I’ve seen fathers and brothers bend over backwards to do anything for their mothers and sisters. Mothers and sisters go above and beyond to make their fathers and brothers happy. The way in which every Pacific Islander does so much for the love of their community is the same motivation that I use to face any challenge and grow past any obstacle to reach goals of mine. While the Pacific Islander identity is one unchosen by birth, I’ve found personal interests in many things due to its large cultural presence in my life. For one, seeing the presence of benevolence and assistance has aided my interest in volunteer work, in hopes of demonstrating the same traits that I grew up seeing all my life. I’ve participated in beach clean-ups, marathon volunteering, dog toy making, food drives, elementary school office work, and snack bar volunteering in high school. Currently at the University of California Berkeley, I search for more opportunities that specifically spark an emotion that closely caters to my purpose. I’ve volunteered with children, learned of medical opportunities, spoken with others in medical communities, and a shocking opportunity I’ve greatly enjoyed: higher educational outreach with groups K-12. As a representation of two different underrepresented minority groups, I’ve learned that it is not only important that I grow to be successful as a representation of my people’s abilities, but it is also important that I advocate for increased/successful recruitment and retention rates of underrepresented minorities at the higher education level, so there may be the chance for communities to be uplifted in more ways than one. Moreover, we will see the most development if change is in pursuit by the educated minds of individuals from within the community. With that, my hope after my education at UC Berkeley is that I will create and implement an educational awareness, health improvement, and/or mental health awareness program in the communities that raised me, so we can explore beyond the path paved by our ancestors. While I do have hopes to build programs that help educate, I also hope to create my own education, in a form of education that centralizes the perception and perspective of Pacific Islander cultural ways of life. I hope to publish research, read in universities such as UC Berkeley, about the health and wealth of people, in academia knowledge that may be easily comprehensible for us: storytelling. My simple dream is to impact the world … that affects Pacific Islanders. I want to impact. I want to spark change, but greater than that, I want to change the health statistics for Pacific Islanders by adding to it; conducting my own research, providing care for the community that helps long-term health, finding healthier alternatives to our usual diet, creating more resources that balance health disparities, supplying health needs at affordable costs. If I am able to expand the knowledge that exists for Pacific Islander students like me AND educate Pacific Islanders about the greater endeavors a higher education can bring for the individual and to the community, I will have accomplished more than I could dream of within STEAM.

I’ve seen fathers and brothers bend over backward to do anything for their mothers and sisters. Mothers and sisters go above and beyond to make their fathers and brothers happy. The way in which every Pacific Islander does so much for the love of their community is the same motivation that I use to face any challenge and grow past any obstacle to reach my goals. While the Pacific Islander identity is unchosen by birth, I’ve found personal interests in many things due to its large cultural presence. For one, seeing the presence of benevolence and assistance has aided my interest in volunteer work, in hopes of demonstrating the same traits that I grew up seeing all my life. I’ve participated in beach clean-ups, marathon volunteering, dog toy making, food drives, elementary school office work, and snack bar volunteering in high school. Currently, at the University of California Berkeley, I am searching for more opportunities that specifically spark an emotion that closely caters to my purpose. I’ve volunteered with children, learned of medical opportunities, spoken with others in medical communities, and a shocking opportunity I’ve greatly enjoyed: higher educational outreach with groups K-12. As a representation of two different underrepresented minority groups, I’ve learned that it is not only important that I grow to be successful as a representation of my people’s abilities, but it is also important that I advocate for increased/successful recruitment and retention rates of underrepresented minorities at the higher education level, so there may be the chance for communities to be uplifted in more ways than one. Moreover, we will see the most development if change is pursued by the educated minds of individuals from within the community. With that, my hope after my education at UC Berkeley is that I will create and implement an educational awareness, health improvement, and/or mental health awareness program in the communities that raised me, so we can explore beyond the path paved by our ancestors. While I do have hopes to build programs that help educate, I also hope to create my education, in a form that centralizes the perception and perspective of Pacific Islander cultural ways of life. I hope to publish research, read in universities such as UC Berkeley, about the health and wealth of people, in academia knowledge that may be easily comprehensible for us: storytelling. Through STEAM, my simple dream is to impact the world … that affects Pacific Islanders. I want to impact. I want to spark change, but greater than that, I want to change the health statistics for Pacific Islanders by adding to it; conducting my own research, providing care for the community that helps long-term health, finding healthier alternatives to our usual diet, creating more resources that balance health disparities, supplying health needs at affordable costs. If I can expand the knowledge that exists for Pacific Islander students like me AND educate Pacific Islanders about the greater endeavors a higher education can bring for the individual and to the community, I will have accomplished more than I could dream of within STEAM.

My own involvement in volleyball and basketball has provided me with the understanding of what an important and impactful outlet sports can serve as; it knows no exclusivity with the growth and happiness it may bring someone who truly immerses themselves in their craft. Sports have been this outlet to escape, learn, and grow, but aside from the individual affect, communities have begun to sprout and thrive around me. Many athletes, aside from myself, find the people, the community, and the village that supports them and eventually, grounds them. I’ve learned that this invaluable aspect, if done right, brings a whole lifetime of continuous motivation and advice to get one through the trials and tribulations of sports … and of life. Though there is much positivity to highlight in sports, much praise for wins, both personal and collaboratively, there are also lots of mental battles that we keep in the dark. There are moments of pain that we push through for praise, moments of weakness that we must weather to find our strengths, moments of pressure that we must endure for a diamond to form. Moments of my own however, aren’t the moments that inspired my interests; it was witnessing the conversations of my father and brothers that brought sports medicine to my attention. All the time dedicated towards training, massages, cryotherapy, honing their craft, perfecting their skills, and putting this sport second to their family results in an unconscious subside of their inner health; it is especially an ignored inner health that can lead to failure or worse, injury. It is in this aspect that I find the most interest in sports medicine. As I see my brother so successful in college football, an irreplaceable leader, I observe the pressure he feels to push himself past all limitations, sometimes even playing hurt. While he is blessed to not have been injured horribly, I know not all athletes have this blessing. In the field of sports medicine, I hope to cater to the many needs of athletes CONSISTENTLY. Athletes understand the importance of consistency within their training, but I hope to use my position, wherever I may, to remind the importance of listening to one’s other needs. There will be countless hours of training for a few hopeful moments of shine, but the key to success is to be patient with the body's process and find inner balance. I hope to go down the route of sports medicine, so that I may prepare athletes before, and after, their big moment of shine; the preparation which includes the meticulous care of bones and muscles for long-term function and strength, keeping a healthy heart for the unpredicted moments that can occur, and growing a strong mental so that all the obstacles that arise cannot shake an athlete from their ultimate goal. Personally, in sports medicine, I hope to find the most fulfillment in the outcome of it all. The appreciation and thanks that come from many successful athletes will be the reward I receive in sports medicine. There are a lot of things I am unsure of where I want to go with sports medicine, such as what age I want to focus on or what kind of environment I would prefer, but I do know that I want the positivity of sports to remain in my life in some form, while also shaping the men-minded perspective of sports to include a focus of mental health.