By Mona Ishihara
Special to the Herald
Llewellyn Young
Superintendent of Hawaii Catholic Schools Michael Rockers announced Jan. 21 the appointment of Llewellyn Young, the principal of St. Joseph School, Hilo, for the past five years, as the new associate superintendent. He will succeed Betsey Gunderson who retires June 30.
Originally from Kauai, Young attended the University of Maryland and the University of Hawaii at Hilo. He received his master’s degree in education administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He holds a doctorate in education.
Before his Hilo assignment, Young held teaching and administrative positions at Arizona Western College at Yuma, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Hawaii College of Education Hawaii Leadership Academy.
This new position will afford him the opportunity to leverage his more than 20 years of educational administration experience to serve Hawaii’s 33 Catholic schools.
Rockers said he was “very happy” that Young accepted the post.
“He is well-respected and has excellent relationship-building skills. He is a person of faith and has a devotion to the Catholic Church.
Betsey Gunderson
“His administrative experience and background in Catholic schools will serve him well, as will his love for and understanding of Hawaii. His experience in strategic planning, curriculum development and implementing needed changes will be an asset to the Hawaii Catholic Schools,” he said.
Although she will be missed terribly, Gunderson is looking forward to her well-deserved retirement after a lifetime as a Catholic educator in Hawaii. In addition to serving as associate superintendent, she has worked at St. Anthony Jr.-Sr. High School in Wailuku, Maui, Maryknoll School and Sacred Hearts Academy as a teacher, principal, vice principal, department chair, division coordinator and head of school.
Rockers offered his gratitude to Gunderson on behalf of the Hawaii Catholic Schools office.
“Betsey deserves our deep appreciation for all her good work, not only as associate superintendent, but for all her many years of service to those affiliated with our Catholic schools,” he said.
