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Gailyn Lehuanani Bopp

Gailyn Lehuanani Bopp, a graduate student in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library and Information Science Program, is a 2016 recipient of the Harold T. Pinkett Minority Student Award from the Society of American Archivists (SAA). The award will be presented at a ceremony during the Joint Annual Meeting of SAA and the Council of State Archivists July 31–August 6, in Atlanta, Georgia.

The award recognizes minority graduate students of African, Asian, Latino or Native American descent who, through scholastic achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional archivists and active members of SAA.

Bopp is president of the SAA student chapter at UH Mānoa and is on the executive board of Nā Hawaiʻi ʻImi Loa, which aims to strengthen Native Hawaiian presence in the library and information services profession and raise cultural awareness concerning indigenous collections. She also works as a library research para-professional at the Joseph F. Smith Library at Brigham Young University–Hawaiʻi and volunteers at the Hawaiian Historical Society and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi Tokioka Heritage Resource Center.

According to Bopp, “cultural diversity in the archival profession is actually an asset, a gift, one that has power to connect people on so many levels.” In her work, she is committed to making connections between local archives and historical societies, the community, and library and archives students in order to engage the community with its history and to advocate for the value of indigenous cultures and archive practices.

Established in 1993, the award honors the late Harold T. Pinkett, who served with distinction during his long tenure at the National Archives and Records Administration and who was a Fellow of SAA.

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