Overview:
**A scholarship with a 40-year legacy is helping a Palauan student pursue her engineering dreams.** Seattle University civil engineering student Ylianna K. Rudimch is this year’s recipient of the Ekei Women’s Organization annual scholarship. She says the award will ease the financial burden of studying away from home while reminding her that her community believes in her future.
By: Summer Kennard
KOROR, Palau (August 20, 2026) “Hard work goes a long way,” said Palauan student Ylianna K. Rudimch, who has received this year’s annual scholarship from the Ekei Women’s Organization to help support her studies in civil engineering at Seattle University.
Rudimch is pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering at Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, and hopes to further her studies in environmental or structural engineering.
The Ekei Women’s Organization has maintained a long-standing commitment to supporting higher education in Palau. The Ekei Association was established in 1982, and the organization began awarding scholarships in 1984. Since then, it has awarded one scholarship each year to a Palauan student pursuing higher education.
Rudimch said she applied because of the organization’s deep roots in the community and its longstanding support for education.
“Ekei Women’s Organization has been around even before I was born and is deeply rooted in the community,” Rudimch said. “I was familiar with them and wanted to apply because they support higher education.”
Studying thousands of miles from home also brings significant expenses, she said, making the scholarship especially meaningful.
“This scholarship would help me pay for some of my tuition and reduce the financial stress that comes with attending college, which would help me focus more on my classes and continue working toward my degree,” Rudimch said.
Beyond the financial assistance, Rudimch said the scholarship represents a vote of confidence from her community and a reminder that organizations in Palau are willing to invest in students pursuing their education.
“This scholarship means a lot to me because it reminds me that hard work goes a long way and that there are people and organizations here at home who will invest in you because they believe in and support higher education,” she said.
Rudimch expressed her appreciation to the Ekei Women’s Organization and the Palau National Scholarship Board for their support and the opportunity to receive the scholarship.
“I truly appreciate their support and the opportunity they’ve given me,” she said. “I am encouraged and motivated to continue to strive to do my best.”
Rudimch also hopes her education will eventually bring her back home to contribute to Palau.
“I hope to one day return home and give back to my community and contribute to the future of Palau,” she said.
Rudimch said scholarships such as the Ekei award are important not only because they help students meet the financial demands of college, but also because they demonstrate that the community values education.
“I think that scholarships like this are important for students in Palau because they provide financial support and can lessen the stress that comes with paying for college,” she said. “More importantly, they show students that our community prioritizes education and wants to see us succeed.”
The Ekei Women’s Organization’s scholarship program now spans more than four decades, continuing a tradition established in the 1980s of investing in Palau’s students and supporting their pursuit of higher education.