Leila Hokulani Kaaekuahiwi Pousima
NOAA
Honolulu, HI USA
"Being able to be in Hawaii, in my home, with my community, and working on initiatives to make all of those things better is everything to me."
Career Roadmap
Leila's work combines: Law, Environment & Nature, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Start volunteering for organizations that promote what you are passionate about. Get to know the people who are experts in that field. See if you can gain a mentor in one of these people at a very early stage.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Graduate Degree
Business Administration and Management, General
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Doctorate
Law
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
She always wanted to go into law, and she always wanted to give back to her community.
2.
In high school, she did some volunteering with environmental groups, and she also had a deep love of Hawaiian culture.
3.
She’d planned to just do a pre-law program, but an advisor encouraged her to talk to a Hawaiian studies counselor.
4.
They worked out a Hawaiian studies course for her, with a focus on Hawaiian politics and natural resource management.
5.
She then went to law school at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
6.
She became one of very few people in the world to earn a certificate in Native Hawaiian law.
7.
After school, she started at NOAA; she works on the Marine National Monument Program, which oversees four national monuments.
8.
The four monuments protect over 330,000 square miles of water, and diverse coral, fish and seabird populations.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I'm never going to get into law school, I should just do something easier.
How I responded:
Self-doubt comes naturally in situations where you are challenging yourself, but I leaned on the support of my family, community, and friends.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I grew up in poverty. The only way to change this was to work really hard and not give up.