2024 Awardees of the Sophia-APIC-BRMC Scholarship

In 2017, the Micronesia Conservation Trust, in partnership with Sophia University and the Association for the Promotion of International Cooperation in Tokyo, Japan, launched a graduate scholarship as part of the Micronesia Challenge (MC 2030) initiative. With this partnered scholarship, Sophia University has committed to providing full-tuition scholarships; APIC is covering travel and room and board expenses, and MCT, through the BRMC funds, is covering the cost of internships for the scholars. Every year, they select up to two Micronesian students to pursue their master’s studies at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. The scholarship has supported over 10 Micronesian students in earning their master's degrees. All the scholarship recipients have returned home and are now working in their areas of interest, contributing to the MC 2030 initiative in various ways.

This year, the scholarship program has accepted two students, Ms. Tromainne Joab and Mr. Luke Carlos, both citizens of Pohnpei FSM, to pursue their master's at the School of Global Environmental Studies beginning in September 2024. Ms. Joab completed her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Hawai’i-Hilo in Spring 2023, while Mr. Carlos recently graduated from the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, with a degree in Biology and Geospatial Science in June 2024. We are thrilled and proud of these young Micronesians who are pursuing their studies and plan to return home to contribute to their communities.

For more information about the scholarship, please contact the Micronesia Conservation Trust at breyuw@ourmicronesia.org.