Pacific Perspective Vol.4

Jalyssa Kamamo Sinivatasilava Miu Lan Atualevao Jalyssa Kamamo Sinivatasilava Miu Lan Atualevao is a transfer student at UH Hilo traveling to the Big Island from Tacoma, Washington. Before UH Hilo, Jalyssa attended Highline College in Des Moines, Washington.

Jalyssa is a Sāmoan and Native Hawaiian student double majoring in Anthropology and English while minoring in Hawaiian studies.

During their time at Highline College, Jalyssa was one of the student ambassadors for the AANAPISI program. AANAPISI stands for Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions.

Jalyssa’s AANAPISI program was unique in the fact that the student workers were all Pacific Islanders, along with one Indigenous American and one Southeast Asian from Laos, rather than a majority of Asian American students.

Jalyssa stated that in 2019 they were able to attend the PILOT (Pacific Islander Leaders of Tomorrow) in Los Angeles as well as the APAHE (Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education) conferences due to being a part of the AANAPISI program.

“In a way I chose UH Hilo because I wanted to build some type of bridge not only between my cultures and myself, but for my family,” said Jalyssa. “I wanted to learn more about my cultures.”

“I realized during my time at Highline [that] I was building myself and finding myself — but I was leaving my family behind,” said Jalyssa. “I’m not saying I thought of myself higher, but if I kept progressing in that mindset I would see my family differently. I wouldn’t see them for who they are.”

Resources that Jalyssa has found helpful in their time at UH Hilo are Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, the Counseling Services at the Student Services Center, and free access to the Student Life Center for full-time UH Hilo students.

Jalyssa highlights their experience with Kīpuka, for they reached out to Jalyssa before they moved on campus to share information about their Native Hawaiian Transfer Student program, Kūkulu.

“From that point on [Kīpuka] introduced me to a lot of different programs on campus,” said Jalyssa. “I’m part of the Keaholoa STEM program and I found that through Kīpuka. They were like the pathway for me to find all the other programs.”

When asked what their favorite aspect of UH Hilo is, Jalyssa stated, “I really like the exposure of the multiple Pacific Island nations on campus. In Washington I had some exposure to Micronesians, but over here I’m learning much more about Chuuk, Yap, and the Marshall Islands. In Washington there’s misconceptions between the Polynesian communities that Micronesians are taking resources from Native Hawaiians, but out here I’m learning the actual truth.”

“What we learn in the states is separating us: Tongans, Sāmoans, Hawaiians, you know?” Jalyssa said. “Back then we used to intermingle with each other. That’s something I really enjoy [about UH Hilo]. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s something I like. At least there’s opportunities to learn about other Pacific Island nations.”

Jalyssa stated that Moʻokini Library is where they feel most at home on campus – specifically, the Edith Kanakaʻole Hawaiian collection. Jalyssa was able to see one of their ancestors' signatures in the anti-annexation documents within the Hawaiian collection, giving them even more comfort and family ties within the space.

One thing Jalyssa would like the UH Hilo community to work on is issues pertaining to the LGBTQIA+ community on campus.

“I’ve noticed that people assume a lot about me – whether I’m transgender or something,” said Jalyssa. “I’ve come to realize, because of those situations, that I don’t care anymore that people put a label on me because I know who I am. If I’m treated or seen as a certain thing then that has nothing to do with me, that really has to do with people’s reactions to that label on me.”

A quote that resonates with Jalyssa that they would like to share with other students is, “we are everything our mothers did not have time to be,” (Terisa Siagatonu.)

Kyla Marie-Turner

Kyla Marie-Turner resides in ʻŌlaʻa, Puna, while her family is originally from Hōnaunau, South Kona. Kyla has a very diverse ethnic background: she identifies as Native Hawaiian, Native American, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Italian, French-Canadian, Irish, and Scottish.

Kyla graduated from UH Hilo last semester with a bachelor’s degree, double majoring in Anthropology and English while also minoring in Hawaiian Studies.

This semester, Kyla is a graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in the UH Hilo Cultural Heritage Management program, which falls under the anthropology department.

“The master’s program is two years [long],” Kyla said. “But the biggest part of it is a cultural, community-based project… we have to really be on it in order to get through the program in a timely manner.”

"This program is not just something that’s broadcasted to the nation of being like ‘you can get a heritage master’s degree at Hilo,’ you know?” Kyla said, explaining the program's aim with their students. “[The coordinator] is like if you come to this program, we want you to have a connection somewhere in the Pacific. It does not have to be Hawaiʻi. If it is, great. If it’s not, even greater. We want you to be established in a community, and we want your thesis project to help that community.”

Kyla stated one of her favorite aspects of the anthropology master’s program is their way of teaching and the amount of discussion they have during class.

“The teaching style is a lot different,” said Kyla. “The teachers abandon lecture style and it’s more discussion [based]. We’re talking with our teachers one on one or within a small group because I have a cohort of five [students].”

“I like the program too, in the fact that they are very much about community-based projects,” said Kyla. “Their whole thing is not just consultation but collaboration… [Professors] all have their own opinions, but they’re all coming from the same place where it’s like, we’re here for the students and we’re here for the community. That overall has been really nice.”

Kyla also talks about some of the main differences between bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

Last semester she had a lot more free time to spend participating in clubs and utilizing resources, whereas this semester she’s been so busy that she hasn’t had the time.

Kyla states, “Being in a graduate program you think ‘okay, it’s very much my work,’ and [professors] are like ‘nope, it’s not just you.’ It’s nice that way. I definitely think the Department of Anthropology has been a huge resource in the past five weeks alone.”

When discussing her peers in the master's program, Kyla said, “We try to support each other wherever we can, even outside of class. It feels like I’ve connected in a way I wasn’t able to last year – it’s crazy.”

“In terms of Pacific Islander cultures, we’re heavy, heavy, heavy in the master's program,” Kyla said. “All five of us are Pacific Islanders in the program.”

“One of the biggest things we’re learning in class is positionality: learning about your position within all of [our research,]” said Kyla. “Our group is really nice where we’ve all already thought about our positions within our own communities, especially because most of us are doing projects that involve our own ethnicities. Being able to position ourselves is really important; [our professors] have very much implemented that.”

One thing that Kyla wants to share with other students at UH Hilo is that “it’s not a consultation, it’s a collaboration” can apply to everything.

“I think that’s my biggest thing I’m getting so far – that it’s a collaboration. You’re in this together. You have your own agency, you definitely should have agency in everything you do, but don’t forget who this project is for.”

Kauāakeakua Segundo is a Native Hawaiian master's student at UH Hilo. Originally, Kauāakeakua is from the island of Maui and has been attending UH Hilo since 2021.

Kauāakeakua is studying ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiian language. Other than being a student at UH Hilo, he is also a worker and teacher at Hale ʻŌlelo.

“I chose [UH Hilo] because of the Hawaiian language program,” Kauāakeakua said. “The Hawaiian language program is known to be rigorous, especially to learn the language, and I really wanted that.”

“That college is pretty much a bubble in and of itself, the Hawaiian language college Hale ʻŌlelo up on the hill,” Kauāakeakua said when explaining where he feels most at home on campus. “Because I spend 60-70% of my day there as a teacher, a student, and a worker, it is one of the spaces that I feel most comfortable. Out of that, I am usually at the Student Life Center.”

“I wish I knew more resources because I’m pretty secluded up on that hill,” said Kauāakeakua. “For me, all I can say is the Student Life Center because that’s the space where I let go of a lot of the pent-up stuff… Exercise and moving my body is a way of clearing off stress or if I just need to clear my mind, it helps that way.”

Kauāakeakua also stated that the Moʻokini Library, as well as the Kīpuka NHSC, have been helpful in his studies and connecting with his Hawaiian culture during his time at UH Hilo.

Ke Kalahea asked Kauāakeakua if he felt that his Native Hawaiian ethnicity is represented well on campus here at UH Hilo, where he compared it to his time studying at UH Mānoa.

“I feel like there’s a lot more Hawaiian presence at UH Hilo [than UH Mānoa,]” said Kauāakeakua. “I feel way more comfortable to express cultural activities or even speaking Hawaiian outside of the classroom, where it doesn’t feel as not taboo, but rare. [Here,] it’s not uncommon to hear Hawaiian outside of the classroom.”

“On the other hand… there are a lot of different types of cultures that we can see at UH Hilo,” said Kauāakeakua. “Especially when it comes to our Pasifika cousins. Even I got to learn all about these different cultures from people from the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, to Fiji and Samoa. I think that presence at UH Hilo also contributes to the inclusivity. That creates the community. People who have community create the community in their college.”

An issue on campus that Kauāakeakua points out is the lack of interaction between the different departments.

Kauāakeakua also stated during his time with the UH Hilo Student Association (UHHSA), a big issue they dealt with was student interactions coming back to campus after and during the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly pertaining to planning events surrounding students’ comfortability being on campus -- especially new students.

“Within the college community there also needs to be collaboration within the students but also collaboration among the higher-ups,” Kauāakeakua said. “Between the deans of different colleges [especially,] so that it does become that inclusive community – more well-rounded than just within the student body but also throughout faculty.”

Ke Kalahea asked Kauāakeakua if there’s any piece of advice he would like to share with UH Hilo students, where he stated the following: “As a student, to ask for help. To not be worried about what other people think about you and to connect with what you wanna do and what you wanna learn… College careers are very different – it’s not like high school, right? Everyone has very different roles and different paths. Students have the power to create the story that they want to create within the college. That’s one of the biggest lessons I learned at UH Hilo specifically.”