Lahela Kamehanaokalā Mattos
Birthplace/Hometown:
Tucson, Arizona
High School:
University High School
UHM Degrees:
B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies (2022)
B.A. in Hawaiian Studies, Kumu Kahiki (2022)
M.URP in Urban and Regional Planning (In-progress)
Current Occupation(s):
Graduate Assistant for Dr. Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa
(Kūkamoʻo/ Hawaiian Ancestry Project)
Business Coordinator for Get Organized 302 LLC
What inspires the path for your academic major?
I always look to my past and generational patterns within my family
when I am feeling discouraged in my academic life. A lot of the work
that I do, and the effort I put in is for the youth of today that experience
hardships similar to the ones that I experienced. My family, community,
and the youth spark inspiration within me to push through adversities in
my academic and professional career. I chose to pursue a Masters in
Urban and Regional Planning because I wanted to gain experience in
community planning and developing housing projects.
What are your future goals in your work?
I would like to serve as a mentor and a positive role model for the youth
who may not have strong support systems around them. I hope that my
work inspires young people who may not be in environments that reflect
their uniqueness, culture, or circumstance. My long-term career goal is to
establish a dropout prevention program for homeless, displaced, and
foster youth living in Hawaiʻi.
How do you see your time at UH shaping the way you aloha ʻāina?
I believe that I truly learned what Aloha ʻĀina was and what it meant to
me during my time as an undergraduate in the Hawaiian Studies
Department. As a Kānaka from the diaspora, I struggled with identity
and a sense of belonging when I first moved to Hawaiʻi. During my time
at UH I was able to make connections in the community, and although
my family all lived in the States, I was able to form my own family here
with other people that I met at UH. Forming this pilina with culture,
place, and community allowed me to realize how I could reciprocate the
effort that so many other Kānaka, mostly wāhine, put into me. Building
pilina with places, people, and practices reiterated to me why it is
important to perpetuate and include all of the knowledge and
experiences that I have gained as I persevere in my professional
and academic career. It was at UH that I realized how important it was
to care for myself and to reciprocate the care from others through the
inclusion of different genealogies and experiences in my life.
What does UHM as a Hawaiian place of learning mean to you?
UHM as a Hawaiian PoL means comfortability in expressing all aspects of
my identity. I think that a lot of Kānaka exist in this weird space where
they may feel as though they have to “prove their Hawaiian-ness”. As a
NHPoL, UHM allows Kānaka to be in a space surrounded by other Kānaka
who may inspire us to live authentically and true to ourselves.
As I said before, growing up in the States made it difficult for me to
express my cultural identity and caused me to suppress what made me,
me. I am thankful that at UH I am not only surrounded by other
Hawaiians, but I am also surrounded by other people who are open and
willing to learn about the cultural practices and values of me and my
ancestors. I am also thankful for Hawaiʻinuiākea as a whole, as the
program has allowed me to understand what it means to learn in a
Hawaiian way, and how to decolonize multiple aspects of my life. I am
fortunate enough to have reconnected with place, culture, and my
ancestors, and the diversity and inclusion at UHM is what really makes it
a NHPoL to me.
