Sustainability and Environmental Activism: Tiare Couto Memorial Scholarship

UNION SCHOLARSHIP FUND PURPOSE:

The purpose of the Union Scholarship Fund is to support the academic achievement of students representing a wide array of backgrounds and experiences; the students are currently attending or plan to attend the University of Utah. The fund promotes the retention and completion of students who demonstrate financial need and a commitment to the mission of the Union. Through this fund, the Union and its scholarship partners recognize students committed to bettering themselves and the communities they serve.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM: TIARE COUTO MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP:

Tiare Beatriz Couto was born and spent most of her childhood on the sweeping beaches and verdant open spaces of Oʻahu’s North Shore. There, she developed a passion for caring for the Earth and all the life it sustains. That connection deepened after she and her family relocated to Cottonwood Heights, Utah, when she was 12, and ultimately led her to declare a double major in Environmental & Sustainability Studies and Political Science at the University of Utah soon after enrolling in fall 2023.

On January 1, 2025—during her second year at the U.—Tiare died in a tragic accident while visiting friends and family on her beloved North Shore. She was 19 years old.

Loving and loud, silly and smart, focused yet always fun, undeniably stoked and deeply sincere, big-hearted and honest—these are among the ways her friends and family describe Tiare. “She didn’t just walk into a room,” one friend said, “she illuminated it.” Her extraordinary ability to make everyone she met feel seen and heard opened doors to countless opportunities, which she embraced wholeheartedly.

A few of the marrow-sucking moments Tiare got to experience include skydiving, competing on her high school swim team, eating pizza while watching the sun go down on the Amalfi Coast, surfing in South America, and sipping champagne on a ferry rocking in hurricane-level seas among the Greek Isles. All told, Tiare had traveled to 19 countries—many on her own. But for her, exploring the world was never about sticking pins on a map; it was the stories, friendships, and lessons she treasured.

At the University of Utah, Tiare embraced campus life on every level. She served as an Ambassador for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was a member of Delta Gamma fraternity, sat on the board of One Love—the U.’s ski and snowboard club and largest student organization—and had been selected for a Global Internship through the Hinckley Institute. Tiare also made the rare effort to personally connect with each of her professors, attending office hours regularly and participating in class with curiosity and insight. “To know Tiare was to adore her. Warmth, kindness, graciousness, and the genuine way she cared for others made her a true light at the University,” wrote one of her advisors in a note to LauraGene Johnson, Tiare’s mother, following Tiare’s passing, Another note from a professor read, “Her love for people and for her planet shone through in everything. She lives in my heart and thoughts always.”

Tiare was also a realist with her sights set firmly on goals for her own future, as well as that of the Earth she loved so much. In a letter she wrote to her 39-year-old self as part of a class assignment, Tiare said, “I trust you’ll find a financially stable job, protecting with ALL your energy that you can for the planet.”

In the months following Tiare’s passing, the Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU) sought a way to honor her contributions as a student leader and the light she brought to the campus community. While the student government acknowledges the University of Utah campus has experienced the loss of many students over the years, this moment called ASUU to create a memorial that would not only celebrate Tiare’s life, but also honor the spirit, impact, and leadership of those we have lost. The scholarship stands as a tribute to the ways student leaders shape our campus community and as an investment in future leaders. The 2024-2025 ASUU administration partnered with the Union Scholarship Program to establish the Sustainability and Environmental Activism: Tiare Couto Memorial Scholarship ensuring that her legacy of leadership, connection, and environmentalism will continue to inspire students across campus for years to come.

Tiare lives on in the hearts of her family and friends, and leaves behind a legacy of love, light and protection of the planet and its people. Her inherent optimism and joy was perhaps summed up best in the Winston Churchill quote she included in a speech she gave at her high school graduation: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”