Meet SPIO's 2021 Community Leadership Scholarship Recipient, Kristina Rose Togafau
SPIO's 2021 Community Leadership Scholarship Recipient, Kristina Rose Togafau. Courtesy of Kristina Rose Togafau
Kristina Rose Togafau is the recipient of the $5,000 2021 SPIO Community Leadership Scholarship.
Major: Ph.D. in English (Creative Writing)
Graduate University: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Bio: Kristina R. Togafau is an Afakasi-Native pursuing a Ph.D. in English at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Currently residing on Piscataway land, they’re continuing their research and creative work on Pasifika diaspora in the continental U.S., Indigenous posthumanism, and speculative science fiction. Their creative works can be found in Wards literary journal and the forthcoming collection The Fantastic in the Pacific. They’ve presented their academic work on Pasifika diaspora and Indigenous science fiction at NAISA, Science Fiction Research Association, and (Re)Mapping Indigenous and Settler Geographies in the Pacific.
“Thank you to my dissertation director, Kristiana Kahakauwila, and committee member, Dr. Sarah Allen, for offering up a part of their valuable summer vacation to write my recommendation letters. To my significant other, Taylor, I give all my gratitude for her razor-sharp edits and gentle critiques.” - Kristina R. Togafau
Why is it important to have Pasifika representation in higher education?
It's important for the generation of queer Pasifika to see us in higher education because we're still fighting that colonial lie that we're not supposed to be there.
How is this scholarship impacting your education?
At the most basic, the financial support this award provides allows me to give my academic research more attention. I'm less worried about essentials and able to focus on writing my dissertation.
On an emotional level, being awarded this scholarship has given a much-needed morale boost. Being a graduate student during COVID is draining on so many levels, and I've doubted the value and significance of my work more than a few times this past year. However, receiving this award and having it come from my community has built up my confidence in my work a great deal.
SPIO's 2021 Community Leadership Scholarship Recipient, Kristina Rose Togafau. Courtesy of Kristina Rose Togafau
What are your career and education goals?
My short-term goal is to finish my Ph.D. I've been at it for a while and I'd like to finish it strong. Long-term, I see myself continuing in higher education as a professor of English or as an editor for a small press. As a professor, I want to challenge my students to evaluate their research not only by academic standards but by the values of their communities. Academia doesn’t always recognize our cultural knowledge and that needs to change.
As an editor, I want to create and promote spaces for other queer Pasifika writers where they can bravely explore their voice and (re-)connect to ancestral knowledge. I want to imagine an intergenerational queer Pasifika space where creative writing mentors teach and provide the youth with more than the tools to write a poem; I want to give them a glimpse of who they can become as a queer Pasifika adult.
Any tips to students applying for scholarships?
1) Write about what matters to you. I tell this to my students a lot. If you’re not interested in your topic, people can tell and will disengage. Your words reflect what you feel. And if you have little to no feelings about a topic, then you also have fewer words at the ready to put down on the page. So be kind to yourself and the essay readers, and write about what matters to you.
2) Get a reader. Writing scholarship essays is a specialized skill that isn't often taught in introduction composition courses. Writing powerful and effective sentences can be difficult if you haven't had the practice. However, universities often have writing centers or writing consultants that can guide you through the process and provide you will some good pointers. As a graduate student, I still go to the writing center. It's helpful.