This year’s Berkeley JACL chapter honorees are (top row, from left) Mark Fujikawa, Leroy Morishita, Annika Masaki, Ellie Matsuno, Bryce Nakahara, Allison Nakao and (bottom row, from left) Beth Uno, Christy Ko, Kyle Kuwahara, Scott Kuwahara, Lucille Taylor and Amanda Tsuetaki. (Photo: Courtesy of Berkeley JACL)
The chapter pays tribute to its Scholarship, Pioneer and Youth Leadership Awards winners.
By Berkeley JACL Chapter
The Berkeley JACL chapter celebrated leaders of the future and honored accomplished Japanese American pioneers during its May 23 awards event via Zoom.
Scholarships were awarded to five high school seniors to recognize their academic achievements, community involvement, school activities, work history, JACL involvement, written essay, letter of recommendation and group interview.
This year’s honorees are:
- Christy Ko (Oakland Tech High School) will attend the University of Southern California as a computer science major. She was also named the recipient of the Bea Kono Memorial Scholarship.
- Kyle Kuwahara (Berkeley High School) will attend the University of California, Berkeley, as a computer science major. He is the recipient of the Terry Yamashita Memorial Scholarship.
- Scott Kuwahara (Berkeley High School) will attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a game development major. He was awarded the Carolyn Miyakawa Adams Scholarship.
- Lucille Taylor (El Cerrito High School) will attend the University of Hawaii (Manoa) as an undeclared major. She is the recipient of the George/Yoshimi Nakamura Memorial Scholarship.
- Amanda Tsuetaki (Carrboro High School in North Carolina) will attend Northwestern University as an Asian American Studies major. She is the recipient of the Dan/Kathleen Date Memorial Scholarship.
Additionally, the chapter awarded scholarships to four college undergraduates who are attending accredited institutions of higher learning located in Alameda or Contra Costa Counties. This year’s recipients are:
- Annika Masaki (UC Berkeley) majoring in public health
- Ellie Matsuno (UC Berkeley) majoring in civil engineering
- Bryce Nakahara (UC Berkeley) majoring in biology and business
- Allison Nakao (Diablo Valley College) majoring in library technologies
During the event, the chapter recognized its memorial scholarship donors: the Beatrice Kono family (George Kono), the Terry Yamashita family (Reiko Nabeta), the Dan/Kathleen Date family (Gail Yamamoto) and the George/Yoshimi Nakamura family (Ken, Mari, Cubby Nakamura). Carolyn Miyakawa Adams was also honored for her years of support to the scholarship program.
The 2021 members of the scholarship committee are chair Ron Tanaka, Mark Fujikawa, Vera Kawamura, Karen Kiyo Lowhurst, Ryan Matsuda, Neal Ouye, Al Satake and Sharron Sue.
Recognized for their active commitment to the Berkeley JACL were Mark Fujikawa and Leroy Morishita, who were presented the chapter’s Pioneer Award. This award honored Fujikawa (optometrist) and Morishita (retired President of Cal State University East Bay) for their dedicated service to the chapter. The purpose of the award is to honor those with the vision, compassion and energy to lay a foundation for building a strong Japanese American community and nurturing future leaders.
In addition, Beth Uno was presented the chapter’s Youth Leadership Award to recognize her role in organizing and implementing key youth activities and developing programs to fulfill the growing need for youth leaders with the desire, vision and skills to make a positive difference consistent with the chapter’s mission.
Congratulations to all of this year’s honorees.
