Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards (OMSFA)

My name is Malia Siufanua, although I prefer to go by Mia. I transferred to the UW in 2021, following getting my AA degree from Highline College. I am an education studies major with a focus on policy and research. I’d be lying if I said I always felt passionate about the topic and implications of “education”, yet as many first-gen students often note, our families felt otherwise. Growing up, I was always reminded of the many sacrifices my family made in hopes I'd make the most of the opportunity to receive a quality education. I felt immense pressure to perform well and try my best in school, yet I found it challenging to really delve into “school life”. I found the support to be lacking and my connection to be nothing more than a feeling that I must honor my family- it was a responsibility rather than a passion. But as I grew older and began to reflect on my experiences and perspective, I realized the systemic issues that troubled me and caused this discourse in truly connecting with my academic journey as a scholar. Upon this realization I felt a fire ignite within me. My passion was not just seeking out an education for myself but it was the betterment of education for all students.

So after graduating high school with this new profound realization and desire to ignite change and some time off from any traditional school setting, I enrolled at a community college. I raced through my AA and began my search for the next step. It was through that process that I transferred to UW. As a transfer student, who’s also a first generation college student, I felt thrown into a world I was completely unfamiliar with. Especially considered that globally, we were also going through massive shifts and feelings of uncertainty due to the pandemic. I had to navigate university life one step at a time but eventually I like to believe I got the hang of it!

I applied to this scholarship to help continue my academic journey no matter what shifts, changes, or transitions I go through because I believe in the power of education and understand the importance of connection- not only to oneself and passions, or to their pursuits, or more specifically with schools, but also being connected to the spaces in which we occupy. I feel connected here at the UW. I feel that all I’ve learned here prepares me to be connected anywhere else I go as well.