Hokumalie Serna is among this year's honorees of Pacific Business News’ annual Inno Under 25 awards. To see the other winners, click here.
Hokumalie Serna
Age: 22
Hokumalie Serna recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in fashion design from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is now beginning her graduate studies in marketing management.
Serna has been a standout student leader at the university’s Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship at the Shidler College of Business. She was selected to be part of the pilot program of PACE Leaders — where participants design and execute programming and activities for other students. She then continued on as part of the inaugural cohort of PACE Leaders at the Walter Dods, Jr. RISE Center for academic year 2023-2024. She also currently serves as director of the PACE Ambassadors program, leading a team of fellow student leaders in organizing networking and outreach events, and tours and classroom presentations.
Among her responsibilities as director is planning mixer events that she said aim to help students connect with one another.
“We do all different activities that help students network and make connections to hopefully build business relationships. We also do classroom presentations campus-wide at Manoa and table events to help spread the word about PACE for any UH Manoa and Shidler events,” she said.
In addition to leading entrepreneurial-minded students, Serna has her own business aspirations: She said she hopes to start an upcycled products company.
What accomplishment are you most proud of to date?
The accomplishment I am most proud of is achieving my bachelor’s degree. Growing up, my father battled with cancer, and seeing him go through all those treatments and seeing how it was taking a toll on him and his health, I wanted to pursue the medical field … but realized it wasn’t what I was passionate about. So I decided to major in fashion. … Through those four years … I dealt with a lot of ups and downs, but I came out strong and designed seven looks that were showcased at our school fashion show. … All my family and friends were there to see what I was capable of and I was overjoyed to have shared that moment with them.
What is your favorite part of what you do?
My favorite part of being a PACE Leader is connecting and networking with all different types of people and students from all across campus. I am able to improve my leadership and communication skills and learn what it is like to lead a team. I was able to plan and coordinate events throughout the year. ... It is truly a blessing to be a part of this program.
How do you envision the future — what is next for you, and what is your ultimate career goal?
Utilizing PACE and its resources while doing my master’s, I really want to use this time to start my small business. My ultimate goal is to build this small business online and then plan on opening a storefront. … I want to create job opportunities for others, especially here in Hawaii. With the housing prices going up and the cost of living going up, it is really hard to stay and live in Hawaii. ... I want to be able to give Native Hawaiians and local people a chance to stay. In the far future, I really want to create my own nonprofit organization to help the younger generations and give back to my community.
The “brain drain” has long been an issue for Hawaii. What do you think the state needs to retain its younger workforce?
I was born and raised on Oahu and it hurts to see young families move to other states to create a stable living environment for their children and families. I believe that if we can create more job opportunities with livable income and create housing that is affordable for the people of Hawaii, I think it is possible for families to stay. The state workforce can offer more internships for high school and college students to help them get a foot in the door for their future career.
