Teuilatausala Moa graduated from Otay Ranch High School and represents the Samoan community.  She will be attending the University of California San Diego in the fall majoring in Social Work and Sociology.  Teuilatausala is a member of the California Scholarship Federation and National Honors Society.  She played Club and School Volleyball earning VIP 2 years in a bow.  Participated in clubs such as the Christian Club, Junior Optimist Club (providing community service opportunities), and Secretary of the Successful Women in Business Club, also done missionary work going to orphanages in Ensanada, Baja California.  She danced for Napua Ilima O Kehaulani under Kumu Keuhau.  Keeping with tradition, her mother taught her the Siva nurturing her Samoan culture.   Teuilatausala plans to give back to PIFA after graduating by offering her services.
 

Maile Charfauaros graduated from the Academy of Our Lady of Peace and is representing the Chamorro community.  She will be attending the University of Hawaii Manoa in the fall studying nursing.  Having seen the nurses demonstrate compassion and the love of for their patients and their families, they have inspired Maile in choosing the nursing field.  Maile has tutored children at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, volunteered with Beach Cleanup with “Respect the Fin”.  Also, she did missionary work in Nicar She has danced with Te Rahiti Nui Polynesian Troupe and created the Asian Pacific Islander Club at the Academy of Our Lady of Peace.  She had the opportunity to compete in Tahiti.   By attending U of H, Maile will be able to continue to her passion in the Pacific Islander culture.  She plans to give back to PIFA back passing down her knowledge of the culture to the Pacific Islander youth and encourage them to continue their higher education.

Aysia Bondurant graduated from San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and is representing the Chamorro community.  She will be attending the University of California Los Angeles in the fall.  She has spent many hour volunteering with the children’s ministry at her church through teaching and nurturing young children.  Aysia has also found her passion in social justice promoting success and acceptance in diverse cultural groups.  She was able to learn about her Chamorro heritage through many of the resources that were available to her such and the Chamorro clubs as well as the various festivals including PIFA.  Aysia discovered the love of dance when she started with a hula group at her church then moved to a professional Polynesian group.  She plans the give back to PIFA by collaborating with other Pacific Islander and source of knowledge to pass on to others interested in learning more about the culture.

Tania Niumata graduated from Grossmont Middle College High School (GMCHS) and is representing the Samoan community.  She will be attending Southwestern College in the fall.  Attending GMDHS allowed Tania to earn college credits while completing her high school course studies.  She plans transfer to a UC school to study nursing.  Tania has served many community service hours with the First Samoan Congregational Christian Church of San Diego, from teaching children to feeding the less fortunate, performing cleanup duties.  Tania’s life consists of her faith, family, culture, and education. 

Madelyn Castillo graduated from Bonita High School.  She will be attending the University of California San Diego in the fall.  Madelyn is a gifted scholar and athlete.  She has capture the spirit of aloha through her dancing with Heali’is  Polynesian Revue where she has performed at the PIFA festival for the last twelve years.  Madelyn has been able to participate in many other Pacific Islander events with Heali’is such as the Ho’olaule’a in San Diego and Los Angeles, and even at Sea World during their Islander Cultural events.  Through dance she has been able to learn about many of the islander cultures such as Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand and Hawaii.  Madelyn plans to give back to PIFA by sharing her experience and respecting the pacific islander culture.

Desi Charfauros is currently attending California State University Maritime Academy representing the Chamorro community.  He is studying International Business and Logistics.  Desi volunteers in the Coastal Cleanup Program as well as tutoring students in business calculus and business management.  His leadership position is the Assistant to the Sports Information Director.  Desi is a member of the Te Rahiti Nui Polynesian Dance Troupe as a drummer.  He continues to participate in cultural events when he comes home from school.  The way Desi plans to give back to PIFA is by joining and volunteering with various community groups to promote and share the culture, including joining PIFA.

Daniel Gutierrez is currently attending San Diego State University representing the Hawaiian community.  This is his 2nd year in the PIFA Scholarship program.  Transitioning from high school to college has made Daniel more determined and focused on his education.  Having the honor the receive scholarships from PIFA, Jonathan Tarr Foundation and Hui O’ Hawaii, he has been able to meet many amazing people and participate in events such as Swinging for Scholarships with Jonathan Tarr Foundation and working with his fellow PIFA recipients at the Miss PIFA Pageant, The Taste of the Pacific and at the PIFA Festival in the Soda Booth   Daniel continues to promote his culture through dance under the direction of his great grandmother Auntie Jeanne Kalani.  Since the age of 11, he has attended many PIFA events including representing Hawaii in the Procession, performing with the Jeanne Kalani Dancers, and volunteering at the food booth with the Hawaiian Civic Club.  Daniel plans to give back to PIFA by taking part in the different cultural events and sharing his love of his culture through song and dance.

Leiana Lepule is currently attending San Diego State University representing the Samoan community. This is her 2rd year in the PIFA Scholarship Program.  As Leiana continues her studies in Liberal Arts for Elementary Education, she has had the opportunity to observe and interact with 4th grade students near campus.  She also is a student worker and the San Diego County Library.  Leiana was recognized for her academic achievements and nominated for membership in the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.  She continues to share her cultural experience by joining he Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA) and participating in several events where she was a panelist at the Miss PIFA sponsored event “Next Generation: Voice of the Sea Summit”.  As the daughter of Tana and Elena Lepule, Leiana has been volunteering with PIFA most of her life with her father being one of the former President’s for PIFA.  Leiana also performed at PIFA with the Samoan Community Council.  Leiana plans the give back to PIFA by continuing to participate in the various PIFA events and join the executive board of PISA to help bridge the gap and collaborate with PIFA.

Kiana Malabanan is currently San Diego State University representing the Chamorro and Hawaiian communities.  This is her 3rd year in the PIFA Scholarship Program.  Kiana is currently majoring in Psychology with aspirations of continuing on the graduate school with emphasis in Family Counseling working with children of divorced families.  Upon graduating, her goal is to open a non-profit organization to promote empowerment for all age groups, but with the main emphasis on high school.   School has given Kiana many opportunities such as being an Undeclared Freshman Mentor, involved with the Compact Scholars Student Association, a Leader of Outreach and Publicity, and joined the Pacific Islander Student Association (PISA).   Kiana’s grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Moe Malabanan, thought her at a young age about her roots and to continue to share their interest in the Chamorro and Hawaiian cultures.  Kiana has participate in PIFA weather helping her grandfather at the Cultural Village or working at the Ahahui Kawila O’ Hawaii food booth giving her the experience of sharing her culture with others.  She plans to give back to PIFA by continuing to further her knowledge of the culture and share her experience with others.     

Celestine Shalhout completed her studies at Mira Costa College (MCC) and will be attending California State University San Marcos in the fall and she representing the Samoan community.  She will be studying Accounting.   Celestine has volunteered with the Boys and Girls of San Marcos, partnered with Students with Disabilities Office at Mira Costa College.  She served as the President of the Pacific Islander Union at MCC.  Celestine is as a peer mentor for the MANA program working with Pacific Islander students and their families with scheduling appointments with counselors, and scheduling tutoring sessions and much more.  She is a strong advocate for education, she believes that education is important because it paves the way to success and promotes leadership and positive role model influence the culture.  Celestine has worked with the vendor Island Edge Designs who have participated at PIFA.  The way she plans to give back to PIFA is through education by becoming a mentor and encouraging our Pacific Islander youth to continue their post-secondary education.  Celestine feels that education is a form of strengthening our language and understanding where are ancestors originated from and to be able to write our own stories, be able to reflect upon and share with others.    

Alana Godoy is currently attending Southwestern College and is of Hawaiian descent.  This is her 3rd year in the PIFA Scholarship program.  She’ll receive her Associates Degree in the fall and is looking forward to transferring to a university, with a double major in cultural anthropology and sociology.   She is the reigning Miss PIFA, 1^st Princess and has worked hard managing school both full and part-time, while working as a full-time Corporate Support Specialist and Executive Assistant at Umpqua Bank.  Alana was an honors graduate at Steele Canyon High school, ranking top 10 in her class.  Serving multiple leadership roles she was the captain and founder of one of the airband teams at her school, founder and president of her high school Poly Club, and completed extensive work with the San Diego Coastal Rotary Club.  She loves Polynesian dancing, hip-hop dancing, singing, writing, reading, traveling, and scrapbooking.    She was also a recipient of the PIFA Scholarship Program 2016.  Her motto in life is, “Everything is an adventure if you’re willing to change your perspective.”

Serena Sablan is currently attending San Diego State University in the Nursing Program and is of Chamorro descent.  This is her 3rd year in the PIFA Scholarship Program.  She aspires to be a Nurse Practitioner, specializing in Pediatrics at Rady Children’s Hospital.  She is currently a Brand Representative at Hollister Company, and a Child & Youth Program Assistant at the Child Development Center at Miramar Marine Corp Air Station.  She graduated from Eastlake High School in 2016, at the top of her class and took part in numerous extracurricular activities, including creating Eastlake’s first successful Polynesian Dance Club, Ke Aloha Polynesia, serving as Ambassador of Community Service in ASB, facilitating a number of community events and fundraisers.  She also tutored elementary school student in math, language arts, since, arts and more.  She dances with He Nani O Polynesia and volunteers teaching Polynesian dance with her alumni and at the YMCA.  Serena enjoys Polynesian dancing, hip-hop dancing, fitness, spending time with family and going to the beach.  Her motto in life is, “Honor those who precede you.”

Amaya Andrade is currently attending CAL State Long Beach in the fall pursuing a career in Nursing.  This is her 2nd year in the PIFA Scholarship Program.  Amaya tutors at the CSULB Campus Library in subjects of Philosophy, Sociology and Statistics.  She has joined the Pre-Nursing and Meditation Clubs that will help prepare her for nursing program.  Amaya currently dances with Motu Nehenehe and has participated in many Pacific Islander events such as PIFA, Heiva San Diego, and E Hula Mau.  At Heiva, she has been the main runner for the Program Department.  Amaya has performed a many cultural events such as the San Diego Ho’olaule’a, Del Mar Fair, Sea World, the California State Games, and finally PIFA.  Amaya plans to give back to PIFA through dance and volunteering at the cultural events throughout the year.  She quotes “This community has both embraced me and taught me the true meaning of the Aloha Spirit”.