Maiah Police ’15 was born and raised on Hawai’i Island and is a third-generation Ka Makani. Maiah went to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she studied Psychology and Film & Media Studies. After graduating college in 2019, she moved to New York City and worked as a Marketing Associate at Vettery (now Hired). When the world went on lockdown in 2020, she was laid off and moved back to Hawai`i. After a year of living the unemployed life, she got a contract job as a Recruiting Coordinator at Google via Adecco. With the goal of securing a full-time job at Google, she focused on excelling in her role, networking internally, and making an impact on her team. Within a year, she was converted to a Googler — a full-time employee at Google — where she is now a Senior Staffing Operations Associate based in Austin, TX.
Each January, HPA convenes a panel of graduates to share advice and stories about life after HPA with our seniors. This Q&A with Maiah occurred during our Young Alumni Day 2023.
What was your favorite part of your HPA experience? What made it so unique?
Olympics was my favorite part of my HPA experience. It’s a great opportunity to bond with your class, and it really promotes healthy competition. It helped me to develop leadership skills, patience, and confidence. It’s a great talking point for college interviews or when you’re trying to join clubs once you’re at your university — you can use it as an example of how you can bring people together. As embarrassing as it may be, I still go back and watch our Lip Sync competitions and relive how much fun it all was!
What do you know now that you wish you knew during your time at HPA?
Get involved in the clubs, performances, or activities that make you slightly uncomfortable. I think HPA creates this incredibly accepting and comfortable environment where you can test things you like and see what you’re interested in, where you’ll still have a ton of support. Immerse yourself into those spaces, then take that mindset with you wherever you go. Jumping into things that make you feel uncomfortable is where you really get a chance to learn, and HPA helps make that space feel safe.
How did your time at HPA help to prepare/impact you for your current career? How did HPA help you find your first position after graduation?
The HPA network is incredible! I had two HPA alum refer me and prep me for all of my interviews out of college. You may forget about it while you’re actually in college, but go back to the HPA alumni network when it’s time to find a job. Reach out and say, ‘I have no idea what I’m doing’ or ‘Here’s what I’m interested in, can you hop on the phone?’ and more times than not, people will say yes. People love talking about their experiences, and they love giving advice. The HPA network helped me to get where I am right now.