she's earned.

Mrs. James provides these suggestions to help with financial aid.

• For seniors, the most important thing to do to access scholarships is to apply to college on time since most scholarships are awarded directly by colleges to students who enroll. Seniors can schedule meetings with Mrs. James for guidance for college, career, and financial aid.
• Do the FAFSA, the Free application for federal student aid, when you are a senior. It is like a master key that opens many doors to afford college.
• Search for scholarships! You can use Mrs. James’ College and Career website, which she updates with new scholarship opportunities as she learns about them
• WATCH NOW: College Financial Aid Fit Workshop Zoom meeting. For the slides, click here. 
• Use community resources such as College is Within Reach Hawaii, which offers weekly financial aid and/or scholarship webinars throughout the college and scholarship application season.
• Visit the Timeline for College Bound Students on our website.