We are honored to announce our inaugural 2019-20 SPIO Scholarship Award Recipients.

About South Pacific Islander Organization

South Pacific Islander Organization (SPIO) is a 100% volunteer-led 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to building global Pacific Islander presence across academic and professional fields through digitally accessible resources. Our resources include college application mentorship, scholarships, spotlights, and a directory of educational resources. In mid-2020, we plan to launch a free Higher Education Network and Virtual Summit.

About the 2019-20 SPIO Scholarships

In mid-2019, SPIO announced its inaugural 2019-20 Scholarship Program offering three (3) scholarships:

• One (1) Academic Excellence Scholarship - $5,000 USD

• One (1) Extracurricular Excellence Scholarship - $5,000 USD

• One (1) Community Leadership Scholarship - $5,000 USD

The scholarships were eligible to any scholars of Pacific Islander descent planning to attend an accredited institution of higher education during the 2020-2021 academic school year. The scholarships were open to any Pacific scholar, regardless of where they lived in the world.

Who funded the first year of scholarships? Our inaugural scholarships were funded by volunteers and board members who care deeply about uplifting Pacific scholars on their higher education journey.

Our 2019-20 Applicant Pool

By our Friday, January 17, 2020 application deadline, we had received over 200 applications from around the world.

• 108 academic excellence scholarship applications

• 66 extracurricular excellence scholarship applications

• 52 community leadership scholarship applications

• Scholars applied from the following U.S. states, countries, and island nations: American Samoa, Australia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Florida, France, French Polynesia (Tahiti), Guåhan, Hawai’i, Kingdom of Tonga, Michigan, Minnesota, Saipan, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Northern Mariana’s Islands, Oregon, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Palau, Solomon Islands, Texas, Utah, Vanuatu, and Washington. 

Our Scholarship Team’s Biggest Takeaways

Selecting our inaugural scholarship recipients was a bittersweet moment.

Bittersweet, because we could only offer three scholarships out of a strong pool of global Pacific Islander change-makers. It was a truly emotional experience to read through applications of such deserving, heartfelt, and passionate scholars.

We celebrate the collective accomplishments of our Pacific scholars and applicants.

While we would like you to join us in celebrating our three incredible scholarship recipients, we would also like to acknowledge and celebrate all of our Pacific applicants and scholars for their dedication to their studies, career dreams, families, and communities.

In 2021, we want to offer more scholarships.

Our goal for the future is to continue offering our annual 3 $5,000 scholarships, but we would like to offer additional scholarships to support more scholars. Would you like to help us offer more scholarships? Learn more

2019-20 SPIO Scholarship Recipients

Click on their pictures to read their profiles.

Do you have any questions about the 2019-20 Scholarships? You can contact us at scholarships@southpacificislander.org