Consider the Steps You Walk to Carry Others
Name: Ailine
Pronouns: she/her
Title: Lead Operations Strategy Analyst
Location: Lake Park, UT
My personal brand
I am driven, dedicated, and detail oriented. My key drivers in life are family, culture, and opportunity.
Nourishing connections, relationships, and my heritage
As an American-born Tongan, growing up in a Tongan diasporic community in the US shaped my identity and how I exist in the world. I am extremely grateful for the many sacrifices my ancestors and family made to provide me with the opportunities I have today. I cherish the freedom to obtain an education, pursue a career, travel to see my family in the islands and be with my family here. I work hard to make these things a reality in my life, and my gratitude drives me to pay it forward and work hard to help secure the same opportunities for future generations.
In college, I took a course where the environment subjected me to overt discrimination due to my ethnic background. After a particularly difficult class discussion where the validity of my experience as a POC was challenged heavily by my instructor and then by my other classmates, I left feeling gutted and helpless. I had just as much right as anyone else to be in that classroom, but I also knew I didn’t deserve to learn in such a hostile setting, so I set out to change the environment. I went through all the proper channels to report the issues I was facing with the school, and I continued to attend the class regularly. It took a while to hear back about any impact from me speaking up, and while it gave me a lot of apprehension, I knew it was important to show up—not only for myself but also for others who were going through the same thing. After a few weeks, a lot of significant changes were made to the course content and instruction. By the end of the semester, the hostility I and others faced dissipated, and the classroom became a more equitable, safe, and open-minded space to learn.
This experience pulled me to become involved in civic engagement for the Pacific Islander community. I was heavily involved in my college community, and participated in many events focused on promoting education, health, and cultural connection.
After I started at Discover and learned more about the APAD ERG, it sparked my interest to once again be involved in my community. I am working on becoming more involved in civic engagement for the Pacific Islander community in my area now.
There are many Tongan cultural values we practice in our family. Tauhi Va; nourishing connections and relationships, is one I hold close. It has helped me navigate a corporate environment by helping me to constantly consider the importance of networking, teamwork, accountability, and sharing opportunities.
Starting my career at Discover was a big learning moment for me. I began as a seasonal summer employee, had never worked in a financial setting before, and understanding the company values was very new. Learning how student lending works and how people can obtain an education with Discover’s help opened eyes to how big Discover is.
A piece of advice my late grandfather left with me was this: “Remember all the steps that were walked to bring you where you are in your journey now. Consider the steps you walk to carry others.” I am constantly reminded of this as I progress in my career and engage in my culture in a diasporic Pasifika community.
