No. 732 Janella Moala, 2008

File — Box: 72, Folder: 5

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Janella Moala (b. 1983) was born in Provo, Utah. In 1983 her family moved to Texas were she spent most of her life. She went to school in Hawaii. She is Mormon and went on a mission to Brazil. Janella’s father is Tongan and her mother is English, Dutch, Danish, and Scottish. Her father went to medical school in Fiji and then to moved to Hawaii to go to school there at twenty. Her mother was raised in Idaho. Her family moved to Texas because there was an opportunity for a job there for her father. Janella talks about living in Texas. They lived in a suburb of Dallas and traveled to Euless to participate in Tongan culture and visit Tongan friends and relatives. She talks about the Mormon community in her home town. Janella talks about her father growing up in Tonga. She believes the way he grew up influenced the way he raised his children. He used intimidation and physical discipline to raise Janella and her siblings. Janella rebelled against her father’s strictness. Her father was particularly strict when it came to boys. He also taught them to be very disciplined in sports. He calmed down a lot when he became active in the Mormon Church again. Janella works as a residential treatment center unit counselor. She counsels kids with drug problems and kids who come from bad home situations. She talks about going to school at BYU Hawaii and how much she loves Hawaii. She likes the culture, the people, and the environment. Janella hopes to move back there someday but cannot right now because it is too expensive. Janella discusses her relationships with her siblings. She was close with her sisters, though they did fight sometimes, but she wasn’t very close with her brothers. Boys and girls were strictly separated in the home. She describes her religious upbringing. Her father says he joined the Mormon Church to get a scholarship for school, but when they moved to Texas he became more active. Their family hosted seminary lessons in their home. Janella talks about her mission to Brazil. Her mission is one of the hardest because of the environment. She talks about the culture and the language. Though their parents did not emphasize their Tongan culture growing up, Janella has always been proud to be Tongan. She has felt discriminated against because of the color of her skin, but she has always been confidant about her culture and heritage.
Project: Pacific Islanders.
Interviewer: Savani Aupiu.

Dates

2008

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.