Aspiring ‘culturally competent’ physician: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo undergrad selected as Newman Civic Fellow
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo undergraduate and Puna resident Lexy Kaye Ramos was selected for Campus Compact’s 2026–27 Newman Civic Fellowship.
The national fellowship honors and supports student public problem solvers who demonstrate exceptional potential for civic leadership and community engagement.
“I don’t fit the traditional image of a leader,” said Ramos in a university release, “but my commitment to my community has driven meaningful change.”
Ramos was born into poverty in a rural barangay in the Philippines before immigrating with her parents to Hawaiʻi Island while she was in middle school.
She is a junior at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. Ramos has a 3.98 grade-point average and serves as a third-year Bonner Program Student Leader with University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Center for Community Development.
The Big Island resident also is an active member of HOSA–Future Health Professionals, a global student-led organization that prepares middle school, high school and college students for healthcare careers.
Ramos logs hundreds of service hours each year through community-based health education and outreach initiatives, dedicated to addressing health disparities and expanding access to care.
She and her Bonner cohort recently conducted a semester-long participatory action research project, facilitating student focus groups to evaluate student sense of belonging and presenting actionable recommendations to campus leadership.
The aspiring “culturally competent” physician views medicine and civic action as inseparable.
“My family often says an Ilokano proverb, ‘Ti tao nga nakaam-ammo ti rigat, isu ti makaawat ti padana,’ meaning those who understand hardship understand others,” Ramos said. “Meaningful change begins at the intersection of personal experience and community need, and I will continue working alongside others to address barriers that shape health and opportunity.”
She thinks healthcare access shapes how people live with dignity and security.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin praised Ramos for her hard work, humility and dedication in nominating her for the Newman Civic Fellowship.
“Lexy embodies the university’s commitment to kuleana through service-centered leadership and community engagement,” Irwin said in the university release. “She views leadership not as authority, but as a shared responsibility to bring people together across differences and create meaningful change.”
The Newman Civic Fellowship is a year-long program honoring and supporting student public problem solvers at Campus Compact member institutions.
Nonprofit Campus Compact is the largest and oldest higher education association in the nation dedicated to higher education civic and community engagement.
It empowers colleges and universities to advance academic and civic missions through partnerships with communities to address complex social issues and further equity, justice and prosperity for all.
Lexy Ramos of Puna, who was selected as a 2026-27 Newman Civic Fellow, works in the lab at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where she is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry. (Courtesy Photo: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo)- University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo undergraduate Lexy Ramos, center, stops at the Bonner Program table during a campus event. Ramos is a third-year Bonner Student Leader with University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Center for Community Development. (Courtesy Photo: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo)
- University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo undergraduate and Puna resident Lexy Ramos with University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin. (Courtesy Photo: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo)
- Lexy Ramos speaks with another researcher in the lab at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. (Courtesy Photo: University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo)
Newman Civic fellows are nominated by the president or chancellor of their university or college based on their potential for public leadership and work with communities.
Campus Compact provides students with opportunities throughout their fellowship year to nurture assets and help develop strategies for social change, creating a network of connected and engaged student leaders who can support one another in making positive change.
