Yuka Jokura Polovina

Yuka Jokura Polovina earned a doctorate degree from the American Studies department in 2018. Her dissertation titled Playing the Games: Diasporic Identity, Athletic Entrepreneurialism, and Elodie Li Yuk Lo’s Journey to the Olympics examines the international career of Elodie Nioun Chin Li Yuk Lo—a Chinese Mauritian Canadian immigrant who represented a small African nation, Mauritius, at the 2012 Olympics in beach volleyball. This deeply personal project builds on the works of scholars from physical cultural studies, transnational feminism, diasporic life writing, and feminist ethnographic methodologies. Over the years, Yuka has taught Contemporary Domestic Issues, Hawai‘i’s Multiculturalism and Sports in America to UHM’s undergraduates, and has taught American Literature and Women’s and Gender Studies to high school students. Currently, Yuka is an Associate Director of Development in Corporate and Foundation Relations at the University of Hawaii Foundation. In this role, she gets to work with various staff and faculty across UH’s ten campuses learning about and advocating for the work they do through fundraising efforts.