Sophia Siangco.
Sophia Siangco (Bachelor of Arts in Political Science) will represent the undergraduate students of the Fall Class of 2025 at the Thursday, December 11, morning graduation ceremony. Siangco, from Honolulu and a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama Campus, completed HPU’s dual-credit program in 2023, earning both her high school diploma and an associate degree. Continuing her accelerated path, she chose HPU to finish her bachelor’s degree, achieving Dean’s List honors from 2023 to 2025 and winning the 2025 HPU-sponsored The Leaders and the Led prize for her essay, “The Intersection of Conservation and Reciprocal Connection: Mauna Kea as a Site of Memory.”
Siangco served as a social science research assistant in an HPU political science faculty lab, contributing to the Healthy Hawaiian Project and studies on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander identity. Her work deepened her understanding of indigenous data sovereignty and researcher-community relationships. She also holds CITI, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative, Program certifications in social and behavioral research and responsible conduct of research.
Beyond academics, Siangco was active in the HPU Debate Team, earning first place at the Edith Kanaka‘ole Hawai‘i Island Debate competition. She performed with the HPU Theatre in student- and department-led productions and played violin with the HPU Orchestra, playing a repertoire that ranged from classical works to contemporary movie scores and bluegrass tunes. She also studied piano and organ with two HPU faculty, broadening her musical abilities and strengthening her passion for creating music.
After graduation, Siangco plans to prepare for law school admission, focusing on programs with robust indigenous law curricula. She hopes to return to Hawai‘i to practice law.
