Endowed scholarship established by former UHM English instructor

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Karin Mackenzie, (808) 956-4051
Arts and Sciences Community and Alumni Relations
Posted: Apr 24, 2014

Larry Suyama and Edith Stoecklein Suyama
Larry Suyama and Edith Stoecklein Suyama

Their life together started in storybook fashion.  Edith Stoecklein, a beautiful young German woman, met Larry Suyama, a career Army man born and raised in Hawaiʻi, while Suyama was stationed in Germany.  They fell in love and got married.

Edith, who loved to travel, didn't hesitate to leave her native Germany when Larry suggested they live in Hawaiʻi.  She would soon come to love and appreciate the islands and all they had to offer.  She returned to school, earning an associate's degree from UH community colleges and then bachelor's and master's degrees in education.

For more than 15 years, Edith taught in the UHM Department of English in the College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature.  Her compassion for students was evident.  She raised concern that they were so worried about paying for school, that they were less able to fully focus on their studies.  Before her death in 2009, Edith shared her desire to establish a scholarship fund that would help ease some of the financial burdens of University students.

In keeping with her wishes, and in her honor and memory, her family established the Edith Stoecklein Suyama Endowed Scholarship for students enrolled in the UHM College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature.  The love story between a beautiful German woman and a career Army man who was born and rasied in Hawaiʻi continues in perpetuity, just like the endowed scholarship.

The College of Languages, Linguistics, & Literature (one of the four Arts & Sciences colleges) of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa offers a broad curriculum in English, foreign and heritage languages and literatures, second language studies, and linguistics.  Its Asia and Pacific focused curricula is unique in the nation.  The faculty regularly teaches more than 25 languages, and has the capacity to teach many more.  For more information on  UH Foundation and the College of LLL, please visit www.uhfoundation.org/GivetoLLL.

For more information, visit: http://www.lll.hawaii.edu/