Scholarships help Lahaina graduates afford to attend college outside Hawaii a year after wildfire

HONOLULU (AP) — College was the furthest thing from Keith Nove Baniqued's mind after her family's home burned down in a deadly wildfire that decimated her Hawaii town. The 17-year-old, who was 7 when she moved to Maui from the Philippines, was about to start her senior year of high school but shifted her focus to her family's struggles to find a place to live amid the tragedy.

Nearly a year after the fire that destroyed thousands of other homes and killed 102 people in historic Lahaina, Baniqued is headed to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. And her family doesn't have to worry about how to pay for it, thanks to $325,000 in college scholarships awarded Wednesday to 13 Lahainaluna High School graduates attending schools on the U.S. mainland.

“Even being a senior, I really didn’t know if I was going to pursue higher education anymore, only because I didn’t want to leave my family in the situation that we were in,” she recalled of her feelings after the fire.

Her school survived the blaze, but was closed for two months. The reopening restored a small sense of normalcy and reignited her dream to attend college beyond Hawaii's shores. She also realized a college degree would put her in a better position to help her family's long-term recovery.

She applied to colleges with nursing programs, channeled her feelings about surviving the fire into scholarship essays and decided she would attend UNLV — partly because its popularity among Hawaii students would make it feel a bit like home.

Using a grant from the Maui Strong Fund of the Hawaii Community Foundation, the Downtown Athletic Club of Hawaii is providing Baniqued and her 12 classmates with about $25,000 each — meant to cover out-of-state college costs after other scholarships and financial aid for the first year.

“A lifechanging opportunity like this can be beneficial to any Hawaii high school graduate, and even more so for Lahainaluna graduates and all they’ve gone through,” said Keith Amemiya, president of athletic club, which has been spearheading a fundraising campaign to support the Lahainaluna student-athletes and coaches whose homes were destroyed by the fire.

In a separate effort after the fire, the University of Hawaii announced scholarships for 2024 Lahainaluna graduates to attend any campus in the statewide system. Nearly 80% of a graduating class of 215 applied to UH campuses, according to school data. As of last week, 105 students had registered at a UH school, leading to a record-number of college-bound Lahainaluna graduates, school officials said, who expect that number to increase by mid-August.

Ginny Yasutake, a Lahainaluna counselor, reached out to Amemiya to see if there was a way to do something similar to the UH scholarship for student athletes who opted to leave Hawaii for college.

With help from the Hawaii Community Foundation, they found funding to help even students who weren't athletes. Both organizations are committed to finding a way to provide the scholarships beyond freshman year of out-of-state college and also to underclassmen affected by the fire, Amemiya said.

“These scholarships kind of came in as a last-minute dream," said Principal Richard Carosso.

And the Hawaii scholarships provided an opportunity to many who never thought college was even possible, he said.

Pursuing college highlights the resilience of a graduating class whose freshman year of high school was disrupted by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Carosso said.

Emily Hegrenes, headed to the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in her scholarship essay about how she had to find a way to train as a swimmer because the Lahaina Aquatic Center was closed in a restricted burn zone.

“But for my final high school season, I worked harder than ever to recruit enough swimmers to hold team practice at a pool forty-five-minutes away from my hometown," she wrote. “With my Lahaina cap on, I proudly dove straight into my fears.”

Talan Toshikiyo, who plans to attend Oxnard College in California, said he aspires to become an engineer and attain financial stability because it was already difficult for Native Hawaiians like him, and other locals, to afford living in Hawaii before the fire.

“I hope Lahaina is not changed when I come back from the Mainland,” he wrote in his essay. “I dream one day all the rent in Maui will be lower so locals will be able to afford it and not have to move far far away.”

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduates pose with family members during a scholarship presentation in the school's library Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduate Keith Baniqued applauds alongside father Johnny Baniqued during a scholarship presentation in the school's library Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduate Keith Baniqued poses with father Johnny Baniqued during a scholarship presentation in the school's library Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduate Emily Hegrenes poses with her scholarship announcement in the school's library Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduates pose with Downtown Athletic Club of Hawaii President Keith Amemiya, left, after a scholarship presentation Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

Lahainaluna High School 2024 graduate Talan Toshikiyo, center, stands by little sister Taleah Toshikiyo and school college and career counselor Ginny Yasutake as he opens his scholarship announcement in the school's library Wednesday, July 31, 2024, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Matthew Thayer)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich is recovering from what the San Antonio Spurs described as a mild stroke, though there is no timetable for the NBA's longest-tenured coach to return to the sideline.

Popovich had the stroke on Nov. 2 at the arena where the Spurs play, the team said Wednesday, and has already started a rehabilitation program with belief that he will make a full recovery. The team released no other details, including what aftereffects of the stroke — if any — that he is dealing with.

“It's a difficult time for everyone,” Spurs general manager Brian Wright said. “Coach Pop has been the leader of this organization for the last three decades. We all have come across or know people that just have a different aura, a difference presence about them. Clearly, he's one of those people. When we walk into the building each and every day, we feel that leadership, we feel that presence and so not having him there's clearly a void. And we miss him.”

The 75-year-old Popovich is the NBA's all-time win leader who has led the Spurs to five championships, plus guided USA Basketball to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He is in his 29th season as coach of the Spurs.

“He's doing well. He's doing well. ... He's tough, he's a fighter and he's going to work,” Wright said. “We're all here for him, but he's doing OK.”

Assistant coach Mitch Johnson has been the acting head coach in Popovich’s absence. The Spurs beat Washington 139-130 on Wednesday night, the the seventh straight game in which Johnson has filled in for Popovich.

“Mitch has been great,” Spurs rookie Stephon Castle said Wednesday, before the team announced the details about Popovich’s health. “Even when Pop was here, he’s always had a voice in our huddles and in our locker room. Our philosophies haven’t been changed.”

Victor Wembanyama, who scored a career-high 50 points in the win over the Wizards, said the team first learned about Popovich’s stroke before the team’s announcement.

“Of course I’m a bit worried about Pop,” Wembanyama said. “At the same time, I haven’t talked to him, but I know what mindset he’s on right on. I know he’s working like crazy, probably to come back with us as soon as possible. I trust him. I trust the people taking care of him right now. I hope he’s not going to be away from us for too long.”

A stroke happens when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked or if a blood vessel in the brain bursts. That deprives the brain of oxygen which can cause brain damage that can lead to difficulty thinking, talking and walking, or even death. Strokes may lead to difficulty speaking, paralysis or loss of movement in certain muscles, memory loss and more.

It is unknown if Popovich is dealing with any aftereffects of the stroke.

Stroke was the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than half a million Americans have a stroke every year.

The Spurs were playing the Minnesota Timberwolves at home on Nov. 2, and Popovich's medical episode occurred there in the hours before that game. Johnson took over for that night's contest, which the Spurs won, after the team said Popovich was not feeling well.

Johnson and Popovich spoke on Nov. 3, and on Nov. 4 Johnson said Popovich is “in good spirits ... he'll be OK. He is OK.” The Spurs had not released much in the way of details since, prior to Wednesday's announcement about the stroke.

Wright raved about the way Johnson and the Spurs have bonded and dealt with the absence of the team's leader.

“It's exactly what Coach Pop would want us to do,” Wright said. “And so, it's on all of us to play our part, to play our role, to continue to lean on each other, support one another and be there for one another.”

Popovich is one of only three coaches to win the NBA coach of the year award three times, Don Nelson and Pat Riley being the others. He’s one of five coaches with at least five NBA titles; Phil Jackson (11), Red Auerbach (9), John Kundla (5) and Riley (5) are the others.

Popovich has been part of the Spurs for nearly 35 years. He was an assistant coach from 1988 through 1992, then returned to the club on May 31, 1994, as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager. He made the decision to fire coach Bob Hill and appoint himself coach on Dec. 10, 1996.

He's been the Spurs' sideline boss ever since.

“We look forward to the day that we can welcome him back,” Wright said.

Popovich's 29-year run with the Spurs is a span the likes of which has been nearly unmatched in U.S. major pro sports history.

Connie Mack managed the Philadelphia Athletics for 50 years, George Halas coached the Chicago Bears for 40 years and John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 31 years. Those three tenures — all wrapping up well over a half-century ago — are the only ones exceeding Popovich’s run with the Spurs; his 29-year era in San Antonio to this point matches the tenures that Dallas Cowboys’ Tom Landry and the Green Bay Packers’ Curly Lambeau had in those jobs.

Reynolds reported from Miami.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gives instructions to his players during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)

San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul has a word with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich reacts after a call by the official, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)