“I see myself in students who are struggling and decided to dedicate my career to students who were vulnerable to failure.”

Hometown

Makiki Heights, Oʻahu

Department

Educational Administration

COEAA Spotlight on Phyllis Unebasami (Credit: Lori Furoyama)

Growing Up

I am proud to call the Island of Oʻahu, specifically Makiki Heights, my childhood home. I grew up with three other siblings. My educational path led me through a diverse range of experiences attending both public and private schools in Hawaiʻi. My mother and I are graduates of Maryknoll High School and educators. To this day, my high school and college friendships have always been a source of joy and comfort throughout lifeʻs challenges.

Road to College & Career Path

As a child, I struggled with the traditional learning expectations and my parents provided other forms of support so that I could keep up. Over time, I learned how to be more self-directed in my own learning and become successful. Many of our children have the potential but are vulnerable to setbacks and failure because they do not have the same opportunities I did when I needed it. I see myself in students who are struggling and decided to dedicate my career to students who were vulnerable to failure. That is why I studied and became a special education teacher and later a school leader focused on nurturing academic school culture.

COE Impact

I owe the Educational Administration program so much. The professors, like the late Dr. Ronald Heck, cared about tying theory to practice and created opportunities for the administrative candidates to network and examine their own practices while in the field. The relevancy of the university learning and application provided a solid foundation for a mindset that I continue to use today as an educational and community leader.

Work History

I worked as a special education teacher, assistant principal, and principal in Oregon. In Hawaiʻi, I have served as vice-principal at high schools, principal at Enchanted Lake Elementary School, and deputy district superintendent of Windward Oʻahu. I began the Professional Development and Educational Research Institute and Na Kumu Alakaʻi (teacher leadership academy) and worked at Kamehameha Schools in Literacy Instruction, serving as Support Director and Managing Director of Hoʻolaukoa (Educational Systems). Lastly, I am a former State of Hawaiʻi Deputy Superintendent.

Best Part of the Job

I am now retired from the Department of Education and engaged in educational partnership work with organizations such as the Bishop Museum, The Center for Tomorrowʻs Leaders, and nationally, the Choose Love Movement. I also serve on different boards, such as Feeding Hawaiʻi Together/The Pantry, Hanalani Schools, Hawaiʻi Association of Secondary School Administrators, and the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society, Mu Chapter. Internationally, I will be a delegate to the Lausanne Movement Congress in Seoul, Korea in the fall. I am excited by the diverse opportunities to learn and grow even as a kupuna.

Future Plans

The best part of retirement is I get to choose the work that is closest to my heart. While there are many projects, I often respond to those who wonder about the amount – “No one would dare ask a potterer why he/she is making another bowl, a photographer why take another photograph.” Education and supporting educators is my passion, my art. I will keep doing it until I can do it no more.

Three Fun Facts

1. I am learning watercolor and mahjong in my old age.
2. I love, love, love the ocean, but do not go swimming in it (sharks).
3. I am a HUGE UH sports fan!