The Son of Samoan Immigrants, La'i Unutoa Is Carrying Kapolei to Okinawa This March
One of 42 public high school students selected for the 2026 Hawaiʻi Sister-State Study Tours.
Student Snapshot
Name: Agalela'i M. Unutoa
School: Kapolei High School
Grade: 11th (Public and Human Services Academy)
Home Community: Kapolei, West O'ahu
Delegation: Okinawa
Travel Dates: March 14–25, 2026
Focus Interests / Extracurriculars: HSDA (High School Democrats of America), POBH (Protect Our Block Hawaiʻi) — Social Media Director, Kapolei Key Club, DECA, Vice President of Student Board of Directors (Public and Human Services Academy), works at Chick-fil-A Kamokila, junior leader volunteer at Ewa Mahiko Summer Fun (K–8), Kanana Fou Christian Church Youth Group, Sunday School, and choir; hobbies include reading, drawing, singing, and photography
Career Aspirations: Considering law or hospitality and tourism — wants this experience to help consolidate that decision
Why They Were Selected
La'i carries something most students take years to develop — a clear-eyed understanding of what community means and what it asks of you. The son of Samoan immigrants who came to Hawaiʻi in pursuit of opportunity, he's grown up navigating the weight of family expectation and the warmth of Pacific Islander community, and has channeled both into genuine leadership across his school and neighborhood. He doesn't just want to travel — he has a concrete plan for what he'll do when he comes home.
What They're Excited About
Connecting with a culture he wants to learn more about; experiencing something "bigger than myself"; bringing back knowledge to share with his academy peers through Q&As, mentorship, and curriculum enrichment
He Found Out He Got In and Called It "Timeless." Now La'i Unutoa Is Headed to Okinawa.
When La'i Unutoa found out he'd been accepted as a PAAC Sister-State Student Ambassador, he didn't have a word for the feeling right away. Then he found one: timeless. "It was timeless to say the least," he said — and somehow that's exactly right for a junior from Kapolei whose whole story is about carrying where you come from into something larger than yourself.
La'i is a junior in the Public and Human Services Academy at Kapolei High School, where he serves as Vice President of the Student Board of Directors. He's also the Social Media Director for Protect Our Block Hawaiʻi, a member of DECA and Key Club, a volunteer junior leader with Ewa Mahiko Summer Fun, and a Chick-fil-A employee who still finds time to sing in his church choir. He's weighing a future in law or hospitality and tourism — and he's hoping Okinawa helps him figure out which way to go.
La'i was selected because he brings the kind of perspective that only comes from growing up at the intersection of obligation and belonging. The son of Samoan immigrants who came to Hawaiʻi in pursuit of opportunity, he's spent his life understanding what it means to carry a community's hopes — and what it takes to turn that weight into purpose. The Pacific Islander community of West O'ahu shaped him, and he's never forgotten it.
"No matter where life takes me, this community is a sense of home I carry with me." — Agalela'i Unutoa, Kapolei High School, Class of 2027
La'i isn't just going to Okinawa to travel — he already has a plan for when he gets back. He wants to host Q&As in his academy, integrate what he learns into his school's peer mentorship program, and use his experience to open doors for the students coming up behind him. For Kapolei, that kind of leadership doesn't end at graduation. It ripples.
La'i is a constituent of House District [#] and Senate District [#], represented by [Legislator Name] in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature. ([VERIFY WITH DISTRICT LOOKUP])
