Kapilialoha Bovard

Sociology

Kapilialoha Bovard earned both her B.A., M.A., and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a specialization in Sociology, Women’s Studies, and Indigenous Research Models. Additionally, she serves as the Undergraduate Advisor for the Department of Women’s Studies. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Sociology. Her dissertation research is concerned with examining sexual assault prevention on college campuses, children of incarcerated parents with focus on Native Hawaiian youth, youth delinquency, programs for youths at risk, drug use, ethnographic methods, intersection of race, class, gender, anti-oppression and multicultural issues; all grounded in feminist theory, research, and methodology. Substantively, her areas of interest are women/girls and crime, law and deviance, drug and criminal justice policy in Hawai‘i, and youth, in particular, girls in transition. Her future goal is to achieve a Ph.D. in Sociology so that she can gain systematic exposure to sociological theories and methods of social research, as well as the opportunity to develop special competence within her chosen area of concentration. With this theory and methods foundation, she looks forward to teaching at the university level providing the quality instruction and personal attention that empower students to achieve their potential, in particular, in the Women’s Studies Department and Sociology Department.

Kapilialoha is an ABD and hopes to defend her dissertation in the 2025 academic year. She is also a part-time lecturer for both the Department of Sociology and Women’s Gender Sexuality Studies.