Biography

Marina Aina (she/her) is a mixed-race Sāmoan woman who grew up on Cahuilla and Luiseño land in Southern California (aka Menifee, California). She completed her undergraduate studies at Pomona College, receiving her B.A. in American Studies. She strives to better understand how American militarism impacts Pasifika peoples (and more specifically how pervasive the militarization of American Sāmoa is for Sāmoans, both on and off the islands). Specifically, her thesis explores how SPAM (as a comfort food item for Sāmoans in the United States) evokes a sense of nostalgia for American Sāmoa, one that is entangled in militarized legacies.

In her free time, she enjoys trying new foods, reminiscing about media from her childhood, watching anime (or claiming she will get around to it), and seeing more movies to improve her odds at winning Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. She will be starting her second year in the Asian American M.A. program fall of 2024. She still needs to explore UCLA’s campus to reduce the chance of getting lost, so that is unfortunately also on her list of things to do during her free time.