The Genesis of Princeton Pono Pathways

Ruxandra C. Iosif grew up in post-communist Romania, where the long-term impact of authoritarian systems could still be felt in everyday life. Decades after the fall of the regime, the country continued to wrestle with the lingering effects of cultural erasure, distrust in government, and the displacement of communities from their land. These legacies, subtle yet deeply embedded, shaped Ruxandra's early awareness of how oppressive systems can persist long after they formally end.

When she arrived at Princeton University as a first-generation, low-income student, Ruxandra carried with her a determination to use the education she had been given to do as much good as possible. She immersed herself in public and international affairs, taking courses that explored how law, policy, and history intersect to shape systems of power. Service became the lens through which she sought to understand the world, both as a moral responsibility and as a way to pay forward the transformative opportunity that Princeton had offered her.

Her understanding of justice and systemic harm changed profoundly during her semester abroad at the University of Sydney. For the first time, she encountered comprehensive and candid histories of Aboriginal, Māori, and other Pacific Islander communities. Through her coursework and immersive cultural programming, Ruxandra learned about the resilience of Indigenous peoples and the enduring effects of colonialism, including land theft, suppression of language and spirituality, and the intergenerational trauma that comes from having one's history and identity rewritten by others.

As she studied these histories, she began to see her own country differently. In Romania, history education is still largely patriotic, emphasizing triumphs while minimizing or erasing painful truths. Only through her exposure to Indigenous histories abroad, and to America's own legacy of colonization, did she begin to understand the extent of the irreversible damage her homeland's regime had caused: the silencing of dissent, forced cultural assimilation, and systematic manipulation of collective memory. The parallels were sobering. She realized that oppression, whether colonial or communist, leaves a very similar impact on the people involved.

This realization deepened Ruxandra's commitment to practicing service ethically. To her, genuine service must be grounded in history, context, and humility. Upon returning to Princeton, she reflected on the university's many impressive service, cultural, and academic programs. While exceptional in scope, she noticed that many of them operated within a single framework: academic study, professional internships, or short-term volunteering, without connecting these experiences to one another. Ruxandra came to believe that meaningful understanding cannot arise from doing only one of these things in isolation. True service must acknowledge its place within larger social and historical systems rather than existing apart from them.

Out of this reflection emerged Princeton Pono Pathways (PPP), a student-founded summer initiative reimagining what ethical service can look like. Guided by the Hawaiian concept of pono, which signifies balance, righteousness, and harmony, Ruxandra envisioned a program that integrates academic learning, community engagement, and cultural education into a single, cohesive experience. PPP's mission is to foster ethical, place-based service grounded in mutual respect, historical awareness, and collaboration with community leaders.

Hawaiʻi was chosen as the program's site because it provides a uniquely interdisciplinary landscape for learning. Students can engage with environmental stewardship, agricultural sustainability, housing access, water rights, and legal advocacy, all within a single, richly interconnected region. The state's strong network of Indigenous-led organizations and community initiatives offers a rare opportunity for students to learn directly from experts who bridge these fields, ensuring that each project reflects local priorities and expertise rather than external agendas.

From the program's earliest drafts, Ruxandra was acutely aware of the history of extraction that has long characterized academic and service work in colonized spaces. She designed PPP to do the opposite: to model careful, reciprocal engagement. The program's structure ensures that community partners set the priorities, that local leaders and experts guide the learning, and that the students selected are genuinely committed to ethical, non-extractive service. Every component, from the schedule and reflection sessions to the partnerships and placements, is designed to encourage participants to use their time with intention, humility, and respect.

Ruxandra also recognizes that she is not Indigenous herself. For this reason, she is intentional about her role: she does not seek to lead on Indigenous knowledge but to support its inclusion in the program's specific educational components through authentic collaboration and guidance. In these areas, she aims to ensure that cultural and historical perspectives are represented by those to whom they belong, and that students engage with them through respectful partnership and attentive learning.

Building the program took time, patience, and the contributions of many generous people and organizations who believed that students can and must learn to do good responsibly. From coordinating partnerships and logistics to shaping its educational framework, Ruxandra worked to ensure that the program reflected the principles of respect and reciprocity.

Today, Princeton Pono Pathways stands as both a program and a philosophy: an invitation to reimagine service not as an isolated act of charity but as a sustained practice of understanding, humility, and collaboration. Ruxandra hopes the program will continue to evolve and inspire future generations of Princeton students to see service through the lens of history, equity, and shared humanity. She remains deeply grateful to the mentors, partners, and communities whose faith and guidance turned an idea into a living, learning network grounded in pono, in doing what is right.