Kamehameha Schools Maui senior’s storytelling lands her free tuition at UH-Manoa

PUKALANI (HawaiiNewsNow) - Nanea Ah You, 18, has been named Kamehameha Schools Maui’s salutatorian this year.

The honor is just one of her many accomplishments so far.

Ah You wants to be a filmmaker when she grows up. She has been fascinated with visual storytelling for as long as she can remember. “I always had my hands on a camera since I was really young,” said Nanea.

“I just wanted to capture all these moments in my life.”

Nanea and her parents thought they were doing an interview with Hawaii News Now for an award she recently won in Olelo Community Media’s Youth Xchange Student Video Competition. However, during the interview, they learned that she won another award – the “Take Me to Manoa” contest with one full year of free tuition to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Thank you!” Nanea said.

Nanea said she always wanted to be a Rainbow Warrior.

“I just thought that UH Manoa is a good fit for me,” she said. “I think that with this help and just going out in my local community of Hawaii, I just know that I can be able to do what I want to do, just share the stories of my people.”

“It’s pretty amazing what she’s been accomplishing this year. We’re very proud of her because she puts in a lot of work,” said Nanea’s mother, Kamuela. “She’s gotten a national award, and then the Olelo, and this. It’s been quite an amazing thing to watch.”

“Just excited for her and her future and the potential she has and the passion she has and thankful for the chance she had here and this for this opportunity that we’ve been given,” added Nanea’s. father Jason.

“It’s always rewarding to be able to provide these opportunities for the local kids,” said University of Hawaii Manoa Admissions Counselor Jose Magno. “We’re really happy that we’re able to provide the year worth of tuition to her. It’s pretty incredible to see the reaction and for the parents to be here too.”

Nanea said she can’t wait to tell stories that make a difference in her community.

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