UH Hilo English major Katina Gronowski receives the 2024 Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award
The award is given in recognition of Katina Gronowski’s stellar academic standing, her exceptional leadership of the UH Hilo English Club, and her outstanding support and contributions to the success of the university’s English program.
By Susan Enright.
Katina Gronowski is the recipient of the $1,000 2024 Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award, given annually to an outstanding English major at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
“This award is given in recognition of Katina’s stellar academic standing, her exceptional leadership of English Club, and her outstanding support and contributions to the success of our program,” says Professor of English Kirsten Møllegaard. “Katina has also been instrumental in helping to coordinate and organize the English department’s Meet Your Major events as well as co-moderating the 2022 Children’s Literature Conference.”
“She is a talented writer and speaker, and she participated in the Kauai Writers Conference last November,” adds Møllegaard.
Gronowski, who will graduate this spring, grew up in Kalapana on Hawaiʻi Island.
“I have a passion for learning, education, and giving back to my community,” she says. “Growing up in Hawaiʻi has taught me the values of culture and giving back to the community and land that gives us life.”
Gronowskiʻs goals at UH Hilo are about to be realized: a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in linguistics, and a certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages.
She also works as a paraprofessional educator and a substitute teacher.
“I have loved working with students to help them achieve their academic as well as personal goals,” she says. “I also strive to teach my students the importance and value of culture and community.”
The Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award
Matthew S. Therrien was an aspiring English major at UH Hilo at the time of his tragic death in a car accident in 2014. He was a gifted poet and writer with a dream of becoming an English professor.
The Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award began with a generous donation by Stephen and Gloria Gainsley, longtime friends of the Therrien family. The annual award recognizes an outstanding UH Hilo student majoring in English.
The recipient of the award must be an English major and have demonstrated academic merit with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. The awardee must also have demonstrated excellence in writing, preferably through published work.
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
