"I believe that social media is one of the greatest that can be used for learner engagement, especially when it comes to accessible resources and knowledge that are otherwise inaccessible from communities that don't have the opportunity to seek a college education or education in general."

Hometown

Olathe, Kansas

Department

Educational Administration

Related Degrees

• MEd, Educational Administration: Higher Ed

Why did you choose to pursue to pursue MEd Educational Administration, Higher Education program?

As I call Hawaiʻi my home and make sense of my placemaking here, I ask myself: What is your kuleana? How are you showing up as a good relative? What does it mean to call Hawaiʻi your home when there are Kānaka ʻŌiwi who are displaced from their own ʻāina? I circle back to my main reasons for choosing UH Mānoa. It was the community in my program and how I was embraced as a student, learner, and, even more so, a new member of an extended family. I knew that in a department with so many diverse faculty and opportunities for growth, I would be professionally and personally fostered in a way that would be difficult at other institutions that lacked the Black and Indigenous communities I belong to and aim to be in community with. Since being at UH Mānoa I have found community and been able to lead in many different ways. I have a deep aloha for the communities I belong to, and because of that I am committed to doing my part to make UH Mānoa a true Native Hawaiian Place of Learning.

Why did you want to be a Social Media Ambassador for your program?

I believe that social media is one of the greatest that can be used for learner engagement, especially when it comes to accessible resources and knowledge that are otherwise inaccessible from communities that don’t have the opportunity to seek a college education or education in general. Social media is a continuous flow of learning that people can tap into and engage with in a diverse and critical way, and I believe if given the opportunity, with my skills and background in social media already I can bring a lot of mutual learning to my peers in the COE and in my department. I believe this program could teach me a lot on the logistical side of social media, especially when it comes to data tracking and audience engagement. I am always wanting to challenge myself as a student, and future educator and I believe that if we are able to use social media as a tool to build community in the COE, then that is a way to reach more potential students who can join and make a difference in our college.

Anything else you’d like to share? 

I am a first generation college student and graduate research assistant in the Department of Educational Administration. I manage several social media accounts for the various organizations I am a part of on campus. I am in my second term as the president of the College of Ed Master Student Association. I am a member of the Black Student Association and the current Chair of the Alice Ball Black Graduation, the first cultural affinity graduation to happen at UHM. I’m co-founder of Sister Circle Mānoa, and have started the first (of its kind at UHM) Free Black Women’s Library which is housed in NHSS on campus. I’m an executive member of the Indigenous Student Association, and have contributed to leading programming centered in education of Indigenous peoples around the world. I have also served in GSO, and was the UH Mānoa graduate student representative for the university student caucus in 2022. I also have experience writing and secured grant funding through UHM for several of the organizations I belong to, and have presented and been published at educational conferences such as NASPA and NCORE.