Manu’a High School Valedictorian says she will return home to help her people

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Manu’a residents have long journeyed to Tutuila for not only medical and economic reasons, but also for educational purposes. Often believed to be ‘ignored’ by the government, Manu’a people say they have not received their ‘fair’ share of help to develop their islands, pointing to inconsistent transportation and the high cost of living in their islands.

With this in mind, Manu’a High School’s Valedictorian, Ms. Toasamoa Tuialu’ulu’u was interviewed by Samoa News as a community interest person, as she is someone who has been raised and educated in Manu’a since childhood.

Brought up by her grandparents Vaimili and Ululima Tuialu’ulu’u, alongside her parents Uluiva and Ansel Tauanu’u in Ta’ū village, Ms. Tuialu’ulu’u began school at the Ta’ū Early Childhood Education.

From kindergarten to the second grade, she attended Faleasao Elementary School and was then transferred to Fitiuta Elementary school, where she completed her primary education from 3rd to 8th grade.

In 8th Grade, she was selected as one of American Samoa’s representatives for National History Day — placing 1st in the Individual Category and 2nd in the Island Wide overall for the Junior Division.

When asked about the experience of being a high school student in Manu’a, Ms. Tuialu’ulu’u said, “The four years of high school has been a hectic roller coaster ride. It was filled with many sleepless nights stressing over homework, school projects but also filled with fun school activities, trips and spending time with my classmates.”

Ms. Tuialu’ulu’u noted that she was a Freshman the year the COVID pandemic started, and at the start of her Freshman year, she put her hat in the ring for Student Council, and won the majority of votes to become Class President. She also joined Close Up during the start of the COVID lockdown in American Samoa.

During her Sophomore year, she was voted in as a class representative and was inducted into the National Honor Society and placed 3rd in the National History Day competition in the Historical Paper category.

In her Junior year, she was selected as a representative for the Constitutional Convention that was held virtually, due to the COVID lockdown and was also the JROTC Sergeant-3, whose duty was planning training schedules for cadets and scheduling JROTC events alongside their JROTC instructors.

During her interview, this Samoa News reporter asked Ms. Tuialu’ulu’u, what were the most challenging obstacles she encountered during her 4 years at Manu’a High?

She replied that  it “was multitasking roles inside school while participating in school competitions.

“Traveling to and from Manu’a to Tutuila, and to the mainland United States while staying on top of my classes was not an easy task, but over time I got the hang of it.” 

At the start of her Senior year, she was voted in as Student Council President, and through her entrepreneurial and philosophical deeds, she was also awarded the National Student Council Award.

In addition to other academic achievements, Ms. Tuialu’ulu’u told Samoa News she was the Manu’a High School JROTC Battalion Task Force Commander where they passed the JROTC Program for Accreditation Inspection with an overall score of 96.15% and received recognition for their efforts with the Honor Unit with Distinction (HUD) Award.

She was also the Secretary for Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) Future Health Professional Club.

Other achievements include participation in the annual high school Speech Festival competition and placed 3rd in the Impromptu category; being one of the representatives of American Samoa for the Young Ambassadors’ trip to Maryland this past April promoting American Samoa’s economy and culture; and, she placed 2nd for the Constitutional Essay Contest.

Asked what she envisions for herself in the coming 10 years, she said, “My career goals is to pursue the medical field by majoring in Nursing, utilizing ASCC’s nursing program and become a product of this territory that I love so much, and in 10 years, I see myself as one of the APRN’s here in American Samoa and to be serving my community in Manu’a, because they have given so much to me in the past 4 years in my education journey.”

With her accomplishments and dreams in hand, Miss Toasamoa Tuialu’ulu’u has shown herself to be a typical Manu’a native — known for their deep and abiding love for their home islands — they speak often of returning home to serve their community with pride. While they are U.S. Nationals and American Samoans, they are foremost the people of Manu’atele. 

Samoa News congratulates Miss Toasamoa Tuialu’ulu’u once again for her accomplishments, and wishes her all the best in her future endeavors!