2026 marks the third year of the UPW Foundation Jimmy Toledo Scholarship. In its first two years, 13 scholarships have been awarded to students across the state within our UPW ohana. This year, the UPW Foundation is once again increasing its scholarship offerings thanks to the support of our sponsors and donors. In 2024, during its inaugural year, $1,000 scholarships were awarded to five local high school seniors. The following year, those five scholarships were awarded again, along with three more $1,000 scholarships to college students. For 2026, the UPW Foundation is proud to allocate a total of $12,000 in scholarships: five $1,000 scholarships for graduating high school seniors, five $1,000 scholarships for college students, and one $2,000 scholarship for a college student majoring in Political Science, Labor Studies, or Labor Relations.
With the application period for this year’s Jimmy Toledo Scholarship is now open, we reached out to previous recipients to learn about their college experiences, how the scholarship has aided their education, and what their future goals are. In the first installment of our new series, we are pleased to highlight Kiana Cueto and Maddox Tyau.
Kiana Cueto
Growing up in Waianae on Oahu, Kiana Cueto developed a strong admiration for her community. As a graduate of Damien Memorial School, she lived with her grandparents during the week because they lived closer to the school, and she would go home on weekends. While it was difficult being away from her parents and siblings, Kiana said it was good preparation for college in Washington, making the transition to living on her own on the mainland less challenging. She shared that she knows of several classmates who also went to the mainland for college but have already returned to Hawaii. “Being able to stay strong-headed on my own independently, and just doing what I have to do here,” Kiana reflected, “I would say that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Kiana, an avid volleyball player, aimed to compete in college while also pursuing a career in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ultrasound). These goals influenced her choice of college. She earned a volleyball scholarship at Walla Walla University and played on the team during her freshman year. Academically, she enrolled in the school’s Radiology Program, but was disappointed to find no ultrasound courses offered. She quickly researched other Washington schools with both ultrasound programs and volleyball teams, discovering Bellevue College. She contacted the coach, who invited her to try out for the team. Her tryout was successful, earning her a volleyball scholarship at Bellevue and allowing her to follow her dream of studying Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
Growing up, Kiana’s parents encouraged her to get a college education. Her father, Jose Cueto, works at Halawa Correctional Facility and heard about the Jimmy Toledo Scholarship and suggested she apply. A major concern for Kiana was not taking out any loans so finding scholarships to cover expenses was a strong motivation. Kiana said housing is one of the biggest expenses she has at college and the Jimmy Toledo Scholarship award was a big help. She recommends that any student graduating from high school or already in college apply for the scholarship because it can take a load off your shoulders and allow you to focus more on your studies, sports, or extracurricular activities. “Take all of the resources that you can and use it to make your life easier as a college student.”
After graduating, Kiana says her goal is to come back home and help her community by working as an Ultrasound Tech at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. She is aware the facility has the capacity for it, but there are currently no specialists working the ultrasound machines there. She is driven to become that person who can provide those services and give back to the community that raised her. “If you take care of your kuleana, everything else will fall into place,” Kiana expressed.
Maddox Tyau
Now in his 2nd year at the University of Hawaii Maui College, Maddox Tyau is on his way to achieving his dream of becoming a Head Chef at a fine restaurant. Graduating from Maui High School, Maddox said he decided to pursue culinary school because he loves cooking. While he enjoys his classes, he shared that his days are long, usually starting at 8:00am and ending at 6:00pm. On a typical day, he will begin in the classroom like a normal college class before he and his classmates transition to the kitchen for hands-on practice and demonstrations. Following clean up, they head back into the classroom to wrap up the day’s learning. On some days, they will put their lessons into real world training and run a mock restaurant, doing everything from food prep and cooking to serving actual customers. On other days, they will take field trips to places such as wineries, distilleries, or farms to get deeper insight into the ingredients and understand how components come together into a cohesive menu. Outside of class, Maddox is gaining additional experience working as a Line Cook at Humble Market Kitchen in Wailea.
His father, Brian Tyau, works for the County of Maui Department of Water Supply and told Maddox about the Jimmy Toledo Scholarship. Maddox said he was surprised when he found out he was selected because he never thought of himself as a good writer. But he was thankful to have been chosen since the award helped him offset a number of unforeseen expenses. Being a chef requires having a lot of quality equipment and the scholarship award helped him acquire a nice set of knives, specific cooking tools like tweezers, plating equipment, and spatulas, as well as an official chef’s uniform costing around $400.
Maddox encourages other students to apply for the scholarship because “you never know what will happen and it will help you financially, especially with unexpected expenses.” He also shared that he couldn’t qualify for several other scholarships and feels fortunate to have a parent who is a UPW member, making him eligible to apply for the Jimmy Toledo Scholarship.
Apply Now
Applications are now being accepted for the 2026 Jimmy Toledo Scholarship. For complete details and to apply, go to: upwfoundation.org/scholarship
The application deadline is Friday, April 17, 2026 at 12:00pm HST.
