Endowment To Assist Busiest WCC Students

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UH regent and longtime Kailua resident Kitty Lagareta and the Harold K. L. Castle Foundation have donated $50,000 to Windward Community College to establish a unique endowment scholarship.

The sum of $40,000 came from Lagareta and is intended to help students who have responsibilities outside of school.

The foundation originally approached Lagareta with the intention of giving $10,000 to any charity within its area of interest. “We had benefited from Kitty and her company,“explained Terry George, vice president and executive director of the Castle foundation. “They at no cost whatsoever helped to publicize and launch various important venues in public education and marine conservation in Hawaii.”

Lagareta, who also heads Communications Pacific, chose WCC and surprisingly added $40,000 to the mix.

“We responded to her generosity by making this $10,000 grant in her honor,” George said. “And then she responded through far greater generosity on her own part personally by making that grow from $10,000 to $50,000.”

Called the Lagareta Endowed Student Assistance Fund, it’s established in honor of her son Chad, to whom she gave birth at the age of 19. The scholarship will go to students who have family and job responsibilities but who still want to attend school.

The scholarships will be available to the students after they accumulate more interest.

“It will take more time for it to build to make (more funds) possible,” said Martha Hanson, associate vice president for communication and donor relations at the University Foundation.“The beauty of that is in 50 years, there’ll be a Lagareta scholarship - so it will perpetuate itself.”

The college will send out notices for scholarship applicants when it’s ready.

For those inspired to follow Lagareta’s example, contact WCC development director K.C. Collins at 235-7460.