{"id":234263,"date":"2026-05-13T15:40:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T01:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=234263"},"modified":"2026-05-20T08:33:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T18:33:44","slug":"bento-box-message-erica-holokai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/13\/bento-box-message-erica-holokai\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Bento box’ message: UH<\/abbr> Mānoa student speaker encourages grads to embrace identity"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"person
Erica-Skyler Malie Salvador Holokai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Erica-Skyler Malie Salvador Holokai once described herself as a “bento box” to avoid explaining her mixed ethnic background. Now, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> commencement speaker for the afternoon ceremony on May 16 is transforming that childhood shorthand into a message about culture, connection and belonging for the graduating class of 2026.<\/p>\n

\"people
Holokai with other graduating resident assistants and supervisors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Born and raised on Maui, Holokai said she often struggled to answer questions about her identity. With Native Hawaiian, Japanese, German, Korean and Filipino ancestry, she recalled feeling disconnected from her cultural background as a child. A high school project asking students to represent themselves culturally led her to compare herself to a local-style bento box filled with different sections and influences.<\/p>\n

In her commencement speech, Holokai uses the metaphor to reflect Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s plantation-era history, when immigrant workers from different cultures forged connections despite divisions in language, wages, and living conditions. She will tell graduates that the “bento box” represents unity and resilience found in diversity.<\/p>\n

\"people
Holokai and other resident assistants at a back to school late night event<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holokai is looking to reflect on the success and achievement that has come to fruition for those who have worked so hard over their college career, while acknowledging all of the unseen efforts that go into this accomplishment. She wants to “take a second to actually celebrate that,” while embracing the fullness of layered identity.<\/p>\n

Her belief is that in “paying homage to your little bento box or your community,” you honor the communities, places and ethnicities that make you, you. As a community advocate, she emphasizes that in remembering all that you are, from whichever corner you come from, you represent and build off of those places. She said, “the people who are your mental support or emotional support\u2026these connections are what’s going to take us farther in life.”<\/p>\n