Josephine Forman Scholarship: Hinaikawaihiʻilei Keala

Hinaikawaihiʻilei Keala is the 2021 recipient of the Josephine Forman Scholarship sponsored by the General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, in cooperation with the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The $10,000 scholarship provides financial support to minority students pursuing graduate education in archival science, encourages students to pursue careers as archivists, and promotes the diversification of the American archives profession.

Keala is pursuing dual master’s degrees in Hawaiian studies and library and information science with an Archives Certification at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is a graduate research assistant for Native Hawaiian Student Services at the university, a student service office under the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge that offers culture-based and experiential learning opportunities for Native Hawaiian students. Keala oversees the officeʻs Kekaulike internship program and assists with programming. Her passion for preserving Hawaiian culture and history led her to pursue a career in archives. Seeing a need for the Hawaiian language to be present in archival access points, she is focused on preserving and providing access to Hawaiian-language archival materials for the Indigenous community.

Keala has devoted her career to serving her community and Hawaiian people. As one of her recommenders wrote, “She engages in the work she does because she cares about issues of justice and humanity and wants to see positive changes made in our community. As such, an investment in Keala is an investment in the larger communities of Hawaiʻi that she is committed to and will continue to work in service for.”

The Josephine Forman Scholarship was established in 2010 and is named for Josephine Forman, who served as archivist for eighteen years at the Southwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church.