UH Hilo Press Release
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Date: Thursday, June 12, 2003
Contact: Dianne Higgins, (808) 974-7688
For Immediate Release
UH Hilo senior earns prestigious fellowship
Lenore Pu`uohau-Pummill earns prestigious fellowship
A University of Hawai`i at Hilo student has earned a prestigious fellowship from one of the world’s foremost human and social development organizations.
Lenore Pu`uohau-Pummill was one of 15 candidates selected nationwide for the New Voices Fellowship, administered by the Academy for Educational Development (AED). She was chosen from a total of 400 applicants and was the only student from the State of Hawai`i to be selected for the fellowship.
Pu`uohau-Pummill said she was shocked by the news of her selection. She hopes her example will be a source of encouragement for others.
“To be chosen from so many applicants nationwide is a great honor,” Pu`uohau-Pummill said. “But to receive it as a 45-year-old non-traditional student of Hawaiian ancestry makes it extra special.”
The New Voices Fellowship is one of over 250 programs worldwide and in all 50 states administered by (AED), which connects people with learning skills and opportunities to improve their lives. Major areas of focus include health, education, youth and leadership development and the environment.
Pu`uohau-Pummill is a senior, who will graduate with bachelor degrees in religious studies and philosophy at the end of the first summer session this month, and plans to eventually attend law school. She will begin working as a community advocate/educator with Turning Point for Families, a non-profit organization specializing in domestic violence on July 1, before traveling to New York in August for her New Fellows orientation.
“It is every graduate’s dream to be able to apply your major to a profession that will contribute in a significant way to your community,” Pu`uohau-Pummill said. “This opportunity will enable me to do so.”
Upon her return to Hawai`i, Pu`uohau-Pummill will work with both the private and public sectors, including schools, government and law enforcement agencies to educate them on how domestic violence impacts their business and community at large.
Students selected for the fellowship typically receive $6,000 per year over a period of two years to help with repayment of student loans incurred while pursuing their degrees. Pu`uohau-Pummill’s fellowship will pay her entire salary during the first year of employment, and 85 percent during the second year, with her host organization picking up the balance, including benefits.
For more information about the New Voices Fellowship or the Academy for Educational Development, please visit AED online at www.aed.org.
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