The Students

These are the students who have written, compiled, and researched to make this digital archive happen.

Mililani Danae Coloma

Hi! My name is Mililani Danae Coloma, 18 years old. I am full filipino born in Quezon City, Philippines. I am a first-year college student in the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. I graduated from Waipahu High School, class of 2024. I moved to Hawai’i at 7 years old in the year 2014 and has been living in O’ahu ever since. I take interest in many things when it comes to arts and creativity despite not currently being in a major. I play the guitar and sing in my free time. I take that hobby with me and serve at Inspire Church Waikele as a part of their worship team outside of school. Aside from music, I also enjoy writing of any sort from journaling to songwriting. Ultimately, I enjoy reading romance novels and watching romantic comedy films.

Paul Cosme

As a composer, Paul combines various media, forms, and sound worlds from Asian and Western traditions with classical, pop & rock, jazz, and traditional artists from the United States and through Asia and the Pacific. His music often draws from and engages narratives of immigration, social issues, diaspora, poetry, local rituals, myths, and mythologies.

As a scholar, Paul investigates Filipino so-called national culture(s)–from folk, “high” art, to pop–in the 20th and 21st centuries. His recent work traces developments in Philippine popular music, Original Pilipino Music, and national identity by comparing Filipina singer-songwriter Moira dela Torre and American popstar Taylor Swift.

Logan Foster

is a senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa studying Anthropology. He has lived in Hawaii for a couple of years, but his state of birth is top secret, only known to a select few; all he’ll say is that he’s from somewhere cold. He has one amazing dog and enjoys music and history with an interest in Europe, which is strange due to the fact that, according to him, he is taking three classes that talk exclusively about South Asia and Southeast Asia. Overall, his time on this website and his experiences at this University has been amazing. He thanks you all for visiting and hopes you learn something new.

Juan Guerrero

is from Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. To get from his home to Manila would be around a 4-hour flight. Growing up in Saipan he has gotten to know many Filipinos. By doing this project he is happy to be able to shed light and allow more people to understand the horrible crimes that the citizens of the Philippines have gone through.

Ethan Hendricks

is a first-year Bachelors student in the School of Architecture studying Environmental design at University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is from Denver, Colorado and is a lover of all things outdoors. He loves spending time in the mountains or on the beach as well as playing with his dogs. He also spends plenty of time binge watching Netflix or listening to Spotify!

Reza Hikam

Reza Hikam is a Master's student at the History Department, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, during the writing of this article. He is also an editor of Kempalan, an online media news in Surabaya, and a member of the Muhammadiyah organization in Indonesia, a neighboring country to the Philippines. During his activities in Indonesian civil society organizations, he learned various understandings of political violence, especially state-sponsored along with religion-based conflicts in Southeast Asia, focusing on, but not limited to, Islamic extremism. He is currently a researcher for history and ideology at the Nusantara Center for Social Research and is active in Cross Border Historian (Sejarah Lintas Batas/Sintas).

Sui Hluan

Sui Hluan is a Master’s student in Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, focusing on Southeast Asia. She completed her undergraduate studies in English at Dagon University in Yangon before earning a Master of Arts in Human Rights at Mahidol University in Thailand. In addition to her academic pursuits, Sui has gained professional experience as a Foundation Coordinator at IJM Foundation Thailand, working on labor trafficking and supporting vulnerable communities. She has also contributed to governance and gender awareness projects with ActionAid Myanmar. She has served as a Junior Consultant at SR Worldwide Edu, assisting international students with logistics and administrative support.

Kevin Lawler

I’m Kevin Lawler I’m a student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I am getting my bachelor’s degree in Biology. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Doing this project has opened me up to the history of the other side of the world that I have never learned or experienced until this semester

Aurora Lowell

is a second year student at the University of Hawaii studying Social Work. She was born and raised in Massachusetts, and graduated from Newburyport Highschool in 2023, with the goal of becoming a mental health counselor. She was introduced to Southeast Asian culture and its history by her mother who has spent her life doing humanitarian work all over Asia and Africa, and has showed her daughter the importance of education and cultural immersion.

Ia Marañon

Ia Marañon is a current PhD student in Sociology at UH Manoa. Prior to her graduate studies, she was a full-time climate justice activist and labor organizer. She graduated with a degree in Development Studies and a minor in Sociology in Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Ia’s current research interests range from Megachurch Christianity in Southeast Asia, communist movements in the Philippines, and middle class politics. She was also the webmaster for this project.

Jeanine Markley

My name is Jeanine Markley and I'm pursuing a master's degree in Second Language Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Asian Studies-International Affairs at UH Manoa. I love to read and I grew up reading stories about people from all over the world. I have found that learning about the history and culture of a place, as well as the language that is spoken there, is an amazing way to experience the world. I try to do this in my career as a professional musician and English language teacher. This course, Political Violence in Southeast Asia, is the first chance I have had to delve into the history and current events in Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Noah Numasaki

My name is Noah Numasaki, I was born and raised in Ewa Beach, Hawaii. I am a sophomore at the University of Hawaii majoring in exploratory business and minoring in economics. I have always been interested in politics and civil war in Southeast Asian countries.

Kaitlin Rivera

is currently an undergraduate freshman at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, double majoring in Hawaiian Studies and Cinematic Arts. She grew up in the Bay Area in California, where she dedicated her childhood to music. Kaitlin has always been interested in history, which is why the Philippine drug war really stood out to her. She hopes that this project can shed some light on the devastating situation in the Philippines, giving a voice to those who suffered in silence.

Christopher Santiago

My name is Christopher Santiago and I’m an Asian Studies Major and a Junior at UH Manoa. I chose to take this class, Political Violence in Southeast Asia, because I was born in the Philippines and I have family members who worked for Marcos. Therefore, this subject is very interesting to me. This is my last semester at UH Manoa because I've decided to move to Japan to go to vocational school for Motorsport Engineering in April.

Santiago Wolfe

is an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He hopes to utilize the skills I will gain from engineering to contribute to developing AUVs (Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles) in ocean-related projects and issues. Before his freshman year at UH, he graduated from the IB Diploma Programme at Henry J. Kaiser High School. During his time at Kaiser, he learned skills in sound design and music production, becoming a music producer. As for his connection to political violence, he has always had a passion for international relations and politics. Stemming from his father’s work in government, the United Nations, and other organizations, he began to catch interest in international affairs. Throughout his life, he has also lived in various countries, such as Cambodia, Thailand, and Jordan, gaining international experience. Taking these experiences into high school, he enrolled in the IBDP Global Politics class to further his understanding of political science. By enhancing his skills and knowledge in engineering and global politics, he hopes to contribute to the fields of ocean engineering and climate change.

Clayton Oblero-Laboy

is from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He graduated from Kealakehe High School in 2024 and currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry as a freshman at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. When exploring his options for classes he could take, “Political Violence in Southeast Asia” immediately stood out for him. He always loved learning about history alongside science, so he couldn’t ignore the opportunity to learn a little bit about my ethnic background, particularly the Philippines. He was very interested in delving into a country’s history to understand the events that shaped it into the modern age and explore the causes of tragedies that occurred within the region.

Jacob Oster

My name is Jake Oster (the human in the photo). This is my final semester in the Masters of Asian International Affairs at the University of Hawaii. I am currently training as a U.S. Army Foreign Area Officer (FAO) with an Indo-Pacific regional specialization. FAOs typically serve as political-military advisors, military attachés, and security assistance experts throughout the globe.

Lujan-Nevaeh Purdy

was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii. When this website was created she was a freshman in college at the University of Manoa. Her intended majors are Psychology and Hawaiian Language. As a Hula and Tahitian dancer she is passionate about cultural abundance. Through this project she was able to work closely with many different people and she was happy to experience many different stories.

Saung Yanat Pyae Kyaw

Saung Yanant Pyae Kyaw is a first-year Master’s student in Asian International Affairs (MAIA) at the Department of Asian Studies, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is also a Graduate Degree Fellowship at the East-West Center.

Her research interests include the study of civilian massacres during the Myanmar military coup of 2021, the escalation of internal conflict in Myanmar's Northern Shan State, and the analysis of geopolitical dynamics involving China, India, and the Mekong region. Currently, she works as a freelance digital verification journalist at Agence France-Presse (AFP factory), a former research associate of Conflict, Peace and Security Program at the Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar.