Angelica Eke

5.29.23

TALOFA! Our feature this week is Angelica Seuea Eke (maiden name -Laulu).

“My mom is Talimalama Scanlan. She comes from the village of Faleasao in Manu’a. My Dad is La'auli Sefo Scanlan - He comes from the village of Vaitogi in Tutuila. I have a brother, La'auli Junior Sefo a sister, Dr. Salvation Silafa'i Moore - Maiden name: Sefo, and another brother, Shane Sa'afia Sefo. My husband is George Kauala Eke and we have three kids, Kasaloma Salvation Melefusi Eke, ’Ivoni Grace Katea Eke and Liliana Ata Eke.

I do a lot of things! But, if I could put it into one title, I would call myself an Entrepreneur. I currently work as an Instructor at a Vocational College teaching future Medical Assistants and I also work in a research facility as a Clinical Research Assistant. I also own a small business called Tatou Uma Pasefika Dance (DBA: Tatou Uma Polynesian Dance,) which has been a passion of mine that I have diligently worked on since 2016. I have an amazing admin team that has grown and helped me with achieving various goals. One of our biggest ones was growing the following on Instagram. Last year, we created a strategy to grow our 600 following and our goal was only to reach at least 1k by the end of the year; however, we surprised ourselves by hitting 118k by November. Since then, the numbers have decreased but, mostly because we got rid of a lot of bots. We were so incredibly humbled by that experience with all of the support we received and continue to receive.

Lastly, currently working with my sister and cousins on a project called Teine Talk. It's a podcast where the Western mindset meets our collective culture. We talk about all things that sisters can possibly talk about and discuss our own struggles/lessons in order to be a voice as well as aid other women/teens who were, are, or have been just like us. The goal is also to build healthy mindsets as well as help others grow in their own "enough-ness," connecting them through God and of course education in mental health, psychology, the study of behavior, etc. I currently have my Associate's Degree in Medical Assisting and I will be graduating in August with my Bachelor's degree in Healthcare Management. I want to apply to another university for a second Bachelors so I can pursue my dream of becoming an MD with an emphasis in Neuropsych.

I do want to add that I've had my business for 7 years and with all of the research, lessons learned from other instructors, that's almost equivalent to a Masters right? A Master's in learning about PI culture......

Among my most favorite Polynesian foods are… Okaaaayyy sooo everything.... haha just kidding. Palusami, corned beef, and Talo

Pai fala but, the way my mom and I make it. Vai meleni or Otai (Hubby is Tongan)

“Ok so, I do not claim to be the smartest or the best at anything because for most of my adult life, I pretty much have felt.....normal? Like.... basic I guess....So, believe me when I say, I don't look at myself as this special, extraordinary person; however, I eventually learned that hard work, education, and consistency can get you anywhere.

For me, my life-changing experience was starting a family. In that time of getting married and having kids, I was thrown for a loop when I was asked if there was something that I did just for myself..... I couldn't even fathom doing anything for me because of the fact that our culture in itself is a collective one so thinking of ourselves wasn't something that came as second nature. I started searching for that something and eventually decided it was time to start teaching my babies the parts of my culture that I also wanted to dive deeper into. Tatou Uma Pasefika Dance has taught me so much, brought so many people my way, built a community of people who loved and appreciated the Pasefika cultures, and wanted to help push the mission of our group out to the rest of the world. Next year, we will get to host the very first Pasefika Festival here in Bakersfield, CA at California State University of Bakersfield.

1. How has being of Polynesian descent and culture shaped who you are today?

“It helped me reconnect to a piece of me that was on automatic..... we have to understand who our people are, why we do the things we do, etc., before we can fully be at our highest potential. If we reconnect to that part of ourselves, we make peace with the present and the future.

That’s what being Polynesian has done for me.....it’s helped me make peace with who I was, who I am today, and who I hope to be in the future.”

2. What advice do you have for the upcoming Polynesian generations?

“If you don’t know anything about your Polynesian self, seek that... seek the teachers who love being who they are because they are theones who will teach the culture correctly.... when you are taught that something is burden, you will view it as a burden.....I know our my generation had a hard time with this growing up.... and I hope to help change that... But more importantly, you can be both Polynesian and live in a European-centric world..... you just have to remember that our foundation is respect.... learn from the teachers who love the culture and you will come to understand what that means.”

"That's what being Polynesian has done for me... it's helped me make peace with who I was, who I am today, and who I hope to be in the future"

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