Lehua La‘a was born & raised in Kailua, O‘ahu and came to Grand Junction in 2012 to attend Colorado Mesa University. 

When Lehua was born, her parents gave her an English first name, in hopes that having a Hawaiian name would not be a barrier when applying for jobs or loans. They would tell her that “Emma” gets a call back, but “Lehua” gets the job. 

This led to Lehua’s first foray into Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion work in Colorado. Instead of blending in and going by her English name, she decided to take the time to teach people how to say the name she spent her entire life going by. 

Many people did not realize saying “your name is too hard to pronounce, can I give you a nickname?” was putting their discomfort of failure above her dignity.

Rather than allowing anger to consume her, she chose to build relationships with those who might not have taken the time to learn her ‘difficult name.’  

Lehua’s warm approach of relationship building, and intentional education helps people feel a sense of belonging (rather than shame) when learning about Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion.