  {"id":234152,"date":"2026-05-12T15:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=234152"},"modified":"2026-05-12T15:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T01:40:40","slug":"meet-lexie-tilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/12\/meet-lexie-tilton\/","title":{"rendered":"A homerun for local housing: Meet Lexie Tilton"},"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_234148\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-234148\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-1.jpg\" alt=\"Lexie Tilton holding trophy\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-234148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-1.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-1-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-234148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tilton was named the 2025 PacWest Conference Co-Defender of the Year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lexie Tilton came to University of <span lang=\"haw\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> at Hilo from <span lang=\"haw\">O&#699;ahu<\/span>&#8216;s <span lang=\"haw\">&#699;Iolani<\/span> School on a softball scholarship\u2014and somewhere between the diamond and the dean\u2019s list, she found her real fight. This spring 2026, she graduates with a <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/academics\/cobe\/finance.php\">Bachelor&#8217;s in Business Finance<\/a> and a <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/academics\/pre-law\/\">Pre-Law Certificate<\/a>, headed to <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr>\u2019s law school with one clear mission: helping local families afford to stay in <span lang=\"haw\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_234149\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-234149\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-2-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"Âé¶¹´«Ã½Hilo softball team\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-234149\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-2-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-2.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-234149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tilton celebrates with her <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo Vulcan teammates<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Initially drawn to <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo for the opportunity to play Division <abbr title=\"two\">II<\/abbr> softball on scholarship, Tilton quickly fell in love with the island&#8217;s welcoming environment.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I love the community here. They say this campus is the most diverse in the world, and it has always felt very inviting and supportive, especially for the athletic community,&rdquo; shared Tilton, <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s #4 outfielder and 2025 PacWest Conference Co-Defender of the Year.<\/p>\n<p>The transition from a structured high school to the freedom of a university setting allowed Tilton, who has repeatedly earned recognition for maintaining a cumulative <abbr>GPA<\/abbr> of 3.30 or higher as a student-athlete, to flourish.<\/p>\n<p>Tilton holds great pride in the world-class education she received. She emphasizes the prestige of the <a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/academics\/cobe\/\">College of Business and Economics<\/a>, which is accredited by the <abbr>AACSB<\/abbr> International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the highest standard for business schools worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>Tilton reflected on the close-knit but powerful nature of the entire university.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We\u2019re small, but we\u2019re feisty, and we get it done,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_234150\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-234150\" style=\"width: 214px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-3-214x300.jpg\" alt=\"Lexie Tilton in front of the law library\" width=\"214\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-234150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-3-214x300.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-3-93x130.jpg 93w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-3.jpg 250w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 214px) 100vw, 214px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-234150\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tilton plans to attend law school at <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa to focus on affordable housing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tilton shared that her academic trajectory was profoundly shaped by <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo\u2019s dedicated faculty. These academic connections proved vital for Tilton, who is already a licensed real estate agent. Inspired by her mother, a first-generation college graduate and realtor, she has sights set on an incredibly noble goal.<\/p>\n<p>This fall, she will attend the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.hawaii.edu\/\">William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of <span lang=\"haw\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> to become a real estate attorney. Her mission is to combat the state\u2019s soaring housing prices.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We want to be able to empower locals to become homeowners by creating more affordable housing so they\u2019re able to stay here,&rdquo; Tilton explained, citing sobering statistics of how many <span lang=\"haw\">Âé¶¹´«Ã½<\/span> natives are forced to move away to make ends meet.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hilo.hawaii.edu\/kukala\/20260507\/lexie-tilton-spring-2026-commencement\/\">For more go to <em>K\u016bkala N\u016bhou<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lexie Tilton came to <abbr>UH<\/abbr> Hilo for Division <abbr title=\"two\">II<\/abbr> softball. She leaves with a real estate license, a law school seat, and a plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":234148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[498,499,154,1527,14,151,9,68],"class_list":["post-234152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-business","tag-college-of-business-and-economics","tag-law","tag-softball","tag-uh-hilo","tag-hilo-athletics","tag-uh-manoa","tag-william-s-richardson-school-of-law","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-grad-lexie-tilton-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234152","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=234152"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":234224,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234152\/revisions\/234224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}