An English major at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo described as a prolific writer who masters both the rigors of research writing and the originality of creative writing is the recipient of the Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award.
Kylee Sullivan received the $500 annual award that recognizes an outstanding UH Hilo student majoring in English. Sullivan currently serves as student supervisor at UH Hilo’s Edwin H. Mookini Library.
Her publishing credits include a research article entitled “A Grimm Evolution” in Hohonu: A Journal of Academic Writing, and a short story, “The Riveter,” in Kanilehua: Art and Literary Magazine. She presented a paper on “The Causation of Lava: Exploring the Legends Surrounding the Puna Lava Flow” at the Narratives of Place in Literature, Film and Folklore conference held at Kilauea Military Camp in March 2016. In November 2016, Sullivan co-wrote and co-presented a paper with Associate Professor of English Kirsten Mollegaard titled “Intertextual Perspectives on Contemporary Retellings of ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’” at the International Journal of Arts and Sciences’ (IJAS) conference in London, England.
Matthew Somchai Therrien was an aspiring English major at UH Hilo at the time of his death in April 2014. He was a gifted poet and writer with a dream of becoming an English professor.
The Matthew Somchai Therrien Memorial Award was initiated by a generous donation made by Stephen and Gloria Gainsley, longtime friends of the Therrien family.