Karen Ara '21: Tom McCall Center for Civic Engagement Award

Karen Ara ’21 is one of two students honored with Pacific University’s Tom McCall Center for Civic Engagement Award. She graduated in May 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is from Kea‘au, Hawai‘i.

Also honored by the McCall Center in 2021 was classmate Anna Nguyen ‘21.

Ara, who joined the McCall Center team her junior year, “brought creativity, kindness, and care for others to her work and in a short time has become a model of engagement for others,” her nominators said. “Karen has demonstrated values of social responsibility, outstanding civil communication, and strong leadership as members of the McCall Center Civic Action Team.”

Ara intends to pursue a career in emergency medicine. In her McCall Center bio, she said she plans to join the Peace Corps after graduation to work with disadvantaged families in the Philippines. 

“I am most passionate about raising mental health awareness, medicine, service, and education (focusing on first-generation students and students from low-income families),” she said.