{"id":170405,"date":"2022-12-13T13:48:54","date_gmt":"2022-12-13T23:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=170405"},"modified":"2022-12-21T17:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T03:18:12","slug":"graduating-student-raiyan-rafid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/graduating-student-raiyan-rafid\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduating student\u2019s passion feeds fellow students in need"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Raiyan Rafid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thousands of pounds of fresh produce and bread have been distributed to hungry students at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/a>, because of the commitment of one very passionate student.<\/p>\n

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Raiyan Rafid<\/strong>, who will graduate from UH<\/abbr> Mānoa in December 2022 with a master\u2019s degree in finance, has given up almost all of his Saturdays since October 2021 to collect fresh produce and bread from farmer’s markets to supplement Food Vault Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span><\/a> pantry in conjunction with Aloha Harvest.<\/p>\n

“I know firsthand how students on a budget often don’t get to buy fresh produce and bread because of the high price,” said Rafid. “I was motivated to help because I knew that I could help create a bridge between those who want to donate and those in need.”<\/p>\n

Check out photos from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa’s commencement ceremony<\/a><\/span>\t<\/p>\n

During the past year, Rafid’s efforts have provided more than 5,000 pounds of fresh produce and bread for UH<\/abbr> Mānoa students.<\/p>\n

“There are generous vendors at Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College<\/a> and Kakaʻako<\/span> Farmer’s Market who are willing to donate leftover bread and produce for our students in need,” said Rafid. “It was easy for me to give up my Saturdays to pick up donations because it meant on Mondays that students would have fresh produce and bread.”<\/p>\n

Rafid has been working with the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Office of Student Life and Development<\/a> since October 2021. He originally came to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> as an international student from Bangladesh in 2015. Since then, Rafid has earned an associate degree from Kapiʻolani<\/span> CC<\/abbr> (2018) and a bachelor of arts in psychology from UH<\/abbr> Mānoa (2020).<\/p>\n

Serving students, center of Rafid\u2019s college life<\/h2>\n

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Serving in student organizations has been the center of Rafid\u2019s college life. This has included his role as president of the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa Campus Center Board, treasurer of the UH<\/abbr> Student Caucus<\/a>, and vice president of the Associated Students of University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> (ASUH<\/abbr>), which included initiating the ʻŌlelo<\/span> Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Initiative, a free Hawaiian language curriculum open to the public at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa in 2020.<\/p>\n