A PASSION TO TEACH:
Luseane Tafisi
T
hrough the wisdom and teachings
of her mother and father, Luseane
“Luse” Tafisi aspired to become an
elementary school teacher because
of her passion to help children and
serve others. She was taught sacrifice,
resiliency, cultural identity, hard
work, passion, service, and strength
to move forward in her education
and career.
In high school she participated
in sports, and the inspiration of her
coaches reinforced her desire to
become an educator. Her confidence
also grew through giving drugfree awareness presentations to
elementary students.
Luse’s cultural identity and family
support were an integral foundation
in shaping who she is today. Luse is
Tongan, born and raised in Salt Lake
City with a close-knit family. Her
grandfather taught her to remember
her roots and where she came from.
BY ROZANNA R. BENALLY-SAGG
Excited for that first day, she spent the
holiday weekend preparing lessons
and decorating the bare walls left over
from the substitute teacher. After a
successful morning class, she welcomed
the afternoon session — including an
eager boy that she encouraged to sit
down and write his name on a nametag.
When she turned away for a brief
moment, the little boy fell off his chair
and nearly bit through his tongue.
Luse ended up having to call his dad
to pick him up.
While that was not the type of first
day of teaching she anticipated, the
incident did not discourage her from
being a teacher.
Currently, she teaches first grade at
Pacific Heritage Academy (PHA) in
Salt Lake City. She begins each day with
a technique used by PHA teachers,
where she calls out to her students using
the Swahili word, “Ago (AH-goh)!”
The students answer back with “Ame
(AH-may)!” An observer can see
After receiving her college degree
and completing her student teaching, the passion she has for helping her
students succeed through differentiated
she jumped into her first job as a
kindergarten teacher after Thanksgiving and specialized instruction.
break. Her first day of teaching would
She balances family time and work,
leave a lasting impression — primarily and Luse and her husband are
because it ended with a kid nearly
involved parents to their five children.
losing his tooth — a memory she still
As passed on from her parents, she
recalls vividly.
teaches her children the importance
0 9 | V O I C E S | M C A . U TA H . G O V
of education, cultural identity, and
perseverance. Her two sons were
recently awarded scholarships to travel
with an elite lacrosse team. Her two
daughters dance with Tehamata, a
Tahitian dance group which also teaches
Samoan and Hawaiian dances. Luse
spends every evening reading to her
youngest son to develop his early
literacy skills.
Luse draws her motivation from
her continuous desire to learn and
strong family support. Because of
her dedication to teaching, she was
named a Fund for Teachers Fellow
and will travel to New Zealand with
a colleague to research sources of
support for Pacific Islander students
and their families.
Scratching only the surface of her
profession, she looks forward to a
future full of opportunities. Her next
goal in furthering her education is
to obtain graduate degrees in Special
Education and Educational Leadership.
For now, she enjoys inspiring her first
grade class to become strong readers
and excel academically.