The Hawaiian word, “ohana,” means “family.”

“Strong family values are important to us, and our hope is to create and grow a family of students that learn from our support,” says a member of the family that anonymously established, in 2023, the University of California, Riverside Ohana Scholarship Program, which included four first-year students and four third-year students.

“We were inspired by a good friend who challenged us to find a way to give more. We know the path through college and a job search can be daunting, and we wanted to support and guide these students in a fun and helpful way to foster their growth, confidence, and development.”

The program provides scholarship assistance to low-income students majoring in pre-business or business administration and covers the financial gap that many low-income students experience, thus, reducing financial hardship.

Today, these eight undergraduates—the first in their families to attend college—are second- and fourth-year students. “We are on campus for a day each month working with four of the students, and then the next month, the other four, and at the end of the day, we have dinner with all eight,” says the family member. “We walk the campus; talk about how to play big in their classes, jobs, and internships; and visit various campus business clubs.”

The Ohana program also funds study abroad: In summer 2024, an Ohana Scholar spent a quarter in Barcelona, Spain, and several other scholars are exploring the possibility of international study in summer 2025.

“My husband and I met when I was studying overseas in college,” says the family member, who has personally led students to the campus study abroad office. “In our opinion, international study is such an eye-opening and memorable life experience, and our hope is that many of the scholars will eventually participate.”

With mentoring, dinners, and other activities, the family and the Ohana Scholars have come to really know each other and achieve a communal comfort level: “The first time we met the scholars, everyone was quite shy and quiet,” says the family member. “Now, with their university experience and their affiliation with the program, they are much more social, confident, and independent. We are so impressed with their growth in such a short time.”

As a nutritionist, the family member also offers complimentary health coaching services and has met individually with two students who accepted the service. “I help them work on their health and wellness goals, and I’ll continue to offer this service to interested students.”

The family is connected to UCR through a relative, who “worked so hard in his career at the university and made such a tremendous impact on his students. As a first-generation student himself, who came so far in his career, we thought creating a criterion to support first-generation business students would be an aspect of the scholarship that was meaningful to us,” adds the family member. “We want to provide a ‘hand up.’

“I tell others who want to help students that financial support is always helpful, but mentorship and offering a little bit of time in what you do well to help others will have a lasting and impactful effect on individuals.”