Fellows mentioned in this story: Josie Howard, Cohort VIII

From Hawai‘i Public Radio:

K-nard Narruhn has worked with hundreds of Micronesian youth in the islands. The 23-year-old is the youth coordinator for We Are Oceania, a nonprofit that serves the Micronesian and Pacific Islander communities in Hawaiʻi. He was there one year ago when they unveiled the first-of-its-kind Youth Empowerment Center in Kalihi.

“It means the world to me, personally, just because I'm coming from the same background as these kids have and not really having a really strong system like we have in place today,” said Narruhn, who is Chuukese and grew up in ʻAiea and Pearl City. “What also means a lot to me is sort of changing the narrative. Because it's not just members of our community we connect with, but also people outside of our community … so really educating them on our culture and really building understanding between each other.”

Since opening the youth center, Narruhn said they have hosted about three events each month, focusing on college, career and community. Along with three staff members, including Narruhn, a handful of volunteers run the youth center’s programs.

Listen at hawaiipublicradio.org.