UCLA Islanders Maintaining Unity & Access Conference
UCLA’s Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) recently hosted their annual Islanders Maintaining Unity and Access (IMUA) conference for Pacific Islander high school and community college students in the greater Los Angeles area. PILOT is invited each year to run a workshop. This year, our students came together to create, develop, and execute the workshop for their Forward Movement Project (FMP). The workshop which focused on Perceptions and Critical Thinking, was well-received. Quotes have been lightly edited and condensed for accessibility.
A young Pacific Islander women smiling.
“Being in the presence of the students and watching them piece together the workshop that we brought forward to them felt like the satisfaction you get after solving a long math equation. I fall in love all over again with community work every time I get this feeling. The conference was a success and I look forward to next year’s program, and our next Forward Movement Project.”
A young Pacific Islander man crouched down holding up his badge.
“There were learning moments, breakthroughs, and opportunities that can only come with adversity. Even though some of us were unable to be a part of the planning and facilitating, the fact that there was 13 of us there provided a presence that fostered one another’s Mana. Seeing Forward Movement happen across cohorts was definitely one of the biggest takeaways from this event. It was a reminder that we can do anything, with the necessary work, and guidance. I feel that the space we provide one another is unique in such powerful ways. The cross-cohort presence makes me think of what FMP will look like moving forward. I have such high hopes for what we will produce and hope to continue this success.”
A young Pacific Islander women crouched down smiling.
“Being a part of a team that actually runs workshops was a whole new experience for me. I am so used to being on the other end–the student receiving all this knowledge. It felt strange to actually help run these workshops, but the reactions from the students were priceless. It made me realize just how big of an impact we made. When my profile was revealed, I will never forget the reactions on those student’s faces. To have them realize that they can be more than what was told of them, that there was a Pacific Islander woman who is doing all those great things and getting all of these academic achievements. I know we made an impact on the lives of those students. Even if it was just one or two kids who were impacted by our workshop, then we did what we set out to do.”
A young Pacific Islander man sits on a concrete bench. There is a large body of water and cruise ship in the background.
“My first IMUA conference at UCLA as a primary facilitator was a perceptive experience. It was a real pleasure fostering critical awareness within, and alongside fellow Pacific Islander students.
Often times, Pacific Islanders singularly define success through athleticism. Success within academia tends to be pushed to the peripheral with most Pacific Islanders because they feel the curriculum doesn’t recognize or count them as important. I felt the workshop did a great job to deconstruct the students perceived individual realities and remind them that they too are appreciated and important, especially in the academic realm.
One of the hardest parts for me was swiftly making adjustments to better fit the attendees. Even after initial planning, things arise and change where facilitators have to reformat plans for the sake of the impact.
It’s not easy tossing out a studied agenda and adopting a new one. I got nervous and it skewed my communication, and I started talking in jargon. It wasn’t until D-Boy pulled me aside and checked my error, that I was able to refocus. Communication is key to all things. It isn’t about using fancy words to demonstrate individual intellect. Communication is about clearly and comprehensibly delivering a message to an audience that’s equally apart from you—and that’s the greatest lesson I learned form my first IMUA as a facilitator.”
A young Pacific Islander women in a puletasi standing next to a large poster that reads ‘A Community of Contrast 2014’.
“Public speaking is not my strong suit so I felt that this project would give me a chance to strengthen that. However when I was in front of the students, I had a huge challenge gathering my thoughts. While I was facilitating there was a long pause, all I could hear in my head was my dad’s voice saying, ‘No man stands alone.’ I said the code word and Justin came to the rescue. At the time, I was frustrated and disappointed in myself. I felt that because I wasn’t fully prepared I failed the students. I stepped aside to gather myself. I received thumbs up from team members, and some even came to check on me. My mentors also gave me a pep talk, so that all I could do was finish off strong. Four weeks later, even though I choked, I am okay with how it went down. When you have people who believe in you, love and support you, you can’t help but feel uplifted. I walked away more content with my mistakes than I’ve ever been in my life. This is the kind of work I wouldn’t mind doing over and over because if there’s anything that I believe, it’s that the work we do is what our community needs.”
A young Pacific Islander women with a yellow and pink flower in her hair; side portrait.
“[What went well]
I loved how we all came together and brought what we had to the table. We all learned from each other and always took something new home at the end of each meeting. The differences we brought to each meeting just to come to one understanding. Time management. Even though we all have weird crazy schedules we all came together and figured it out as a team.
[Needs improvement]
The frustration that was built during the process. Back to the drawing board concept. We did that a few times and it was difficult. Just scratching out what we had and realizing that it was not good enough. The questions that I wanted to ask but I felt like no one really knew the answers.”