A bit about Siiri...
"I’m Siiri Kolohe Keola and my pronouns are they/them. I identify as a hapa haole kanaka maoli (mixed race Hawaiian, Chinese, Japanese and Finnish), queer, nonbinary femme."
After they graduated high school, they spent about 12 years on and off. Now, they have 3 academic degrees, 2 professional licenses, and 1 professional certification.
"I have an Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Kapʻiolani Community College. I then moved to Oregon, where I became a licensed esthetician and nail technician. I worked as a full body waxer before transferring to PSU.
Funny enough, this job was my pathway into the field of public health. As a waxer, I recognized how European standards of beauty influenced many of my clients to see me. I saw how these beauty standards were tied to their self-esteem and heard their discomfort with their body hair. I didn’t know it at the time, but I recognized a key concept in public health: larger systems, like culture, had influenced my clients’ behavior. "
They graduated from the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health with a Bachelors Degree in Community Health Education with a minor in Sexuality, Gender, and Queer Studies (SGQ). A Masters of Public Health and Certification in Public Health soon followed.
"As an SGQ minor, I learned how to analyze one’s place in society, and the broader factors that influence one’s social status. Thinking back about my former clients, I could see how my clients’ race, class, and gender influenced their interactions with beauty culture. I started to analyze the “why” of these systems and learned to question them as well."
Fast forward to today, I work at the Oregon Health Authority as the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) Member Communication and Engagement Coordinator.
What do you do?
"In my position at OHA, I collaborate with workgroups across the Oregon Health Authority to develop communications for members enrolled in the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) or Oregon’s Medicaid insurance. Health insurance is a complicated system because there is a lot of technical information, such as policies and procedures . My job is to deliver these technical pieces to help OHP members understand them, and strategize ways of communicating with all members."
See available positions at Oregon Health Authority
How has this work/experience impacted your future career goals?
"This work experience highlights the niche that I unknowingly carved out for myself within public health: designing public health communications. I believe that my kuleana, or responsibility, is to communicate health-related information -- especially to communities like the ones that I am apart of, who are underrepresented."
How did the UCC help?
Siiri started going to the UCC after they transferred to PSU in 2016.
The Career Center has helped me apply and get hired to every memorable job experience since then!
"The career counselors and guest speakers taught me to curate my numerous resumes and cover letters throughout the years, write my statement for grad school, and prepare for interviews. Greg Flores is the counselor I’ve connected with the longest throughout the years, and I must thank him and Mary Vance for their help applying for my current position!"
Advice from Siiri...
To my fellow kānaka, Pacific Islanders, and other Indigenous students and alumni: We’re still here. Every day (as much as we have the capacity for) we can shape the future that would honor our ancestors. Whatever job, career, or group you find yourself in the future, presenting your true self matters. Others want to listen to our manaʻo and leo (our opinions and voice).