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Friday, July 09, 2010

Young Solomon Islander to represent Hawai'i in U.S Young Leaders Conference

A young Solomon Islander residing in Hawai’i has been selected to represent the State of Hawai’i at the U.S. National Young Leaders Conference in Washington DC.

She is fifteen-year-old Germaine Saqanapure Kabutaulaka, a Grade 10 (Form 4) student at St. Francis Catholic School in Honolulu.

Ms. Kabutaulaka was invited by the Congressional Youth Leadership Council to participate in the National Young Leaders Conference (NYLC) to be held in the U.S. capital in the coming fall 2010.

In an invitation letter, the Dean of Academic Affairs for the NYLC, Dr. Marguerite C. Regan, said that Ms. Kabutaulaka was “nominated to serve as a National Scholar” in recognition of her as “an outstanding individual who has achieved academic excellence and possesses leadership potential.”

“As a National Scholar, Germaine, you will be distinguished as one of the most promising young leaders of today and tomorrow and will join your peers from across the nation for this unique learning experience,” Dr. Regan said.

The young leaders from all over the U.S. will meet with high-ranking government officials, members of Congress, national media figures and other distinguished scholars.

They will also attend special functions, including a presentation on the floor of the House of Representatives, a panel discussion with prominent journalists at the National Press Club and an issue briefing conducted by a current or former member of the president’s administration.

In the past distinguished speakers at the NYLC included the former Vice-President of the U.S. and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Mr. Al Gore, former Secretary of State and Founder of America’s Promise Alliance, General Colin L. Powell, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Human Rights Activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Ms. Kabutaulaka said that she is really excited to have been selected.

“I am really privileged to represent the state of Hawai’i and also the Solomon Islands,” she said.

She said that “this is a once in a life time chance so I am going to enjoy every second of it” and attributed the reason for her selection to her “hard work and dedication to school.”

“One should always do one’s best in everything one does,” Ms. Kabutaulaka said, adding that “if my generation of Solomon Islanders can do this then our country has a bright future.”

Ms. Kabutaulaka and her family reside in Hawai’i where her father, Dr. Tarcisius Kabutaulaka, works as a professor at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Source: Island Sun

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