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Kristy Arizumi

The 2015 University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Co-op Student of the Year is Kristy Arizumi, a nursing major who participated in a cooperative education (co-op) opportunity with The Queen’s Medical Center.

The 22th annual UH Mānoa Co-op Student of the Year appreciation and award reception was held on Friday, December 11 in conjunction with The Queen’s Medical Center during the Queen’s Co-op student end of the semester luncheon. Arizumi received a keepsake plaque and $500 scholarship.

Arizumi’s preceptor, Dawn “Kanani” Yojo, who nominated Arizumi, described her as “encompass(ing) all the qualities that a strong and cognizant nurse would have.” She shared that Arizumi is a “fast learner, retains all that she is taught” and that Arizumi goes above and beyond and she is “often found answering call lights of patients that she is not assigned to, seeking out fellow RNs working that day to assist with their patient care load, or even ask(ing) my fellow RNs if she could try new procedures that (have been) ordered that she has never experienced/attempted.”

As the UH Mānoa’s Co-op Student of the Year, Arizumi will also represent UH Mānoa in the national Cooperative Education Internship Association Student Employee of the year competition to be held in April 2016.

From left, Naomi Arincorayan, Mānoa Career Center Co-op Program; Leatrice Nakashima, Queen’s Medical Center Clinical Education, Kanani Yojo, Arizumi’s co-op preceptor; Kristy Arizumi, co-op student; Cindy Kamikawa, Queen’s Medical Center vice president of nursing; Arleen Fujimoto-Ikuma, Mānoa Career Center Community Development, Co-op and Internship Director and Penny Morrison, UH Mānoa School of Nursing

More on the cooperative education award

Cooperative education is a unique form of education which integrates classroom study with paid, planned and supervised work in the private and public sectors. It allows participating students to acquire essential, practical skills by being exposed to the world of work beyond the boundaries of the campus, enhancing their confidence, capabilities and career direction.

This annual awards and appreciation event recognizes outstanding student contributions in private industry and government and the unique support of employers who provide avenues for students’ professional growth and career opportunities through a cooperative education experience.

Each year, a committee comprised of a university faculty member, co-op employer, and co-op student alumnus selects one outstanding co-op student employee for his/her contributions and commitment to the co-op program.

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