At just 21 years old, Selena Buttery has established a reputation for herself at Chaminade University not only as a dual-sport athlete but also as a leader, community builder, and humanitarian in the making. Balancing basketball, tennis, student government, an internship, running a nonprofit, and her role as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Buttery exemplifies the Silversword spirit of service and determination.
“A lot of people think college kids don’t have any time, but there’s actually a lot of extra time in the day,” Buttery said. “You just have to sacrifice some things. Sometimes it means not going to the beach or hanging out. But if you really care about what you’re doing, you make the time for it.”
Her journey to Chaminade began 5,000 miles away in the small town of Brockway, Pennsylvania. With her mother serving on active duty in the military, moving was a normal part of life early on. But when her mom left active service when Buttery was 4, the family settled permanently in Brockway, where her father ran a home-based business. Growing up in a tight-knit community, surrounded by both structure and family support, Buttery learned early the values of discipline, adaptability, and family.
Buttery was allowed to continue her athletic and academic career in Honolulu. Chaminade University offered her scholarships and her specific major, data science, a rarity at many schools. She said athletics played the biggest role in her decision, explaining that former women’s basketball coach Art showed interest, brought her on an official visit, and helped her see herself at Chaminade. Once she visited, she knew it was the right fit.
“I just fell in love with Hawaii,” said Buttery on her official visit to Chaminade.
A senior member of both the women’s basketball and tennis teams, Buttery has learned to balance academics and athletics with precision. Her basketball season fills the fall and winter months, while tennis starts in the spring. She also finds time for SAAC duties and a research internship on campus focused on data science and analytics with environmental factors.
“She is very dedicated and driven,” said Alyssa Schuetze, a fellow member of the Chaminade women’s basketball team. “I barely ever see her just relaxing and not doing anything — she is always in go mode.”
As a senior and president of SAAC, Buttery has transformed what was once an unorganized program into a well-organized and active committee on campus. Her inspiration came from close to home. Together with the vice president, close friend and teammate Ashley Holen, Buttery has focused on creating a community between athletes and the wider student body. Buttery works on events to bring together the community and the athletes.
“We just had the pink out pep rally, and we really rallied to bring all kinds of students to our event,” Buttery said. “And it worked — we had about 50 student-athletes and students there, as well as faculty. That’s how you build relationships and show them your face. They can put a face to the name instead of just coming to games and not knowing anybody.”
And while she leads SAAC and competes in both basketball and tennis, she’s also completing a Chaminade internship through a National Science Foundation STEM grant, where she and her team are researching how microplastics and other pollutants in Hawaii impact the human body.
Off the court and outside the classroom, Buttery continues to give back by managing a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit called Project Grace for Kids, which hosts seasonal community events and provides essentials like winter gear and school supplies to families in need. She started this in 2021 and, since then, has given 5,000-plus items away to people in need, she said.
“I went on a volunteer trip with my mom when I was a junior in high school, and I saw what one community was doing,” Buttery said. “My community didn’t really have anything like that. It’s such a small town, and it’s so easy to bring people together in a small town, but nobody was doing it. So I talked to my parents and just started an organization. It started to flourish into a nonprofit.”
Between her campus leadership, community outreach, and drive to one day work for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Buttery’s story shows resilience and purpose.
“Being a student-athlete teaches you a lot of grit,” Buttery said. “You have to really learn how to take adversity with a strong head and lead people when things are tough.”
Buttery is a member of the women’s basketball team that will be kicking off its season on Friday against Saint Martin’s at HPU. Tipoff is 4 p.m.