The University of Hawaii Hilo received $3 million from an anonymous donor that will fund three scholarships, including a first-ever endowment to support LGBTQ students.

It’s the largest scholarship endowment ever received by UH Hilo, according to a press release.

The scholarships are not limited to specific majors, but students must be enrolled full-time at UH Hilo to qualify. The students will receive the funds starting in the 2022-23 school year.

“We are grateful for this groundbreaking gift, the largest ever for UH Hilo, that will benefit so many under-represented and often marginalized students with scholarship funds that help them complete their UH journey,” UH President David Lassner said Tuesday in a news release.

“This donor is especially remarkable for their generosity and passion — and compassion — for bringing equity to deserving students who are often overlooked and most in need to succeed in attaining a college education,” he added.

The donation will fund the Kruschel LGBTQ+ Endowed Scholarship, which the university said is a first for the entire UH system.

It also will go toward the Kruschel First-Generation Endowed Scholarship, which gives preference to students who are the first in their families to attend college; and the Kruschel Endowed Scholarship, which is open to students who graduated from a Hawaii island high school.

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