Civic Story: Iana Mae

Iana Mae Abinales makes friends out of strangers with ease. Her dad jokes and an open quirkiness wins over even the hardest of hearts, making people feel at home as if she’s known you for years. For Iana, Tacoma is home. And if Tacoma is a city often overlooked in Washington, Iana is from a pocket of Tacoma that is also often forgotten: Parkland.

Iana graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in business, the first in her family to go to a university in the United States. Her family still lives in Parkland, just minutes from where she went to college.

“We’re literally 5 minutes away from PLU. It’s a little too intimate, but I love it…There’s a sense of community that I don’t think you can find  in bigger cities or places ;I’ve found my lifelong friends in it.”

The small city vibe has given her a sense of community and identity. “I think it shaped my pride and who I am as a Filipino American. At every single school I went to, there were  white people there too, obviously, but it was definitely diverse — a heavy POC population. Joining the cross-country team, was a community in itself, and why I think sports has such an influence on me.””

However, Iana has one foot in Parkland as a local resident and one foot in the college campus, most of whom are not from the neighborhood. She is quick to point out what other people usually think of when they hear Parkland: “It’s just always going to be a lot of stories like ‘Shooting on Ainsworth’ or on Park Ave. Just because these are things close to PLU, doesn’t mean that’s all Parkland is; it’s more than that.

But newcomers and visitors aren’t aware of that.  We’re aware of that, ‘cause I’m always going to be within that community of the people I grew up with.” An unincorporated area of Pierce County, Parkland is the seven square mile suburb surrounding Pacific Lutheran University and for Iana, home. “It is unfortunate the amount of people I’ve read that’s gone to jail or been shot recently, but I still get very defensive about it you know? It’s not perfect but I grew up here.. It’s safe to me.” Iana is a proud alumna of Southgate Elementary located in Lakewood, WA, Keithley Middle School, and Washington High School —both Parkland schools.

“I hate it when people trash on Parkland or Tacoma, just cause they’re not used to it.

And I don’t really understand, every city has its own quirks about it.”

Despite what the news or what non-Tacoma people may say about the area, the city is home to people from different backgrounds, the location of Joint Base Lewis McChord, and houses many hospitals and schools. Tacoma is the third largest city in Washington state, home to over 200,000 people.

“Definitely from the minute that I could drive — that’s when I was really exposed to Tacoma. There’s just something about Tacoma that I appreciate…the small culture or community around it,” says Iana. “It’s diverse, there’s a lot of familiar faces around here.” The diversity that Iana grew up with is evident in the people in the city who are immigrants and refugees, with significant representation from Mexico, the Philippines, India, Marshall Islands, and Somalia. Growing up in Tacoma has shaped her perspective of the world. “I think the diversity aspect [of the city] is the main thing for me. It’s definitely culture shock for me when I go to Seattle or any other place that is so …white.”

The oldest of three siblings and the daughter of Filipino immigrants, Iana’s sense of identity has been formed by her close-knit community. Iana’s sense of pride as being part of her family, as Filipina, as Asian American, and as a person from Tacoma informs not just her sense of who she is, but her dreams for the future. “I’ve always had the dream in one way or another — maybe I get rich or something — of figuring out a program to start. I don’t know what that looks like yet. Going to  Washington High School, there’s not a lot of resources for kids or those growing up in the community.”

“I plan to come back to Parkland and provide some kind of program or fund some kind of program.” Inspired by Hadi Partovi of code.org and Kevin Wang of TEALS program, Iana recently heard about the programs, while interning with the Washington Student Achievement Council in Olympia. Both nonprofits focus their work to expand computer science program access to under-resourced schools by sending volunteer software developers and coders into schools to teach kids. Inspired by this program, Iana dreams of something similar in Tacoma. “I think it’s definitely lots of thoughts on ‘what can we do to uplift the community, especially with where technology and education is going, who’s at an advantage and who’s not.’  As an alumna of the MESA [Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement] program,I didn’t go explicitly into math or science [in college] but they still supported my educational journey.

With a background in marketing and operations, Iana is currently working at the Benefits Hub at Green River Community College while keeping herself busy running a successful freelance photography business.

“I’m just trying to be intentional of what I surround myself with cause Lord knows you don’t have the time.”

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 21, 2019