Maverick Yasuda, a student at Waipahu High School Early College and Leeward Community College in Hawaii, has been named the 2023 Founders Medal Award recipient. Maverick received a $1,000 scholarship and the 2023 Founders Medal Medallion at the commencement ceremony for Leeward Community College on May 12th, 2023.
This award recognizes one graduating PTK member who has best expressed the value of a community college education. “I can confidently say that my time in community college has truly been a journey of empowerment, perseverance, and exponential growth, personally and intellectually,” said Yasuda. “To sum up my time in community college in a single word, it would be "and" because of the limitless possibilities it offers me, and the infinite outcomes that I have the potential to create.” Yasuda, a senior at Waipahu High School Early College, serves as the student member on the Hawaii State Board of Education, where he represents 170,000 public school students statewide. He will graduate with an associate degree in Liberal Arts from Leeward Community College with honors and a 4.0 GPA.
“Maverick, and students like him, show that America’s community colleges are more than just affordable and accessible—they are quality institutions of higher learning. Places where you can grow yourself and a career at the same time,” says Phi Theta Kappa’s President and CEO, Dr. Lynn Tincher-Ladner. “We are very proud of Maverick. He represents the best of what community colleges have to offer.”
Congratulations Maverick!
About Phi Theta Kappa
Phi Theta Kappa is the premier honor society recognizing the academic achievement of students at associate degree-granting colleges and helping them to grow as scholars and leaders. The Society is made up of more than 3.8 million members and nearly 1,300 chapters in 10 countries, with approximately 240,000 active members in the nation’s colleges. Learn more at https://ptk.org.