[education]

		STUDENT PROFILE: Noelani Tu'u
		Profile by James Kneubuhl, ASCC Press Officer

Among the spring 2007 graduates of the American Samoa Community College (ASCC), Forensic Science major Noelani Tu’u had the distinction of being the only student to earn a Summa Cum Laude grade point average between 3.90 and 4.0. Noelani says he has always enjoyed school, an appreciation dating back to his high school years at Samoana, where he tutored other students in math and even volunteered to help with the custodial work. While at Samoana, Noelani qualified for the National Honors Society from his sophomore year onwards. After enrolling at ASCC in 2005, he says he has never gotten a grade lower than an A-.

At ASCC, Noelani accepted an invitation to join the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, and eventually served as its President for the spring 2007 semester. Having completed his Associate in Science degree from ASCC this spring, he will enter Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii this summer on an American Samoa Government scholarship. At Chaminade, Noelani plans to continue studying Forensic Science, which he says combines two of his favorite subjects, Physics and Criminal Justice. “I’ve heard of so many cases in American Samoa where law enforcement could have done a better job of prosecuting the offenders if the police had a better knowledge of Forensics,” he says. He hopes to someday return home and work in a Forensics Laboratory.

What does the think accounts for this exemplary academic performance? “My family came from humble beginnings,” he reflects, “so I always felt I had an obligation to lift myself up as a way of lifting my family up as well. As far as what I’ve accomplished, I would give 90% of the credit to my family for supporting and encouraging me. I know that some people say that the traditional Samoan family system doesn't work anymore, with parents being authoritarian and all, but I credit my own family for adapting to modern times. I think that the Samoan way is still the best way. It’s just that some Samoan families face a challenge adapting their culture to the here and now.”

Noelani’s parents, Ioasa and Valelia Tu’u, came from the Independent State of Samoa and have resided in American Samoa for over 20 years now. Ioasa supports the family by working as a repairman at a local cannery, and Noelani says both his parents have struggled to make sure he and his brother Ioasa Jr. received a good education. “At first, I spoke English so poorly that my elementary school wanted to put me in Special Ed,” Noelani recalls, “but my mother said, ‘No, my son can do better than that,’ and she helped me improve my English by reading to me from the school textbook. Eventually, I memorized my first English word, which was ‘the’. When I tried to show off my new word at school, the other kids would ask me, ‘The what?’”

Today Noelani speaks English like someone from the US west coast, but in fact he has never been there, or even (at the time of this writing) to Hawaii. “Once I visited Upolu, but other than that I’ve spent my whole life in American Samoa. I guess I got this accent from listening to the Americans here, and from the TV shows and movies,” he says. Perfect his English skills using his favorite films did have its occasional drawbacks, though. “Movies like ‘Men In Black’ had me convinced for awhile that space aliens really existed,” he laughs while recalling.

Besides maintaining an enthusiasm for learning, Noelani also sought to cultivate positive relationships. “I tried to always treat my teachers and other students with respect,” he said. “That might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many students forget this simple thing. A lot of kids don’t know how to work with their teachers, or think it’s cool to work against them. They don’t realize that in the end, they just hurt themselves by showing disrespect. Also, I think a lot of students need to take their schoolwork more seriously than their socializing. Joining a group and impressing their friends becomes more important to them than doing well at their schoolwork. I like to socialize too, but I try to have different kinds of friends instead of just sticking to one group.” Noelani also finds amusement and inspiration from younger brother Ioasa. “He sometimes makes me forget that I'm 19 years old, and he often reminds me to look again at things in a very simple way. Sometimes I think so hard that I get in over my head, and my brother will tell me to re-think whatever I'm thinking in a simpler way.”

Alongside solid family support, self-discipline and a good attitude, Noelani also credits his success to academic support groups such as the National Honors Society at Samoana and Phi Theta Kappa at ASCC. “Keeping company with other students trying hard to do their best really helped kept me inspired,” he says. “Once you have some success, and you get accepted among the most successful students around you, you feel like you have something to maintain, so in my case I suppose fear of failure helped push me along.” Getting chosen by his peers as the Phi Theta Kappa president posed a fresh challenge for Noelani. “Before that, I felt like I did fine working by myself. But a president can’t do everything on his own, so I had to learn how to work with a group and how to communicate better.”

All the learning skills Noelani has developed so far will come into play this fall when he makes the transition from home to Honolulu. “I’ve heard all the stories about how kids from here get shocked when they leave home because they have to learn a new lifestyle, but I know Chaminade will open up new opportunities, so I look forward to it.” When he completes his Bachelors degree in Forensic Science, Noelani hopes to gain some experience working in Hawaii or the mainland US before returning home.