Moana Tuitasi, Olympic

Moana remembers exactly where she was when she heard the news. She was in her math class, just about to take a test, when she was told that her cousin, whom she was very close with, died in a car crash. He was 30. 

Moana recoiled in her grief. “I just felt really alone after that for a while and I pretty much isolated myself from my friends after that,’ Moana said. 

She leaned on a great support system of friends and family and the Olympic High School staff to help her navigate her trauma. Most notably, Ms. O’Connor was an integral part of not only helping her in times of turmoil, but also just enhancing her entire high school experience. 

She overcame her grief by coming back out of her shell and not taking things for granted, something Moana said her cousin would want for her.

Q&A

Plans after graduation: Attending Olympic College, then finishing her degree in Elementary Education at a four-year college. 

Greatest accomplishment in CK Schools: Overcoming her social anxiety. 

Favorite memory in CK Schools: Friday night light football games, taking AVID with Ms. O’Connor, and whenever she made a new best friend 

A piece of advice that’s stuck out to her: From Olympic girls basketball coach John Krebser —  “Don’t be scared, just do it.” 

Where she sees herself in 20 years: “I see myself in the classroom, teaching kids. Probably still here [in Bremerton] to be honest. … I see myself here teaching the new generation.”