“Fai faalelei lou aoga”, was a constant sentiment that my grandparents Falealili Tuaililiu and Fuesami Lauvai Asuega had instilled within our family. It was their values of faith, family, culture, and education that have guided and grounded my journey through pursuing higher education. Their prioritization of academia was influenced by their perspective that knowledge is power and being well educated would not only open career opportunities but a path to better our Samoan community. Cultivating knowledge through academia to in turn provide professional support and services to our Samoan community is what it means to me, to be a Pacific Islander. It is within our culture as Pacific Islanders to Tau-tua our family, village, and community to ensure the well-being of our people. To me, Tau-tua is to faithfully serve your family and community with love, respect, and humility. Through education, I can fulfill this cultural principle through a professional lens. At the age of 26, I hold a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work and am actively in the final stretch of attaining a Doctorate in Behavioral Health from Arizona State University. My ultimate career goal is to establish an Integrated Healthcare site in Arizona that specializes in Pacific Islander healthcare with a focalization in mental health awareness. My mission is to bridge the health gap that neglects the medical and behavioral health needs of Pacific Islanders through professional and accessible Integrated Healthcare. Through education, I have become aware that Pacific Islanders are underrepresented within academic literacy and research; and so, it is within my academic journey that has allowed me to bring Pacific Islander representation and establish footprints within my learning institutions. As a current Doctoral student, I want to make certain that I am equipped and prepared to provide safe and ethical healthcare services to Pacific Islanders. I want to affirm that mental and behavioral health is just as important as our physical health. With a Doctorate in Behavioral Health, I am able to research and identify healthcare solutions and implement those findings through Integrated Healthcare. With a Doctorate in Behavioral Health, I am able to provide mental and behavioral healthcare to address the mental health stigma Pacific Islanders silently endure. With a Doctorate in Behavioral Health, I am able to Tau-tua our community. To receive this scholarship will ensure I am able to allocate financial support to completing a Doctoral degree within the next year. It is not I who deserves this scholarship, but my family and community. It is the Pacific Islander community that deserves this scholarship to assist a future healthcare provider in obtaining a career that gives back to the health and well-being of our people. It is my family that deserves this scholarship as when one succeeds, we all succeed. It is specifically my parents, Raymond and Tauvaaga, who are the truly deserving prospective recipients of this scholarship as it is within their hard work and sacrifice that has allowed and enabled me to continue higher education and motivate my career as their values indicated that I can do anything I put my heart, passion, and hard work into. O lou igoa ou Raymond MalemaleAfi Liu Lauvai. E te sau mai Pago Pago Amerika Samoa, Ofu Manu’a, ma Carson Kalefornia. O a’u, o se tama Samoa. “If you know where you come from, you know where you are going.”