Erica-Skyler Malie Salvador Holokai once described herself as a “bento box” to avoid explaining her mixed ethnic background. Now, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa commencement speaker for the afternoon ceremony on May 16 is transforming that childhood shorthand into a message about culture, connection and belonging for the graduating class of 2026.
Born and raised on Maui, Holokai said she often struggled to answer questions about her identity. With Native Hawaiian, Japanese, German, Korean and Filipino ancestry, she recalled feeling disconnected from her cultural background as a child. A high school project asking students to represent themselves culturally led her to compare herself to a local-style bento box filled with different sections and influences.
In her commencement speech, Holokai uses the metaphor to reflect Hawaiʻi’s plantation-era history, when immigrant workers from different cultures forged connections despite divisions in language, wages, and living conditions. She will tell graduates that the “bento box” represents unity and resilience found in diversity.
Holokai is looking to reflect on the success and achievement that has come to fruition for those who have worked so hard over their college career, while acknowledging all of the unseen efforts that go into this accomplishment. She wants to “take a second to actually celebrate that,” while embracing the fullness of layered identity.
Her belief is that in “paying homage to your little bento box or your community,” you honor the communities, places and ethnicities that make you, you. As a community advocate, she emphasizes that in remembering all that you are, from whichever corner you come from, you represent and build off of those places. She said, “the people who are your mental support or emotional support…these connections are what’s going to take us farther in life.”
Holokai, who is earning her bachelors of social work (BSW) from the , said public speaking once made her uncomfortable. While attending Baldwin High School, she pushed herself out of her comfort zone by announcing daily student bulletins. She then was inspired to audition for commencement speaker after watching her friend Cooper Salomon deliver the fall 2025 commencement address.
Aside from academics, Holokai worked at Student Housing Services as a resident assistant (RA) and served as the treasurer for the Bachelor of Social Work Organization. This coming fall, Holokai will continue her work as an RA as she furthers her studies in the advanced standing master of social work program, specializing in child and family services or gerontology.
Looking ahead, Holokai plans to return home to Maui, where she hopes to open a private practice alongside her mother and give back to the local community. She hopes to continue the work she has been committed to in serving disadvantaged communities, as she has with her BSW internship through Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi on Oʻahu.
“东精影业 Mānoa has been a place of opportunity, learning, culture and community for me,” Holokai said. “I think for a lot of students, it’s a place where we can really grow into ourselves and connect with people who understand where we come from. I’ve seen students become more confident in who they are here, and I feel like I’ve experienced that too. 东精影业 Mānoa also creates so many opportunities for students, whether that’s internships, connections or just putting ourselves out there in new ways.”