Habele Scholarships

125 Micronesian Students Awarded Habele Tuition Scholarships

A US nonprofit, established by former Peace Corps Volunteers, is awarding tuition scholarships to 125 students across the Federated States of Micronesia. Funded entirely by the annual donations of individual Americans, the scholarships help cover tuition costs at independent elementary and high schools within the FSM.

Habele’s tuition scholarships ensure bright, hardworking students have access to the best elementary and secondary education possible. Based on need and merit, each Habele tuition scholarships is set at a level that maintains family ownership in student achievement while lightening the financial burden.

The scholarships cover between 50 and 75 percent of tuition and fees. Students must maintain and report high levels of academic achievement every term, applying each year for continued support.

Since 2006, more than 230 students in Micronesia have benefited from the program, which started with a single student seventeen years ago.

Of the 125 Habele Scholars for 2023-24, roughly 60 percent are female; two thirds are in elementary school, and three-in-five are from neighboring islands. Among the incumbents the average student is entering their third year as a scholarship recipient. Of the 56 students awarded scholarship last year, 52 were awarded renewals for 2023-24, one migrated to the US, two graduated high school and departed for higher education, and only one failed to report or reapply.

“Everyone -parents, teachers, and community members- want young people who are prepared to meet the challenges of the future” explained Neil Mellen, Habele’s Founder. “These targeted scholarships provide support to engaged families who are making sacrifices to provide educational opportunities for their children. Habele wants to help ensure these ambitious hardworking students are prepared to sustain and improve quality of life for their islands.

habele Scholarships

Habele launches 2023-24 Scholarship Fundraising

Banner Photo: Kahlea Yaromal and Rayona Bernardo, in 3rd and 4th grade respectively, are Habele scholars attending Pohnpei Catholic School.

Every spring Habele reasches out American citizens with some connection to Micronesia, asking for support to award it’s annual K12 tuition scholarships.

Promising students who need financial assistance to attend Micronesia’s top-rated elementary and high schools send Habele applications. The Fund writes checks to the school in the students’ names for fifty to seventy five percent of tuition owed. Their families pay the rest. Over the school year these students provide Habele report cards, photos and letters to report on their academic progress.

Photo: Slayton Igem is a junior at Yap Catholic High School.

Each year, the number of scholarships awarded depends on the response to this letter -Habele’s only annual fundrasing effort- and donations made at the end of the calendar year. Habele’s scholarship are entirely funded by individual donations, never grants. The bulk of Habele’s supporters are returned Peace Corps Volunteers, former State Department offocials, family of US serviceman or officials who served in the Islands, academics with regional expertise, and tourists who fell in love with Micronesia while visiting.

Photo: Shyaleen Ilawegimal of Ifaluk (Yap State) is a sixth grader attending Faith Christian Academy on Yap. In March she proudly sent a copy of her latest report card showing her 4.0 grade point average.

“I am very proud of all of Habele’s work. High school robotics, targeted book donations and cultural mentorships are all highly effective and efficient,” explained Neil Mellen, Habele’s Founder. “But our tuition scholarships -the direct investment in the future of a singular young Micronesian working to advance themselves- is what I take greatest pride in.””

Photo: Karishma Paul is a sophomore at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School in Pohnpei. Karishma won first place in the Pohnpei State Department of Education Science Competition in March.

In 2022-23 Habele awarded 56 tuition scholarships to students from across the four Micronesian States, attending eight different elementary and high schools. Habele hopes to award 60 scholarships for the 2023-24 school year.

habele Scholarships

Habele Announces 54 Tuition Scholarships for 2022-23

US nonprofit continues to expand access to Micronesia’s highest performing private elementary and high schools.

(Colonia, Yap) Fifty-four promising students across Micronesia have been awarded tuition scholarships to attend the nation’s top-performing private elementary and high schools across three Micronesian states.

The K12 tuition scholarships are provided by Habele, a US nonprofit serving students and schools across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Established by former Peace Corps Volunteers who lived and taught in the Islands, Habele has been granting tuition assistance to Micronesian students since 2006.

“These investments in individual students highlight the deep personal connections between the United States and our allies in the Freely Associated States,” observed US Congresswoman Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen of American Samoa. “Though our governments are united by formal alliances and treaties, it is the personal ties of our peoples, over decades of shared history, that make the relationships truly vibrant. My family lived in Micronesia for almost 17 years, both on Majuro and Saipan and I also lived on Guam while attending the University of Guam, while I have nieces and nephews with Marshallese and Chamorro heritage through marriages of my brothers. As a former Peace Corps employee in the Pacific, “I’m also pleased to see the scholarships were established by former Peace Corps volunteers”

The Compact of Free Association (COFA) allows Micronesian students to come to the United States for college, where they are eligible for generous federal grants that pay for their higher education. However, many young people in Micronesia -particularly from lower income families- aren’t able to take advantage of these opportunities because, they don’t complete high school prepared to succeed in American higher education. Habele’s K12 tuition scholarships help place such students at high achieving, independent schools, and on a path towards ultimately obtaining a college degree.

Habele Scholars come from villages across the hundreds of islands and atolls that comprise the Federated States of Micronesia. Students from Yap, Chuuk, and Pohnpei, as well as their lagoon and outer islands, will be attending eleven different schools in 2022-23, including Xavier High School, Saint Mary’s, Faith Christian Academy, and SDA Schools in Yap, Chuuk and Pohnpei.

The K12 scholarships are entirely funded by donations from individual Americans who support Habele. Most are themselves former Peace Corps Volunteers, civil servants, tourists or contractors who spent time in Micronesia.

This is the seventeenth year Habele has awarded merit and needs-based scholarships, which average between 50 and 75 percent of the total tuition families owe. The nongovernmental organization also provides book donations, support for traditional skills mentorships, and organizes high school-based robotics clubs. Habele remains the only US nonprofit exclusively focused on serving students and schools within the Federated States.

Among the 54 scholarships awarded are several Memorial Scholarships. These honor the legacy of specific individuals whose life or work “embodied the best of the longstanding US-Micronesian partnership.” Introduced this year, the Martin Yinug Memorial Scholarship, honors the late Chief Justice of the Micronesian Supreme Court, and his outspoken commitment to public service, rule of law and judiciary independence. Another, the Marshall Wees Memorial Scholarship, honors a US Navy doctor who battled an outbreak of yaws that was ravaging the native population of Federai Island during the War in the Pacific.

“Being one of the Habele Scholarship recipients for the past two years is a tremendous honor and a joy,” said Sheridan Giltamag. A rising junior at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School, Miss Giltamag earned a 3.9 grade point average over the course of last school year. She and her family have also been involved in WeavingConnections, a Habele program to support mentor-based preservation of traditional weaving skills.

“The scholarship indeed helps my parents with tuition obligations at OLMCHS in Pohnpei. In addition to the financial support, Habele Scholarship has motivated and helped me in many ways, which include keeping up with my grades, spending more time with my school work, and the importance of education and my future.”