  {"id":205132,"date":"2024-10-16T14:49:57","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T00:49:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=205132"},"modified":"2024-10-16T14:49:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T00:49:57","slug":"ulu-lehua-scholars-50-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/16\/ulu-lehua-scholars-50-years\/","title":{"rendered":"<abbr>UH<\/abbr> law school\u2019s Ulu Lehua Scholars Program celebrates 50 years"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_205145\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-205145\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-2.jpg\" alt=\"group photo\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-205145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-2.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-2-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-205145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ulu Lehua Scholars Program classmates and Professor Dina Shek on a site visit to see the work of the Medical Legal Partnership for Children.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> at M&#257;noa <a href=\"https:\/\/law.hawaii.edu\/\">William S. Richardson School of Law<\/a> is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.hawaii.edu\/academics\/jd-juris-doctor-program\/ulu-lehua-scholars-program\/\">Ulu Lehua Scholars Program<\/a>, a groundbreaking initiative that has opened the doors of legal education to students from <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\u2019s\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> diverse communities since 1974.<\/p>\n<p>Rooted in a deep commitment to social justice, the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program reflects the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.hawaii.edu\/about-us\/\">law school\u2019s mission<\/a> to make legal education accessible to those who demonstrate academic potential, leadership and a dedication to community service. Since the establishment of the program, the law school has graduated 445 scholars.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"flower\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-205146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/manoa-law-ulu-lehua-scholars.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Ulu Lehua Scholars Program is an important aspect of fulfilling our mission as a law school committed to <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span>, the larger Pacific Region, and to social justice,&rdquo; Dean Camille Nelson said. &ldquo;We are proud of the ways in which this program has recognized talent in our communities both near and far, and the determination of people to make a difference through the uplift and insight that comes from a legal education.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Each year, a select group of scholars&#8212;chosen for their academic promise and commitment to social justice&#8212;embark on a journey that begins with a tailored first-year curriculum designed to foster their growth in a supportive professional environment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I am so impressed every year with the caliber of our Ulu Lehua Scholars and the passion for justice that they bring to our Richardson community,&rdquo; said Troy Andrade, director of the Ulu Lehua Scholars Program. &ldquo;From our early days in the quarry as the Pre-Admission to Law School Program, our Lehua Program has guided some of the most talented legal minds in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> and across the Pacific to careers in service of others.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Bronson Gonzales \u201826<\/h2>\n<p>Growing up in <span aria-label=\"Waianae,\">Wai&#699;anae,<\/span> Gonzales says he witnessed firsthand the harmful stereotypes surrounding his community. Determined to break those negative narratives, he chose law school to challenge these perceptions and serve as a role model for future generations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Ulu Lehua Scholars Program has provided me with a supportive community and mentorship, empowering me to push forward in my pursuit of justice,&rdquo; Gonzales said.<\/p>\n<h2>Angie Anderson \u201825<\/h2>\n<p>As a former independent artist, Anderson pursued law school to become a legal advocate for underrepresented voices in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\u2019s\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> arts and entertainment industry. She shared how meeting an alumnus during her first-year summer internship shows the strength of the Lehua network.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The care and generosity extended to me during that time showed me how invaluable the Lehua Scholars program is\u2014not just in law school, but in life and career,&rdquo; Anderson said.<\/p>\n<p>The <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> law school will host a gala on November 2, to commemorate the program\u2019s milestone and to raise support for future Lehua scholars. For more information, <a href=\"https:\/\/law.hawaii.edu\/24091\/\">see the <abbr>UH<\/abbr> law school website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since the establishment of the program, the law school has graduated 445 scholars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[643,154,911,9,68],"class_list":["post-205132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-anniversary","tag-law","tag-program-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","tag-william-s-richardson-school-of-law","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205132"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205149,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205132\/revisions\/205149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}