Center for Pacific Island Studies

graduate students

Over the years, students in the MA program have enlivened classes and enriched each other’s experience through the wide range of interests and talents they brought to the center. Center students have backgrounds in a variety of disciplines, and many have studied or worked or have family roots in the Pacific. After graduation, they undertake doctoral study or pursue their Pacific interests in fields such as education, journalism, regional government service, social work, and library and museum work. For a list recent theses, Plan B papers, and portfolios produced by the MA students, see Theses, Plan B Papers, and Portfolios.

Current MA Students

Lucille Fuamatala Achica has a BA in Hawaiian and Pacific studies from University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu. She was born in American Sāmoa but spent the first part of her life in Apia, Sāmoa, before moving to O‘ahu. She has an interest in dance and its role in helping diasporic Samoans and other Pacific Islanders maintain their culture and hopes to work in the field of education.

Susan Whitney Cooper Alletto graduated from California State Polytechnic University with a BS degree and an interest in marine biology. She is continuing her studies in marine sciences in the Pacific in the MA program.

Louisa (Sasa) Ching-Ling Anthony graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo with a BA in political science and took courses in international studies at Stanford University. She has strong environmental interests and a background in community organization and wants to work in the area of environmental policy in the Pacific.

James Arriola, who is from Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marians, graduated with a BA in sociology from St John’s University in Minnesota. He is interested in getting a broad perspective on the social, psychological, and cultural issues that Islanders face, and the impact that these issues have on mental and physical health and healthcare in the region.

Siniva Marie Bennett graduated from the University of Oregon in 2006 with a BA in Ethnic Studies and Philosophy. In her graduate research she is examining the ways in which Pacific Islanders occupy agency, preserve cultural integrity, and resist neocolonialism, with a focus on public institutions of education in American Sāmoa.

Janet “Ka‘eo” Bradford graduated from University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu, with a BA in anthropology and Pacific studies. Born and raised on Kaua‘i, Bradford has been involved in the community as a volunteer and activist for a number of years and has a special interest in exploring Hawaiian traditions.

Madonna Castro-Perez graduated from the University of California-San Diego in 2006 with a BA in Political Science and History. Born and raised in Guam, she was introduced to Chamorro politics at an early age, through the activities of her parents. She is specializing in Micronesian politics and, in particular, Micronesia's relations with Polynesia and Melanesia.

Dominique Cordy graduated from the University of California–Davis with a BA in anthropology. She was born in Guam and lived briefly on Yap and Kosrae and in Aotearoa New Zealand before moving to Hawai‘i. She is interested in the interaction between globalization and local cultures and intends to look at literature and music as forms of resistance and cultural preservation.

Michelle Kamalu Dupreez graduated with a BA in anthropology and art (art history focus) from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. She began work at the Bishop Museum as a NAGPRA (Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) intern. At the end of the internship, she moved to the Cultural Collections Department, which sparked a passion to explore issues of indigenous stewardship of cultural objects and curation. Her graduate studies focus on the contemporary practice of uhi (Hawaiian tattooing) as a visual means of asserting kuleana (responsibility/privilege) for 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiians).

Lorenz Rudolf Gonschor has a degree in anthropology from Eberhard-Karls Universität in Tübingen, Germany. He has a long-standing interest in cultural, historical, and political issues in the Pacific and would like to pursue a comparative analysis of sovereignty and independence movements in French Polynesia, Hawai‘i, and Rapa Nui.

Ann Hansen has a BA and an MA (in special education) from Michigan State University. She also took Hawaiian studies courses at Windward Community College and Hawai‘i Pacific University and has been a teacher with the Hawai‘i State Department of Education since 1970. She is pursuing an MA with the intention of using her knowledge of the Pacific in the field of education.

Marianna Lucia Hernandez, BA in English literature, University of Guam. Marianna, who is from Guam, is dedicated to helping Chamorros maintain their language and other aspects of their culture and intends to teach. She was awarded an East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellow scholarship in support of her studies.

Asuka Hirabe, who is from Tokyo, Japan, has BAs in international relations and economics from Boston University. From visits that she has made to Upolu, Sāmoa, she has become aware of some of the issues that the Islands face. She is interested in increasing her knowledge of the region and applying it to international initiatives and agencies that respond to Islander-identified needs

Carla Hostetter has a BA from Brandeis University with studies in art history, sociology, and anthropology. Carla is interested in connections between the socially and culturally constructed self and the physical world, particularly in the context of the Pacific and through the discipline of art history.

Judith Humbert graduated with a BA in education and culture from The Evergreen State College and attended Antioch New England Graduate School. Her interest in cross-cultural studies was piqued by an independent research project in which she studied sacred places and holistic health with indigenous elders in Aotearoa New Zealand and several other places. She intends to pursue her interests in cultural preservation and cross-cultural awareness.

Naoko Imoto, BA in social science, Hosei University. Naoko, who is from Japan, is interested in Pacific peoples’ perceptions of the Second World War period in the Pacific, how they interpret their historical experiences, and how they present these experiences to younger generations.

Kaeo Kaleoaloha graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a BA in Hawaiian studies. In his MA studies, he is pursuing his interest in the resource management practices of the people of old Hawai‘i.

Ann Marie Nalani Kirk graduated from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa with a BA in liberal studies. Since her graduation she has worked in media, particularly film, in the Pacific, as a director, producer, writer, and editor. She is using her graduate study to broaden her knowledge of the Pacific, with the ultimate goal of helping Pacific Islanders tell their stories in films.

Christine Manarpaac, from Hilo, Hawai‘i, graduated from UH Mānoa with a BA in interdisciplinary studies and a focus on the Pacific Islands. Her volunteer activities as an undergraduate led to her interest in studying Micronesian immigrant social issues. She hopes to assist with the development of programs to aid this segment of the population in the areas of education and employment.

Laura Leiali‘i Mano‘i graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a BA in liberal studies. As a hula dancer, Leiali‘i has had the opportunity to travel in the Pacific, which sparked her interest in Pacific cultures and the social and economic challenges that the region faces.

Ian Akahi Masterson has a BA in anthropology from Hawaii Pacific University and is a surf consultant and instructor. He is interested in continuing his research into Hawaiian archaeology and the importance of surfing in pre-contact Hawai'i and expanding the scope of his studies to include surfing in other parts of the Pacific.

Suzanne Mayo was born in Alabama but moved with her family to Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands at the age of nine. She has a BA in international relations from the University of Southern California. Mayo has worked on foreign affairs in the Marshalls and was a member of the Marshall Islands National Basketball team in the Micronesian Olympics in 2002.

Koreen Nakahodo graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with both a BA and an MA in English. She is an instructor in English at Chaminade University and is pursuing her interest in postcolonial literature in the Pacific and its role in reestablishing culture and identity.

Junko Nishida, from Yamaguchi, Japan, studied at the University of California–Berkeley and graduated with a major in English from Sophia University, in Tokyo. Her interests lie in the area of socioeconomic development and globalization, with a particular focus on Micronesia.

Brandon Tafea Polamalu, from Oregon, has a BA in English from Southern Oregon University. As part of a recent internship, Tafea had an opportunity to interview Samoans living in the United States about their experiences. Building on this research, he is interested in taking an interdisciplinary approach to learning about issues that confront Samoan and other diasporic communities in the region.

Joanne Sheng, from California, has a BA in media studies from Pomona College, with an emphasis on indigenous self-representation in the media. Her interest in Pacific Islands studies was fueled by two study trips to Aotearoa/New Zealand and research on Māori Television. She will use her time at Pacific Islands Studies to get a better understanding of Pacific history and contemporary issues.

Trisha Sue Shipman graduated from Northeastern State University in Oklahoma with a bachelor's in elementary education. After graduation she worked for three years with the Vanuatu Ministry of Education as a Peace Corps Volunteer, developing a culturally appropriate literacy program for the primary level. She is focusing on traditional and contemporary aspects of Pacific societies and the implications for developing educational policies and programs.

Leticia Kingtaro Sisior, from the Republic of Palau, has a BA in anthropology from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. She is interested in cultural and social change over time, with a special interest in the impact of colonization on the culture of Palau and what happens when cultural systems conflict.

James Reid Stiefvater graduated with a BA in Pacific Islands studies from Brigham Young University-Hawai'i Campus. He intends to concentrate his studies on Melanesia and plans to teach.

Elfriede Daniel Suda, who is from Chuuk, graduated from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa with a BA in 2005, after attending the College of Micronesia in Pohnpei. She has lived in Fiji, as well as various places in Micronesia, and is focusing on social changes brought about by missionaries in Micronesia.

Andrea Marata Tamaira graduated from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 2006 with a BA in anthropology. Prior to moving to Hawai'i, she worked in the New Zealand television broadcasting industry for twelve years. Her graduate studies involve conducting a critical analysis of current museum practices as they pertain to the representation of Māori taonga (artifacts).

Jennifer Kim Thayer grew up in Hawai‘i and earned a BA in liberal studies from UH Mānoa with a focus on culture and change in the Pacific. She has had experience in video production and is interested in making a video biography of a Pacific Islands artist.

Edelene Uriarte, from Palau, has a BA in English from Adventist University of the Philippines. Elelene will focus on learning more about the political and economic situation in the Islands and the role that education can play in determining the future of the region. She hopes ultimately to contribute to the field of Pacific Islands studies at Palau Community College.

Ronald Clayton Williams graduated from UH Mānoa with a BA in Hawaiian studies. He plans to study Polynesian history, culture, and language and to use his interest in film to create cultural educational videos to be used in Hawaiian language immersion schools.

Andre Tuiravakai graduated from Brigham Young University-Hawai'i Campus in 2005 with a BA in Pacific Islands studies. Originally from the Cook Islands, he has worked in government and business in the Cooks and in New Zealand. He intends to eventually apply his Pacific Islands studies graduate research on housing policies and practices in the Pacific to developing housing designs that incorporate cultural identity.

James Perez Viernes graduated from the University of Guam in 2003 with a BA in English. He is concentrating on Pacific history at the master's level and plans to go on to doctoral work in Pacific Islands studies, with the goal of returning home to Guam and engaging in teaching and service at the University of Guam.

Arndt Burkhard Wrede, who is from Germany, is currently a master's degree student in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He is interested in learning more about Hawai'i and participating in the development of planning and resource management tools that can be used in Hawai'i and possibly other parts of the Pacific.

Jesse David Yorck graduated from UH Mānoa with a BA in anthropology, focusing on archaeology. He would like to pursue his interests in cultural resource management and preservation.

Current Certificate Students

Suzanne Frazer is a graduate student in dance, focusing on Pacific (hula, Māori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan) and Asian (Balinese, Korean, Okinawa, Japanese) dance forms.

Fusae Kikuchi, a graduate student in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, graduated from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 2006 with a BA in liberal studies. Her engagement with the Pacific began with her experiences living abroad in Australia and New Zealand. She is particularly interested in developing programs to foster leadership skills in Pacific Islander young people in Hawaii.

Lahela Perry is a graduate student in anthropology, specializing in the archaeology of Hawai‘i.

Jessica Garlock-Tuialii, from Ohio, has a MSW from Boston College. She is a PhD student in the School of Social Work at UH Mānoa with a research focus on the Samoan population and social issues in Sāmoa.

For a list of recent graduates and their research topics, see Theses, Plan B Papers, and Portfolios.