Kye Kukahiko, a freshman at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been awarded the $5,000 Robert Kekaula Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student Scholarship.
KITV Sports Director, UH Sports Circle of Honor Inductee, and celebrated actor and musician Robert Kekaula is remembered through his namesake scholarship. Previously limited to Native Hawaiian recipients, Kukahiko is the first award recipient since the award has been expanded to include Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Kukahiko received the award in part due to her reporting on the 2024 Lahaina fires. Kukahiko was a member of the broadcast club at Kamehameha High School on Maui. Her reporting on the Lahaina fires was the first project of that scale she had taken on. Kukahiko explained that most of the reporting she had done with the broadcast club was entertainment-based, focusing on issues within her high school.
Hailing from Lahaina herself, Kukahiko’s coverage of the fires hit close to home. She spoke about how the positivity she saw in the Lahaina community inspired her.
“My goal was to create something informative, but also uplifting,” Kukahiko said, regarding her planning for coverage of the Lahaina story. “I can’t focus solely on the devastation, because the news is doing that for me.”
Kukahiko entered the experience with a passion for broadcast journalism. Though she has been developing her skills in front of the camera, she has always felt most at home behind the scenes in editing and production.
“There was something about editing that I liked,” Kukahiko said. “Being able to find different techniques and ways to show things in a visual and creative way.”
Kukahiko said editing her Lahaina coverage was hard at the beginning. As she edited news clips together, Kukahiko’s screen was constantly filled with images of Lahaina burning. She was encouraged to continue because she knew how important the work was.
“I realized how much more fulfilling it was to do that type of video,” Kukahiko said, referencing the type of videos she had made in the past covering her high school. “It was also my way of coping with it.”
One of the last videos she did in that class was on the restoration of Lahaina.
“A very full circle moment,” Kukahiko reflected.
After receiving the scholarship, Kukahiko received an outpouring of support, including being invited to be interviewed on Channel 4 News. Kukahiko said she received “responses from all types of people.”
Kukahiko kept the spirit of her reporting uplifting and positive, even while covering a devastating issue very close to her heart. The Robert Kekaula Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Student Scholarship awarded her dedication to community and reporting.
Kukahiko is continuing to study journalism at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She looks forward to continuing to pursue her passion for broadcast journalism and learning her boundaries – or lack thereof.
“Looking at all the good that’s happened so far,” said Kukahiko, “it gives me good hopes for the future. I’m just looking forward to seeing what else I can do.”
