Full Speed Ahead
Ava Pakravan ’24 cares deeply about shining light on social injustices. “Taking steps toward creating a better society is one of my passions,” she says. She’s been making impressive strides.
This past summer, Pakravan was bestowed with a prestigious honor – an invitation to participate in the American Legion Auxiliary’s Hawaii Girls State program. She rose to the occasion, securing the position of Party Chair. Pakravan was subsequently elected to represent Hawaii as a Senator at Girls Nation in Washington D.C., where she served as a Committee Chair for her party.
During her time at Girls State, Pakravan drafted a state bill, the “Low-Income Planned Housing Act.” The proposed legislation has a dual focus: addressing Hawaii’s homelessness crisis and taming the relentless surge in real estate prices. “My bill serves two primary goals: it aims to address Hawaii’s homelessness crisis while simultaneously controlling the state’s skyrocketing real estate prices,” she says. “It’s about making a difference.”
Pakravan believes that the resources and support network at Punahou has been instrumental in fueling her passion for civic engagement. The Luke Center for Public Service and the Case Accelerator for Student Entrepreneurship at Punahou have offered her mentorship and a connection to platforms that have enabled her to turn her vision into reality.
Looking to the future, Pakravan shares that her aspirations extend into the realm of academia as she envisions pursuing a degree in sociology to deepen her understanding of civic engagement through rigorous academic research. “Ultimately, I aspire to continue working at the grass-roots level to better my home-state of Hawaii.”