Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) recent Ke Alahele Education Benefit event welcomed over 300 guests and successfully raised funds for local STEM education programs. During the event, the Daniel K. Inouye Innovation (DKII) Award student winners were recognized for community service-focused science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) projects. Tiare Martin, executive director of the Vanguard Maui High Performance Computing Center and MEDB’s board chair, Curtis Tom, senior vice president and commercial banking officer of the Bank of Hawaiʻi and MEDB’s board vice chair and chair of the education committee, and Leslie Wilkins, MEDB’s president and CEO, presented the award. 

Winners were Baldwin High School seniors Aileen Kim and Jeremiah Jacinto for their project, “Kūlia Scholarships Connect.” Recognizing the difficulties that local students and their families face in finding college scholarships, they created an AI chatbot that simplifies and personalizes the search process. “Our team is driven by a shared passion for equity in education and aims to remove barriers to financial aid through technology that empowers every student to reach their full potential,” they explained. 

A Maui High School team of Toby Naumov, Sarah Fehnestock, Ciana Cooper, Sophie Kato, and Joshua Mori also received a prize for their “Stop the Bleed Tourniquet Simulator” project. The team used their computer science and mechanical engineering skills to create an artificial human arm that can help students learn the critical first-aid skills needed to control severe bleeding. They successfully created a prototype for only $200, showing that it is possible to create low-cost versions of essential medical teaching tools.  

Dominick Philippe Guiwa of Maui High School was honored for his research project, “From Tragedy to Innovation: Lahaina Fire Recovery Through Native Hawaiian Fire Retardant Solutions.” Combining his interest in chemistry with a desire to serve the Lahaina community, he tested plant samples to demonstrate a correlation between pH levels and fire resistance, showing that native plants are often more fire resistant than invasives.  

All the winners will receive monetary prizes to honor their hard work. Funds raised during the event will also support the Ke Alahele Education Fund grant program. More information can be found online at https://www.medbpathways.org/.