BIO: My name is Kelly Mukai and I am a sophomore at Brown University studying environmental engineering and pursuing a certificate in entrepreneurship. I am from Pearl City, HI and attended ‘Iolani School from K-12. I am very interested in water quality and caring for our environment, so this scholarship from HWEA means so much to me!

When did you win the HWEA scholarship, what did you use it for?

I received the HWEA scholarship at the 2023 Pacific Water Conference in February. This scholarship was put toward my college tuition for the upcoming fall semester!

How did the scholarship positively impact?

This scholarship really helped my family financially. My family is currently paying for two college tuitions, so this

scholarship has been such a blessing, and we are all extremely appreciative! Thank you so much HWEA!!

Where do you work now?

At Brown, I work as an undergraduate teaching assistant for an introductory engineering course and serve as the Vice President of Programming for Delta Gamma Sorority. I also work as a peer advisor for incoming freshmen who are interested in engineering and as an events co-chair for Brown’s Engineering Departmental Undergraduate Group. Last summer, I interned at Brown and Caldwell’s Honolulu Office, and I will be interning there again this upcoming summer!

Advice for starting engineers? Or students looking into a career in the water industry?

I am a starting engineer myself, so I don’t know if I can give any advice yet haha! My favorite class that I’ve taken at Brown, though, was an environmental engineering class which looked heavily at water quality! I feel that the water industry is such an important and evolving field with many opportunities, and it is something I could definitely see myself pursuing in the future!