{"id":234583,"date":"2026-05-19T12:52:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:52:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=234583"},"modified":"2026-05-20T09:53:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:53:59","slug":"dersel-bonai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/05\/19\/dersel-bonai\/","title":{"rendered":"West Papuan student becomes 1st in his tribe to earn master\u2019s degree"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Dersel performed the traditional dances from different islands across the Pacific at East West Fest 2026.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Dersel Bonai walked the stage to receive his Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at Mānoa<\/span> School of Architecture<\/a> on May 16, he carried the pride of his ancestors. A Pacific Islander from West Papua, Bonai became the first person in his native tribe’s family lineage to earn a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

“Being the first person in my Bonai family lineage within my tribe to earn a master\u2019s degree means this achievement is not only for myself, but also for my ancestors, family, community, and future generations of my tribe,” Bonai said. “It reminds me that education can create new opportunities while still staying connected to my culture and identity.”<\/p>\n

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Dersel at the 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> commencement.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A humorous detour<\/h2>\n

Bonai\u2019s journey to 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa<\/span> featured a humorous detour. He originally earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Rhode Island, choosing the school partly because its name suggested an island environment similar to his home. Instead, he discovered freezing winters and a culture vastly different from West Papua. Seeking an environment closer to his Pacific Island heritage, Bonai, who was also active with and lived at the East-West Center, joined 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa’s<\/span> School of Architecture in 2024. Hawaiʻi<\/span> provided the familiar plants, landscape elements, and cultural traditions he had been missing.<\/p>\n

Designing for healing<\/h2>\n

At 糖心视频<\/abbr> Mānoa,<\/span> Bonai focused on the intersections between land, culture, and community. His capstone project, “Designing for Healing—Cultural Revival, Ecological Restoration and Human Well-Being in West Papuan and Hawaiian Landscapes,” proposed a new design language rooted in collective well-being. Applying this to sites on Oʻahu<\/span> and his home island of Yapen, West Papua, Bonai argued that healing landscapes are spaces to reconnect with traditions, land and people.<\/p>\n

Meet more amazing 糖心视频<\/abbr> graduates<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“To me, healing means rebuilding relationships between people, land, culture and traditional knowledge,” Bonai said. “Healing can happen through simple everyday experiences, such as spending time outdoors, practicing traditions like hula in Hawaiʻi<\/span> or the yospan in West Papua, working in the loʻi,<\/span> or reconnecting with cultural knowledge or even just listening to the stories of our ancestral lands.”<\/p>\n

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Dersel and his 糖心视频<\/abbr> Community Design Center team at Keālia<\/span> Pond during their community engagement event in West Maui.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Community connection<\/h2>\n

Since January 2025, Bonai served as a graduate student project assistant on Professor Judith Stilgenbauer\u2019s design research team, contributing to the “Olowalu: The Road to Resilience” project with The Nature Conservancy. Engaging with the West Maui community reinforced his belief that community well-being is deeply tied to environmental health.<\/p>\n

“Working with the community in West Maui helped me see that land is more than a physical place. It carries stories, identity, traditions, and memories,” Bonai said.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Bonai plans to bring his Indigenous knowledge into his future work as a landscape architect, hoping to empower Indigenous communities and protect ecological systems across the Pacific and around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Pacific Islander from West Papua, Dersel Bonai, became the first person in his native tribe’s family lineage to earn a master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":234593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29],"tags":[240,234,239,660,9],"class_list":["post-234583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-architecture","tag-commencement","tag-school-of-architecture","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t