SPAS Launches Careers in Asia-Pacific Affairs to Prepare Students for Diverse Career Opportunities

The School of Pacific and Asian Studies (SPAS) at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is proud to announce the launch of the Careers in Asia-Pacific Affairs (CAPA) initiative, a collaborative effort across multiple centers and departments to prepare students for dynamic careers that require expertise in the Asia-Pacific region. Funded by Title VI through the U.S. Department of Education, the initiative is co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the East Asia National Resource Center, the Center for Pacific Island Studies, the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, and the Department of Asian Studies. 

CAPA represents a significant step towards equipping students with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in Asia-Pacific related careers in government, education, business, and the nonprofit sector. Key elements of the CAPA initiative include the creation of a 3-credit course in the Department of Asian Studies that will enable students to explore the range of careers related to Asian Studies and develop the skills and materials that will position them to succeed in these fields. Another component is a speaker series, which aims to build bridges between students and future prospective employers. 

The UHM Center for Southeast Asian Studies kicked off the CAPA initiative in August this year with a speaker series event with Larry Chun, a Special Agent in the Diplomatic Security Service at the US Department of State. Chun talked about how growing up in Hawai’i has served him in a unique career field that encompasses international diplomacy and federal law enforcement.

The CAPA initiative complements the cross-center SPAS Indo-Pacific Affairs Initiative that is supported by Congressionally directed funding during 2022–2025 to bolster UHM’s strengths in Asia and the Pacific by creating the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs, hiring a new faculty member in SPAS, piloting a paid internship program, inviting visiting experts, and expanding educational and professional development opportunities.

The next speaker will be Mireille Zieseniss, Public Diplomacy Advisor at US Indo-Pacific Command. Details below:

Wednesday, September 20th, 3:00-4:30 pm HST

Public Diplomacy: Telling America’s Story, Connecting People, and Shaping Foreign Policy. RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/Mireille-Zieseniss. Venue: Moore 258 and online.

About the speaker: Mireille Zieseniss is a career Foreign Service Officer in the Department of State. She currently serves as the Public Diplomacy Advisor at US Indo-Pacific Command. She previously served as Country Spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to Pakistan, Deputy Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, and Director of the State Department’s Regional Media Hub in Brussels where she engaged media throughout Europe and Central Asia on global foreign policy priorities.