2023–2024 Recipient
The 2023–2024 First Insurance Scholarship in Climate Change is awarded to Ashlyn Godbehere. Ashlyn is a junior majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Management. Ashlyn, who is originally from Arizona, strives to be an advocate for sustainable practices and the protection of natural resources. Ashlyn’s approach can be summed up by this quote by Ross Perot: “The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” Congratulations, Ashlyn!
2023–2024 Recipient
The 2023–2024 First Insurance Scholarship in Climate Change is also awarded to Raquel Aviles. Raquel is majoring in Sustainability through Interdisciplinary Studies. Originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, Raquel transferred to UH Mānoa from a community college in San Diego. Raquel first experienced the magic of the Hawaiian Islands during a WWOOF opportunity on a permaculture farm on the North Shore of Oʻahu. Before that, Raquel was studying the intersection of soil science, regenerative agriculture and plant medicine, which is her lifelong passion and inspiration which led her to pursue a path in the environmental field. Raquel says, “Stewarding the land is an act of radical care not only for the Earth but also for one another. Climate change will require as much a shift in policy and regulation as it will in mindset, lifestyle, and societies globally. We all have a part to play. In the words of Margaret Mead, ʻNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’” Congratulations, Raquel!
Previous Recipients
2022–2023 Recipient: Talia Schmidt, Botany degree.
2021–2022 Recipient: Alejandro Silva, Bachelor of Arts degree in Sustainability through Interdisciplinary Studies.
2021–2022 Recipient: Serene Danielle Smalley, Interdisciplinary Studies with emphasis on Watershed Resources Management.
The First Insurance Scholarship in Climate Change is awarded annually to full-time undergraduate students with an interest in studying and taking action regarding climate change, both its causes and consequences.
For more information and to apply, please see the First Insurance Scholarship in Climate Change at star.hawaii.edu.
Mahalo to First Insurance Company of Hawaiʻi for providing this support.