Our Graduates
Amber
Winners’ Camp made my future go from whoa to WOW! Freshman year I had a 1.6 GPA and was kicked off my basketball team for having a bad attitude. That summer Delorese mentored me. Sophomore year I got a 3.8 GPA and got the Team Player Award on my basketball team. BOOM! I am a high school history teacher now for the Department of Education and I have convinced my principal that we NEED a ropes course – That is YOUR IMPACT. At work, my nickname is ‘Winners’ Camp’ because I preach your teachings to my co-teachers and students. You were so patient with me….. You never gave up on me….. You gave me the attention and feedback that I needed, Nobody has made an impact in my life the way you did. They made a mistake when they wrote that you have helped 15,000 teenagers. You have helped sooooo many more than that. You healed me and my brothers which resulted in healing for my entire family.
Joseph
My sister and I entered foster care in 2005. Originally, our parents were raising us until it was discovered that we had a meth lab in our home. Our mother was sent to prison and our dad later committed suicide via drug overdose. We were then placed with our grandparents until they were deemed unfit to raise us. This is when we entered foster care and became separated. I grew up with a lot of anger and was often in detention for acting out. Every year it seemed I was doing worse; I was constantly using my past as an excuse for my failures.
I had the most profound experience of my life in August 2005. I had received a full scholarship to attend Winners’ Camp and my life would never be the same. The simplest way I can explain it is that they realigned my attitude towards the world and myself. Winners’ Camp empowered me to take responsibility for my life and “Be Bitter or Be Better.” By the end of camp I was certain that no one had control over my destiny other than myself and it was up to me to use my newfound tools to shape my future. For years I returned to camp and became a Core Leader giving back much as possible. I graduated from UH Hilo with a Bachelor Degree in Economics and Business. The more I return to camp, the more I learn.
What I consider to be very beneficial at camp is experiencing youth with many different backgrounds mingling with each other. There are campers from all walks of life and we all learn from each other. I plan on supporting Winners’ Camp into the future and I strongly recommend it to others as well.
-Joseph O’Connell
Bridget
““YOGOWYPI” You only get out of life what you put in”…I think I like that one the best because I remembered it a lot throughout college. When we set goals we are not only thinking about the things to help get there, but also the things that are stopping [us] from getting there.
“Whether you think you can or can’t: you’re right”…that is absolutely true, with life and golf…with golf, you lose so much more than you win, so [you] must be resilient…you still are making progress and you have to recognize the positives.”
-Bridget Dwyer, Professional Golfer
Pictured Bridget & Daughter Ilikea, 2023, 2024 Graduate
Kaleo
“The first time I went to Winners’ Camp I was 13 years old…I had a mind-blowing experience. The following summer I came back.
The experience definitely provided confidence and self-awareness. As far as academics, I have always been a right-brained person; some of the tools camp gave me have definitely helped me, especially with my creative side and self-confidence.
I have been fortunate to work in a business that supports creativity and honesty for the most part. I think, as a freelancer, Winners’ Camp has given me a lot of confidence and life skills. I have a daughter that is three and I am so amazed at how little instruction there is in the world. The Winners’ Camp experiences definitely made me appreciate other people and be compassionate. I think that is an important major quality in my life.
I think being able to come to a situation in my personal and professional life and being able to be open minded has been important. Winners’ Camp gave me an opportunity at a young age to explore that. When there is a human element in life, it makes or breaks an experience and HLA put me in touch with my heart and my ability to connect with other people. ”
-Kaleo Quenzer, Freelance Director & Art Director
Casey
“So much of Winners’ Camp was training how to be in the world, ways of being, self-confidence. It paved the way for…what type of person I was going to be as an adult. You can choose things that are going to be successful for you or not, and I was really lucky because I had a lot of training how to discern those things, and not be stuck with thinking there was only one answer; there are a million answers to everything. It has been really great, I got to choose things that society does not often think of as “success”: being an artist, a caretaker; it may not look like “success” but if you are true to your vision of who you are and what that success looks like for you, you can do anything.
I became so involved in camp that it is hard to know what influenced me more. The close relationships that formed from camp, the community, friends, who I am still really close to. That was really powerful to make those kinds of bonds with other people. There is trust from having relationships that go back that far.
I think it helped me to be confident enough to pursue my own vision, my own dream. That it was okay to choose a life as an artist, vs. needing to be a doctor, banker, etc. . . It helped free me to choose to be an artist, even though it was not a “safe” road. Winners’ Camp helped me give myself permission to be a creative person.
I am totally about meandering, and have to remind myself where am I going. Winners’ Camp is like a beacon: it reminds me to go back on course. ”
-Casey Holaday, Artist, Jewelry Maker
Darcie
“I was 13 when I first attended Winners’ Camp. The teenage years are difficult; I was trying to figure out who I was and testing the limits. After camp, I realized that I had a great foundation that consisted of a wonderful family, a supportive community and a future full of potential. I saw that I owed it to them to change for the better. Hawai’i Leadership Academy opened me up to the big picture and I saw how I was participating in the world. There I realized that I was blessed to an extent that I could serve my community and commit to making the world a better place.
After high school, I went on to get my B.A. in Communications and my M.A. in public health. Now I work at the Hawai’i Community Foundation as a Philanthropic Service Officer. I help bring people who care to causes that matter.
We learn at camp that ‘Repetition is the Mother of Skill’. Winners’ Camp afforded me great leadership opportunities at a young age, which in turn gave me the confidence to take on leadership roles in high school, college and beyond.
Delorese has always been a great role model and mentor for me. Her vision, energy and passion for young people is an inspiration. Bill Cordes, gave me an interest in the field of Communications and Emma Pavich’s compassion and commitment to helping teens overcome emotional barriers truly made an impression on me.
Winners’ Camp helps you establish a foundation of spiritual and mental and emotional fortitude at an age when most of us are not required to have such strength. The activities provide tools that reinforce personal character, responsibility and compassion.”
-Darcie Yukimura, Vice President of Philonthrapy, KUPU Foundation
Hawkins
“Winners’ Camp was a huge part of my teenage years. …Before I went to Winners’ Camp I was struggling with school. Afterward, I was able to focus more in the classroom, set goals and bring up my GPA…I realized that I could achieve whatever I put my mind, heart, and soul into. After graduating from college, I went onto get my masters degree: something I never would have imagined possible. It was a big accomplishment for me. The same attitude has carried over into my professional life…Once I found photography, I embraced it and did everything possible to make it happen. I remember a saying from Winners’ Camp, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer was, “One bite at a time!” It taught me that I can achieve my goals one step at a time. As a freelance photographer running my own business, there are many challenges and obstacles that I face. But I know that if I have the courage and strength to do whatever it takes, I will succeed. ”
-Hawkins Biggins, Freelance Photographer
Makenna
“I grew up on the north shore and played on the beach my whole childhood, I have always looked for things that I found fun. For me, Winners’ Camp was another outlet for fun…but there were certain skills that definitely helped me build, including leadership skills, organizational skills and self-confidence. I also learned that although challenges might be hard, there was always a way to get through them. Through my successful experiences at Winners’ Camp I learned that I could apply that to my life and succeed. I had always been a reader, but camp enhanced my abilities. Speed-reading, memory work, mind mapping, organization, and learning to summarize information after only just glancing over something: that all really helped. I still use those skills today in my current job.
-Makenna Ross, Manager Nohea Art Gallery