Homeland: Yap High School: Yap Seventh-day Adventist School College: UH Manoa Major: Pacific Island Studies Status: Graduated Pursuing: Masters Degree
“My goals will further the legacy of Dr. Joakim Peter by continuing his vision of building a fair, and just world for our people. I do not assume to know what he wanted for his legacy but through his actions, I saw that health and education were two key areas.”
– Axel Defngin
Community Service
Over the past five years, I have been involved in giving back through community service activities by volunteering in various logistical roles for Pacific Islander community events such as the annual Pacific Youth Empowerment for Success (PacYES). At PacYES, I also worked as Media Team Leader to document the day and interview students while also presenting on student panels. I have joined volunteer activities at the Pacific Islander Student Center including the Outreach Team where we visited high schools around the island to teach educators about how to best help their Islander students, and motivate the students to go to college and make an impact on their community. I have been serving on the APIA Scholars Advisory Committee since 2019, advising on ways to assist our students in higher education, and attending APIA Scholars Leadership Academies in Washington, DC. In Yap, I was fortunate to teach a couple of classes at Yap Catholic High Schoolʻs summer session as well. Two key moments where I was proud to assist and show support with our Native Hawaiian brothers and sisters were visiting Kalaupapa to do service-learning conservation efforts with the National Park Service and visit the residents, and visiting the kupuna/elders on the Mauna with a Micronesian Hilo Student delegation to present a chant, a sakau/kava ceremony, flags, and the We Are Oceania song to show solidarity. Being an A+Jojo Scholar will further my community service goals by assisting in my financial challenges of paying housing, utilities, and school supplies for my research thesis. The funding will enable me to afford travel costs to conduct in-person interviews with Yapese/Remathau community members for the research, and strengthen our connections. As our communities attempt to cultivate our bonds during a global pandemic, the A+Jojo Scholarship will show youth that they too can pursue an education during the toughest of times.
Leadership Experience
Team Leader & Project Manager; Pacific Students Media at UH Hilo – Hilo, HI; Feb. 2014 – May 2016;
Media Project Coordinator; OurYAP (Our Youth Are Promising) – Yap, FM; May 2016 – Jun. 2016;
Student Coordinator – Pacific Islander Summer Bridge Program 2015; Pacific Islander Student Center at
Regent’s Scholarship; Chaminade University of Honolulu – Honolulu, HI, 2013;
Valedictorian; Yap Seventh-day Adventist School Senior Class – Yap, FM, 2013;
2nd Place; FSM National Law Day Debate; FSM Supreme Court – Kosrae, FM, 2012
Legacy Goals
Dr. Joakim “Jojo” Peter inspired me through his dedication to our Micronesian community. When I first met him at UH Hilo, I found that he was one of the most highly mobile people I have ever met, and saw that his work was felt by youth not only in the Hawaiian Islands but back home in Micronesia and across the Pacific. Despite the challenges he faced himself, he showed us that we could overcome anything, and always leave behind a positive impact wherever we go. I am currently reading Coconut Ratz & Kung Fu Cowboys and that it is a tale written with love and attention to the people he gives his success to. I aim to also pay back the same people in my life with as much effort as I can. I am still figuring out the logistics of my life goals but two things are clear: I want to aid our Pacific Islander/Micronesian/Yapese communities and to aid in the education of our youth. I want to work to help secure my family in Yap and in Hilo and contribute to their wellbeing. By working in education, I will bring a different perspective to our institutions, and bring focus to our students that have long been considered invisible.
My goals will further the legacy of Dr. Joakim Peter by continuing his vision of building a fair, and just world for our people. I do not assume to know what he wanted for his legacy but through his actions, I saw that health and education were two key areas. Though these are two of the top-funded sectors in FSM, our people still struggle with health disparities, and “failing” rates in schools. In Hawai‘i, we face racism not only by the communities we live in but by the institutions and systems meant to serve us. Jojo Peter demonstrated that he could make an impact in both lands as he served as Dean of COM-FSM Chuuk Campus, served on the Civil Rights Commission, and numerous other roles. For me, the legacy of Dr. Joakim Peter is evident in our existence as Micronesian students in higher education, by mobilizing ourselves to do the impossible: taking a stand when we were told to sit, voicing ourselves when we were told to be silent, and having the humility to stay and empower our communities to do all of the above.
Axel Defngin
Meet the Scholars
Sponsor a Scholar
A+JOJO SCHOLAR
Homeland: Yap
High School: Yap Seventh-day Adventist School
College: UH Manoa
Major: Pacific Island Studies
Status: Graduated
Pursuing: Masters Degree
Community Service
Over the past five years, I have been involved in giving back through community service activities by volunteering in various logistical roles for Pacific Islander community events such as the annual Pacific Youth Empowerment for Success (PacYES). At PacYES, I also worked as Media Team Leader to document the day and interview students while also presenting on student panels. I have joined volunteer activities at the Pacific Islander Student Center including the Outreach Team where we visited high schools around the island to teach educators about how to best help their Islander students, and motivate the students to go to college and make an impact on their community. I have been serving on the APIA Scholars Advisory Committee since 2019, advising on ways to assist our students in higher education, and attending APIA Scholars Leadership Academies in Washington, DC. In Yap, I was fortunate to teach a couple of classes at Yap Catholic High Schoolʻs summer session as well. Two key moments where I was proud to assist and show support with our Native Hawaiian brothers and sisters were visiting Kalaupapa to do service-learning conservation efforts with the National Park Service and visit the residents, and visiting the kupuna/elders on the Mauna with a Micronesian Hilo Student delegation to present a chant, a sakau/kava ceremony, flags, and the We Are Oceania song to show solidarity. Being an A+Jojo Scholar will further my community service goals by assisting in my financial challenges of paying housing, utilities, and school supplies for my research thesis. The funding will enable me to afford travel costs to conduct in-person interviews with Yapese/Remathau community members for the research, and strengthen our connections. As our communities attempt to cultivate our bonds during a global pandemic, the A+Jojo Scholarship will show youth that they too can pursue an education during the toughest of times.
Leadership Experience
Team Leader & Project Manager; Pacific Students Media at UH Hilo – Hilo, HI; Feb. 2014 – May 2016;
Media Project Coordinator; OurYAP (Our Youth Are Promising) – Yap, FM; May 2016 – Jun. 2016;
Student Coordinator – Pacific Islander Summer Bridge Program 2015; Pacific Islander Student Center at
UH Hilo – Hilo, HI; Apr. 2015 – Aug. 2015;
Scholar Advisory Committee; APIA Scholars – Washington, DC; Jul. 2019 – Present;
Chairman, Board of Directors; OurYAP (Yap State Youth Congress) – Yap, FM; Jul. 2012 – Jul. 2013;
Certificate of Appreciation; US Department of Agriculture – Hilo, HI, 2020;
Michael J. Levin Endowed Scholarship; University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – Honolulu, HI, 2020;
Achievement Scholar College of Arts & Sciences; University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2015-17;
APIASF/The Walt Disney Company Scholarship; APIASF – Hilo, HI, 2017;
APIASF/Wells Fargo Foundation Scholarship; APIASF – Honolulu, HI, 2013, 2017;
Pacific Islander Scholarship; University of Hawai‘i at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2014-17;
Stars of Oceania Scholarship; University of Hawai‘i at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2014-17;
FSM National Scholarship; FSM National Government – Palikir, FM, 2014-17;
Yap State Scholarship; Yap State Government – Yap, FSM, 2014-17;
APIASF/USA Funds AANAPISI Scholarship; APIASF – Hilo, HI, 2016;
Alakaʻi (Leadership) Award; University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2016;
ʻIke Pāpālua (To Have the Gift of Vision) Award; University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2016
Alec & Kay Keith Scholarship; University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2014-15;
College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s List; University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo – Hilo, HI, 2014-15;
APIASF/USA Funds AANAPISI Scholarship; APIASF – Hilo, HI, 2015;
Regent’s Scholarship; Chaminade University of Honolulu – Honolulu, HI, 2013;
Valedictorian; Yap Seventh-day Adventist School Senior Class – Yap, FM, 2013;
2nd Place; FSM National Law Day Debate; FSM Supreme Court – Kosrae, FM, 2012
Legacy Goals
Dr. Joakim “Jojo” Peter inspired me through his dedication to our Micronesian community. When I first met him at UH Hilo, I found that he was one of the most highly mobile people I have ever met, and saw that his work was felt by youth not only in the Hawaiian Islands but back home in Micronesia and across the Pacific. Despite the challenges he faced himself, he showed us that we could overcome anything, and always leave behind a positive impact wherever we go. I am currently reading Coconut Ratz & Kung Fu Cowboys and that it is a tale written with love and attention to the people he gives his success to. I aim to also pay back the same people in my life with as much effort as I can. I am still figuring out the logistics of my life goals but two things are clear: I want to aid our Pacific Islander/Micronesian/Yapese communities and to aid in the education of our youth. I want to work to help secure my family in Yap and in Hilo and contribute to their wellbeing. By working in education, I will bring a different perspective to our institutions, and bring focus to our students that have long been considered invisible.
My goals will further the legacy of Dr. Joakim Peter by continuing his vision of building a fair, and just world for our people. I do not assume to know what he wanted for his legacy but through his actions, I saw that health and education were two key areas. Though these are two of the top-funded sectors in FSM, our people still struggle with health disparities, and “failing” rates in schools. In Hawai‘i, we face racism not only by the communities we live in but by the institutions and systems meant to serve us. Jojo Peter demonstrated that he could make an impact in both lands as he served as Dean of COM-FSM Chuuk Campus, served on the Civil Rights Commission, and numerous other roles. For me, the legacy of Dr. Joakim Peter is evident in our existence as Micronesian students in higher education, by mobilizing ourselves to do the impossible: taking a stand when we were told to sit, voicing ourselves when we were told to be silent, and having the humility to stay and empower our communities to do all of the above.