Running head: UNDERSTANDING AND SERVICE

Understanding and Service: Learning How to Best Support

Pacific Islander Students on College Campuses
Leah Sadoian
Azusa Pacific University
22 January 2015

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Student Affairs is a field specific to college students. This diverse group of individuals is
compromised of many different types of students: athletes, first generation students, international
students, etc. Every student is different, and in order to serve them to the best of our ability as
Student Affairs professionals we must be prepared to learn how to understand them. This
intersection of understanding and service to students is important, because if we do not take the
time to learn and understand our students, our service will be fitted to our ideals, not theirs. This
action plan focuses on my attempt to better understand the Pacific Islander student population in
colleges. These students are comprised of different backgrounds, with many of them traveling
away from the Pacific Islands to attend school on the mainland. This action plan is divided into
three objectives, each focusing on a different aspect of the understanding concept of
understanding and service. First, I will focus developing an awareness of this specific
population. Second, I will work towards gaining an increased knowledge of Pacific Islander
students and their specific experience. Finally, I will use my research from the first two
objectives to develop multicultural skills specific to working with these students. The overall
goal of this action plan is to become familiar and knowledgeable about the culture of Pacific
Islander students, their specific experience on a mainland campuses, and how to best support
them.
DEVELOPING AWARENESS
In order to develop an awareness of the Pacific Islander culture/student experience, I
chose a variety of activities to begin my action plan. They are the first steps toward developing a
deep understanding of this student population, and learning how to serve them best. This
objective contains three separate activities to help develop awareness of the Pacific Islander
culture and student experience. First, I will reflect on my own context and understanding of

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Pacific Islander culture and Islander students on mainland campuses, evaluating biases and
preconceptions I may have. By taking time to reflect on my understanding of Pacific Islander
culture/students, I can pinpoint where I am starting from and where I need to be headed.
Secondly, I will read a scholarly article about Asian Pacific Islander students in higher education.
Researching this specific population and their mark on higher education creates a key foundation
for my action plan. Finally, I will watch the APU Pacific Islander Organization 2014 Luau,
which featured a storyline of an APU student who was homesick and wanted to leave the
mainland. Looking into APU Pacific Islander students specific experiences and challenges on
campuses will help me grow in how to approach these students and help them through difficult
situations. Overall, these three objectives are a solid staring point in developing an awareness of
the Pacific Islander culture, student population, and challenges those students may face.
The first activity I chose was to reflect on my own views and beliefs about this culture
and student population. Most of what I know about this student population is that many of them
come from the islands, often feel out of place or homesick, and seem to seek out other Pacific
Islander students to spend time with. I reflected on phrases like, prefers warm weather, and
seems overly motivated based on what I saw in students in our office. It felt odd to be
reflecting on a culture that was not my own, almost as if I was invading a population that I did
not have any right to judge. But that is the first step in creating change, self-reflection is
necessary in order to gain a starting point. Growing in cognitive development is crucial to
becoming an ally to this population. Reason and Davis (2005) argue that As students move out
of dualistic or received knowledge views of the world, they become more comfortable with
multiple perspectives and the subjectivity of authority and knowingit makes sense that it is

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necessary for individuals to develop more complex reasoning skills in order to suspend
hegemonic messages and accept the lack of absolutes ins social justice problem solving (p. 11).
My second activity was to read a scholarly article about Pacific Islander students and
higher education. Teranishi (2012), author of Asian American and Pacific Islander Students and
the Institutions that Serve Them, explored the growing trend in the number of Pacific Islander
students who choose to attend college. However, he also goes on to write that this population
still faces old stereotypes in higher education. The perceived success of AAPIs as a whole is
heavily influenced by stereotypes and false perceptions that are generalized to all subpopulations of AAPIs (Teranishi, 2012, p. 16). I knew stereotypes existed for students of color,
but I did not know that the model minority myth, as Teranishi describes it, heavily influences
the Pacific Islander population as well. I learned through this activity that Pacific Islander
students also face the challenge of everyone assuming they are from Hawaii, when in fact this
population of students is extremely diverse. Teranishi (2012) writes,
The AAPI racial category consists of 48 different ethnic groups, which occupy positions
along the full range of the socioeconomic spectrum, from the poor and underprivileged to
the affluent and highly skilledThus, while the AAPI population represents a single
group in certain contexts, such as for interracial group comparisons, it is equally
important to understand the ways in which a complex set of social realities obtain for
individuals and communities that fall within this category. (p. 17)
This is similar to our class reading on complex identities, and how many aspects of our person
come to develop our intricate and individual identities. Tatum (2013) writes The concept of
identify is a complex one, shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical
factors, and social and political contexts (p. 7). Understanding that identity is complex,

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especially for Asian Pacific Islander students, will be valuable as I begin to help them in their
challenges.
Finally, I borrowed a DVD of last years Luau show from a member of APUs Pacific
Islander Organization. She had recommended it to me after I told her about this project, since
the main storyline of the show revolved around a student at APU who wanted to return home to
Hawaii instead of staying at school. The annual P.I.O Luau is a dinner and show put on the
members of the organization, and last years show theme was You will be with me in Paradise.
Throughout the hour long show, there were a variety of dances representing the different islands
and a constant encouragement for the main character to continue trusting God and seeking his
will for him in this journey. Each island was represented by a different angel, who came
bringing advice through scripture to our main character. I learned through watching this
performance that many APU students who struggle with homesickness for the islands while at
school strive to find comfort in their faith and promises found in scripture. I found this
encouraging, but also unsettling for those students who are not believers. Where do they find
comfort when they face challenges, especially at a faith-based institution? This performance was
also a great representation of all the different Pacific Islander students are at APU, as each set of
dances represented different islands, from Hawaii to Tahiti, to New Zealand, and beyond. It
reflected the diversity of what the term Pacific Islander student represents, a strong reminder to
not categorize all students the same.
With a growing awareness of Pacific Islander culture/student experience, the next step is
to continue building knowledge. Objective two of my action plan revolves around continuing to
build off this foundation of awareness by interviewing students and staff who are knowledgeable

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about the Pacific Islander student population at APU in order to be able to work towards my final
goal of developing a support system on campus for these students.
GAINING KNOWLEDGE
Objective two of my Action Plan focuses on increasing my knowledge of the Pacific
Islander culture/student experience. This objective uses interviews with staff and students as
experiences to help me gain new knowledge about issues Pacific Islander students encounter
when adjusting to life on a college campus away from home. Interviews are designed to target
three different aspects of the Pacific Islander student experience. I will interview Shino Simons,
Associate Dean of Students and Administrative Judicial Officer at APU, inquiring about her
personal experience as a Pacific Islander student, and how she works to support Pacific Islander
students at APU now. My interview with Denise Gleason, advisor for the Pacific Islander
Organization at APU (PIO), will focus on the purpose of PIO and how the organization works to
support Pacific Islander students. Finally, I will interview a Pacific Islander student about her
experience at APU, focusing on the transition from the islands to the mainland, and difficulties
she encountered. These interviews will increase my knowledge of the Pacific Islander
culture/student experience and prepare me to complete objective three of my action plan, focused
on developing multicultural skills specific to working with this student population.
Shino Simons attended APU as a Pacific Islander student and now works as the Associate
Dean of Students and Administrative Judicial Officer at APU. She transferred to APU from
University of Hawaii after two years, and resonated with my reflection that the college
experience for Pacific Islander students is very different than traditional students. For her
personally, it was evident that she was different. When I was at APU, there were only three
islanders here. And I was one of them. There was no P.I.O, no SCRD, and student of color

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diversity rates were very low (S. Simons, personal communication, January 15, 2015). Simons
described one of the difficulties for herself as an Islander student was learning how to understand
race and ethnic identity development. She had never talked about race in Hawaii, and had to
face that conversation head on when she came to the mainland. Suddenly she was the outsider,
different, unlike the rest. I learned that nostalgia is a major factor in Pacific Islanders student
experience, because everything on the mainland is so different. Food, culture, music, even the
way people treat each other. There was a major transitional period that seemed to last longer
than students who had traveled elsewhere from the states. In her role now, she does interact with
Islander students often, as they share something similar. When we say home, we all know we
are talking about Hawaii. Its a common understanding we share (S. Simons, personal
communication, January 15, 2015). Simons also pointed out that it is helpful for parents to see
someone from Hawaii who is working at the school, still on the mainland. I learned that
reassurance is a major component of Pacific Islander families who let their children go to school
on the mainland. Overall, Simons stressed the importance of how Islander students support and
look out for one another. Their support system becomes their family away from home, helping
them work through their difficulties.
That factor was a major point in my interview with Denise Gleason, the staff advisor for
APUs Pacific Islander Organization (P.I.O.). She has been in this role for 13 years, acting as
advisor for the organizations over 70 student members and leadership team. Although she is
advisor, Gleason stated that her work is about building relationships, not mentoring. So much
of Pacific Islander culture is about family, about ohana, so I walk alongside students instead of
leading them directlysome decisions need help, but P.I.O is a student-run club (D. Gleason,
personal communication, January 12, 2015). I asked her about how P.I.O came to exist at APU.

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She shared that it was originally put together for a small group of islander students to call home.
It was designed originally to support them. Their experience is different, mainland life here is
very different than on the islands (D. Gleason, personal communication, January 12, 2015).
This theme of support system came up many times in my interviews, stressing how important it
is for Islander students to find people they can trust and lean on in difficult times. Gleason
brought up an interesting point, however, when she discussed the difference in Pacific Islander
students who come from the Islands, and those of Islander descent who come from the mainland.
The main factor is that some of these students have family in the states, and others do not. All of
these students are welcome in P.I.O, but she stressed that it is not a mainland club. You cant
make it a mainland club, its got to be what its supposed to bea place for Islander students to
call home (D. Gleason, personal communication, January 12, 2015). It was grown into that
role, as Gleason explained that every year P.I.O plays a part in helping students through difficult
situations. Those who strive to find connection with Islander students seek out the organization.
She explained a particular situation where a student took a leave of absence and returned to the
islands. When he came back to school, he realized he did not want to be here and wanted to
return home. The Hawaii students rallied around him, gave him all the reasons to stay or leave,
and supported him regardless of his final decision. And he ended up going back to the islands,
but they supported him in that too (D. Gleason, personal communication, January 12, 2015).
This grassroots support for students, coming from students themselves instead of administration,
seems to be the most impactful for Pacific Islander students facing difficulties.
The next interview in this objective was with Brittney Like, a senior at APU who is a
Pacific Islander and from Hawaii. Like introduced many factors that I had not realized about
Islander students experiences at mainland campuses, the first of which was the change in

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diversity coming from the islands to the mainland. I grew up in an Asian community, and
definitely experienced culture shock when I came to APU. I just saw a bunch of people who
didnt look like me (B. Like, personal communication, January 15, 2015). Even though her
roommate was from Hawaii, she still experienced the culture shock of becoming an outsider, just
as Simons had when she transferred to APU from Hawaii. Alpha groups, which are small groups
meant to help first-years at APU connect with one another only heightened the culture shock
Like was experiencing. I didnt want to be vulnerable with students who didnt look like me
right off the bat. It felt forced and uncomfortable (B. Like, personal communication, January 15,
2015). The lack of diversity Like had growing up played a part in how she interacted with
others. I didnt know what was okay, or how to be sensitive (B. Like, personal
communication, January 15, 2015). This was even more difficult as she told me about her
education in Hawaii, where a lot of her history courses were focused on the history of the
Islands relation with white people and westernization. I was taught hatred towards white
people, and it was difficult to work through that at a predominately white college (B. Like,
personal communication, January 15, 2015). However, Like stressed the importance of P.I.O,
which provided her with immediate support when she moved to APU. Besides providing
individuals who shared her culture and upbringing, they also helped her adjust to campus life and
get connected. It was really nice not having to explain yourself, being around [P.I.O] I could
use specific lingo they would understand, and feel at home (B. Like, personal communication,
January 15, 2015). In the classroom, Like struggled with stereotypes and assumptions. The
attention was really hard, a lot of people couldnt figure out what ethnicity I was. I got asked
what are you? so many times. I also didnt like being the spokesperson for my race, which
happened a lot in class (B. Like, personal communication, January 15, 2015). Overall, Like has

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had an enjoyable experience at APU. She has held leadership positions for two years in P.IO,
first as a the Vice President and then as the President of the organization. Like reflected on her
individual experiences, and uses it as a catalyst to reach out to first-years and make sure they are
being taken care of, just as others had done for her.
These interviews have helped me complete objective two of my action plan, focused on
gaining knowledge about Pacific Islander student experience. Interviewing Shino, Associate
Dean of Students and Administrative Judicial Officer for APU, taught me about how APU has
grown in diversity and created support systems for Islander students. My interview with Denise
Gleason, advisor for PIO, revealed one of those major support systems, the Pacific Islander
Student Organization. Interviewing a current APU Pacific Islander student gave me an inside
look at life for Pacific Islander students on campus, difficulties they face, and how they felt best
supported. Together, these different interviews have provided knowledge about Pacific Islander
student experience at APU which I will use for my final objective, focused on developing
multicultural skills specific to working with Pacific Islander students.
DEVELOPING MULTICULTURAL SKILLS
Objective three of my Action Plan is focused on developing multicultural skills specific
to working with Pacific Islander students. This final step allows me to implement my objective
goals from the first two steps of my action plan, putting into action what I have learned thus far.
This objective is supplemented with three different exercises. First, I assess my current level of
skills and comfort in working with Pacific Islander students, to help form a starting point. Then I
will meet with a representative of P.I.Os leadership to discuss what would be helpful for them to
make their experience on a mainland campus more healthy. Finally, I will use that information to
develop a shell for an appropriate support program for Pacific Islander students at APU.

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Of all the specific student populations on college campuses, I believe I am fairly

comfortable in working with Pacific Islander students. There was a large population of these
students in my hometown and high school growing up, so it was not an unfamiliar experience to
have Filipino friends or experience their culture. Even at Westmont, we had a somewhat large
population of students from Hawaii, who I was able to interact with during my senior year as I
worked in intercultural programming. This is not to say that I am totally comfortable working
with Pacific Islander students. One thing I struggle with is breaking into their friend group.
As my interviews supported, the family aspect of Islander culture impacts the relationships
between Pacific Islander students on college campuses. They seek out one another because of
shared experiences and upbringing, thus creating very tight knit friend groups. Trying to squeeze
my way into that circle can be very intimidating. However, as I have worked my way through
the action plan assignment, I find myself becoming more and more comfortable in approaching
and working with this student population because I have taken the time to evaluate my skills and
learn more about their culture and the students themselves through my various experiences. My
skill set has grown, especially through the interview portion of this assignment. I am learning
how to be comfortable in conversing with these students on difficult issues. This proves valuable
as I enter into the second part of this objective, which involves meeting with a representative
from P.I.O to discuss what would be helpful to their student population on behalf of the
university.
I interviewed Mariel Ramos, a junior at APU, who is serving as the Director of
Community Affairs for P.I.O. She has been involved with P.I.O since her freshman year, and has
walked through a variety of difficult situations with her Islander friends in P.I.O. We discussed
what the university could do to better support this student population. Ramos stressed the

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importance of finding connections outside of P.I.O. The [Student Center for Reconciliation and
Diversity] is great, but it is important to find relationships outside of P.I.O. It is easy to stick to
those you know and only those (M. Ramos, personal communication, January 15, 2015).
Ramos also commented on how the college should better advertise campus resources to these
students. This specific student population tends to stay within their personal circles, so it is hard
for them to find connections and resources outside of it. She spoke about how the university
could do a better job at inclusion. Ramos pointed out that Hawaiian language classes are not
offered at APU. Pacific Islander students who are also native Hawaiian speakers are still
required to take a language class, which seems unfair considering native Chinese or Spanish
speakers can test out of this requirement. Inclusion stretches beyond programming to university
academics as a whole. Creating comfortable conversations about diversity with students was
another improvement Ramos mentioned. Diversity is talked about a whole, not how it directly
impacts students in the classroom (M. Ramos, personal communication, January 15, 2015). It
would be helpful for students to realize that others, such as the Pacific Islander students, are
facing some of the issues and difficulties they discuss in their coursework. With all of this in
mind, I can begin to develop an appropriate support system on behalf of the university, directly
targeted to benefit Pacific Islander students.
Taking into account all the new information from my interviews, self-reflection, and
research, the final experience in objective three and my action plan as a whole is to develop a
support system for Pacific Islander students at APU. This programming is a very early draft, but
has the potential to be developed further. What follows is a shell for the program, shaped by
what I have learned through completing my action plan. I have developed a two session targeted
introduction for new Pacific Islander students at APU during Orientation, leading into a four-year

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experience for Islander students on campus. In the introduction section, the first of these would
be an intro to APU by P.I.O representatives, connecting Islander students not only to other
Islander students, but valuable resources and knowledge about the college they are attending.
The second session would feature Islander faculty, such as Shino Simons, reflecting on her
experience and how she works with Islander students now. This session could potentially
include parents, as reassurance is an important factor for Islander families. Islander students who
were interested could volunteer to be mentored by upperclassmen Islander students, giving them
a direct (and very important) support system throughout their first year. This mentorship piece is
the first year of a four year program, where the first year is mentorship, the second and third year
are student leadership opportunities, and the final year is mentorship to a first-year student. This
cycle would not only encourage Pacific Islander students to be involved on campus, but help
them make APU a significant extension of their home. This programming can be implemented
on another college campus with a large Pacific Islander student population, or be redefined for
another student population, as many students of color often feel out of place at predominately
white institutions. Regardless, this exercise of developing a support system program for Pacific
Islander students at APU is an impactful final step in my Action Plan, and sets me up for stage
two, which would be actual implementation of this program.
CONCLUSION
The overall goal of this action plan was to become familiar and knowledgeable about the
culture of Pacific Islander students, their specific experience on a mainland campuses, and how
to best support them. Through developing awareness, gaining increased knowledge, and
developing multicultural skills specific to working with this student population, I feel ready and
confident to move towards stage two of my action plan, which is implementation of the

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programming I have developed in objective three. Next steps would include continued research
on similar impactful programming and how to work towards tailoring each part of the program to
specific needs for Pacific Islander students. Creating a team of individuals willing to pursue this
programming and develop it further will lead to a future finalization and implementation.
However, it is important to think on a bigger scale as well. Redesigning this assignment and
programming to other student populations could create a major impact on college campuses.
Multiculturalism in Student Affairs would move from learning about student populations to
actually working concretely to support them. Instead of staying on the theoretical level,
multiculturalism will become an active choice. Understanding first, then service second.
Focusing on understanding student populations at their deepest level will lead Student Affairs
professionals to serve them better. Working from the bottom-up, rather than the top-down,
allows programming to be fitted to specific students needs, expanding multiculturalism from a
textbook formula into a relational basis.

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References

Reason, R. D. and Davis, T. L. (2005). Antecedents, precursors, and concurrent concepts in the
development of social justice attitudes and actions. New Directions for Student Services,
110, p. 5-13.
Tatum, B. D. (2013). The complexity of identity: Who am I?. Readings for diversity and
Social Justice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Teranishi, R. T. (2012). Asian American and Pacific Islander students and the institutions that
serve them. Change, p. 16-22.