Graduate Spotlight: Naho Umitani

As she nears graduation, Naho Umitani will do so with a list of academic and personal bests, as someone who embraced all that college can offer and taking with her memories, experiences and knowledge as she embarks on an exciting and evolving path ahead.

Looking back at her time at SU, the native of Honolulu, Hawaii, reflects on the how she made the most out of her undergraduate experience, balancing her studies with a job in marketing at the Albers School of Business and Economics and serving as a first-year senator and at-large senator with student government. And, to top it all off, she also carved out time to pursue her passion as an opera singer, taking vocal lessons through SU’s music program.

A double major in economics and public affairs and a 2025 Truman Scholar—the first from Seattle University since 2019—Umitani will walk from the Commencement stage at Climate Pledge Arena and within 24 hours be in Washington, D.C., where she’ll spend the summer doing an internship for the Council of State Governments. There will be a bit of deja vu as she’ll be spending part of the time back on a college campus as the interns live in the dorms at George Washington University.

“The Council of State Governments is the nation’s only non-partisan organization serving all three branches of state elected officials,” says Umitani. “I’m very excited for the opportunity to work on state-level policy and to witness non-partisan conversations.”

In October Umitani will return to the West Coast for a yearlong fellowship at the California State Capitol. The position interested Umitani because of the opportunities to work directly on legislative policy, from research to drafting to passage. Umitani will also be taking classes at California State University-Sacramento, a requirement of the fellowship.

Both in D.C. and in California, Umitani expects to utilize the skills and knowledge she gained from her SU classes and experiences like those in student government. While she’s still considering possibly going to law school in the future, for now that’s on pause as she wants to see what comes out of her time in California, hoping it provides clarity.

“Ultimately, I want to serve my home state and my community in Hawaii. I want to take the experience in California and bring it back to Hawaii,” she says. “I think there is a lot I can learn about progressive policies, like tackling issues such as climate change.”

Learn more about Naho in this video.

As Commencement draws closer, she speaks with fondness on her many takeaways from SU that will stay with her, like the treasured connections made with SU faculty and staff and being able to enact change through policy work on student government—a period she calls “formative” as a factor in providing professional focus. 

“During my time at SU I found my career path and passion thanks to incredible Albers and Arts & Sciences professors,” she says. “Alongside extracurricular activities, I graduate SU feeling prepared and well-equipped for a career in policy.”

And what advice would Umitani impart on incoming students about making the most of their time in college?

“Try all the opportunities that are presented to you. Even if you think it might be challenging, there’s a lot of merit in trying things,” she says. “I think a lot about the Truman. I wasn’t even thinking of applying and missed the (initial) deadline. The lesson is that even if it seems difficult try your best.”

Another big passion of Umitani that she fully embraced while at SU is singing, something she’s been doing since a child in temple and in musical theater. At SU she got even more serious about perfecting her craft and took vocal lessons every week from her first year on campus to her last. Over this Memorial Day weekend she will travel with others in SU’s music program to New York City to visit with professional opera singers, watch a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera and more. 

“(Music) is so different from the other work I do. There is a lot of emotions that can only be felt through music and I really enjoy it,” she says. “It’s very cathartic to sing.”

Regardless of where Umitani’s life takes her post-SU, she remains steadfast on her end game—to one day run for city council.

“Serving my community through elected office is the goal. Just the route there might be a curvy one.”

SOME OF NAHO’S FAVORITES…

Favorite spot on campus: The Green, with the new Tulip statue. It’s so Seattle.

Favorite coffee shop: URL coffee. Favorite restaurant: Biang Biang noodles in Capitol Hill.

Favorite artist or music genre: Pop, K-Pop, J-Pop. I like jazz and I listen to a lot of opera and classical music.

Favorite TV show you last binged: Grey’s Anatomy.