{"id":182782,"date":"2023-09-01T12:48:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T22:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=182782"},"modified":"2024-03-14T16:13:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T02:13:48","slug":"maile-wong-portz-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/09\/01\/maile-wong-portz-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving the community through research wins student national honor"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Maile Wong (left) leads a group of volunteers at a cleanup of Puʻulani<\/span> in July 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Transformative work on community-driven research projects has earned a University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa School of Life Sciences<\/a> PhD<\/abbr> student a national honor.<\/p>\n

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Maile Wong at Puʻulani<\/span>. (Photo courtesy: Maile Wong)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maile Wong, a spring 2023 graduate in botany and ʻ\u014clelo<\/span> Hawaiʻi<\/span>, was named one of four 2023 Portz Scholars<\/a> by the National Collegiate Honors Council<\/a> (NCHC<\/abbr>). Wong will receive a $375 stipend, a certificate and will present her research at the NCHC<\/abbr> conference this November in Chicago.<\/p>\n

“I am honored for this work to be recognized, but more than that I am excited that the type of research this work represents is being recognized at a national level. Community-driven research is critical to creating meaningful change,” Wong said. “I am inspired by the many K\u0101naka ʻ\u014ciwi<\/span> scientists who have committed their lives to doing this type of work, and most of all, I am humbled by the fierce aloha ʻ\u0101ina<\/span> who work tirelessly in ʻ\u0101ina<\/span> to grow and implement a collective vision for Hawaiʻi<\/span>‘s future.”<\/p>\n

Nearly 900 NCHC<\/abbr> institutional members can nominate only one thesis per institution written by an undergraduate honors student for the competition each semester. Wong is the sixth 东精影业<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Honors student over the past eight years to earn this recognition.<\/p>\n

Critical conservation projects on Oʻahu<\/span>, Kauaʻi<\/span><\/h2>\n

Wong\u2019s Honors Program<\/a> thesis, E Paʻa<\/span> Ke Kahua: Building Foundational Skills for Engaging in Community-driven Research<\/em>, highlights the work she has done to improve her community through engaging in research.<\/p>\n

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Maile Wong helps cleanup Puʻulani<\/span> in July 2023.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The projects include:<\/p>\n