Key takeaways:
- This story introduces Rachel Mahuiki, a student at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) pursuing her bachelor’s degree in operations management and analysis
- Growing up in Hawaii taught Rachel the importance of hard work, humility, and showing up for others when they need help.
- After leaving home at 12 for Kamehameha Schools and later exploring several majors in college, an internship in wealth management revealed a career where she could combine financial literacy with her passion for helping people.
- After putting her education on hold to care for her grandmother, Rachel returned to school at UAGC, choosing operations management and analysis because of its direct relevance to her work and leadership goals.
- Through UAGC coursework and tuition-benefit partnership with Edward Jones, Rachel is already applying what she learns to her career while becoming more confident in her ability to take up space, lead, and make a greater impact.
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The Values That Guide Rachel Mahuiki From Kauaʻi to Wealth Management
On Kauaʻi, Hawaii, Rachel Mahuiki learned that when a storm comes through, you do not wait to be asked to help. She remembers watching her uncles, aunties, cousins, friends, and neighbors race into action. They cleared roads and moved fallen trees, checked on elderly neighbors, and made sure people had what they needed. Everyone seemed to have a role, and everyone understood that looking out for one another was simply part of being a community. It’s what they refer to as kōkua (pronounced koh-KOO-ah).
Those moments remain with Rachel, even as her own work has taken her far from the roads and neighborhoods of the island.
Today, as a student at UAGC and senior wealth management professional at Edward Jones, she helps people navigate their financial lives with the same spirit of service she saw growing up. With her coursework and day-to-day operations rooted in relationship building and strategy, she’s able to help clients make decisions with greater confidence, so their money can support the lives they want rather than stand in the way of them.
“Those worlds may look very different,” she says of Hawaii and time at her branch office, “but the values I learned growing up: work hard, stay humble, take care of people, and always keep learning are still the foundation of how I approach both my personal and professional life.”
Now well on her way to completing her Bachelor of Arts in Operations Management and Analysis from UAGC, Rachel is solidifying her purpose while enhancing her career.
With graduation expected in 2027, she is already using her education to approach her work differently.
“My degree has given me a stronger foundation for skills I had developed through years of professional experience,” she says. “Most importantly, it has given me even more confidence to pursue larger professional goals and continue growing within wealth management and leadership.”
Leaving Home and Finding Her Own Way
Kapālama Water Polo Team
At 12 years old, Rachel left home. Fresh out of sixth grade, she had been accepted to Kamehameha Schools, a prestigious college-preparatory boarding school for Native Hawaiian students. Admission was highly competitive, and earning a place meant the opportunity for an exceptional education, along with the difficult reality of leaving her family and island behind at an age when most children are just beginning middle school.
“I was so young, I didn't necessarily know what I was getting myself into until my parents dropped me off at the dorm and drove away,” she says. “I was like, ‘Wait…Am I coming with you?’”
She laughs at the memory now. At the time, though, it was a major leap. Life at Kamehameha became its own kind of bubble. Between rigorous academics, water polo, surfing, Hawaiian language, and traditional cultural events, Rachel found herself immersed in an environment that challenged her while keeping her connected to her heritage.
More than anything, the experience taught her independence. Looking back, Rachel believes many of the qualities that have served her throughout her career were forged during those years. Leaving home so young made her self-sufficient, but the values she carried with her from Kauaʻi remained at the center of who she was.
“Growing up in Hawaii, the culture is, respect your elders, help whenever you can, always be incredibly helpful,” she says. “You just genuinely care. And I genuinely love helping people. That is something that makes me satisfied, and it's perfect because it's integrated right in me.”
By the time she reached Hawaii Pacific University, Rachel had learned how to navigate unfamiliar territory. She just hadn't figured out where she was headed yet. She changed her major several times, exploring fields including oceanography and environmental science. Then she took a chance on an internship at a wealth management firm.
The opportunity changed the trajectory of her career.
Discovering that Money is Really about People
For the first time, Rachel saw a way to turn helping people into a profession she would enjoy and feel challenged by.
She had already been the friend who talked about budgeting and helped others understand why financial literacy mattered. Now she was seeing what that knowledge could mean on a much larger scale.
at Mahuiki ‘Ohana Family Reunion
“Wealth management is not just about retiring, numbers, and spreadsheets; it's about feeling comfortable enough to actually live,” she explains. “‘Go on that trip. You can afford it. We got you.’ Or, ‘If you want to buy that car, buy that car.’ If they can't, it’s being able to say no and also being able to tell them why.”
The work was demanding, and for much of the time at first, stressful. It also carried a weighty responsibility: helping people make decisions that could shape the rest of their lives. But instead of pushing her away, that responsibility pulled her in.
“It's not the burden, but the heavy responsibility of literally helping people succeed in their lives,” she says. “I remember thinking, and I still do, this is it. It's hard. It’s demanding. But… it's so fulfilling. I couldn't see myself anywhere else.”
An investment account, Rachel says, can represent a future retirement. A financial plan can mean finally making a purchase that someone has dreamed about for years. Sometimes all someone needs to hear is that they can choose happiness. That perspective is part of what keeps Rachel invested in the work. She even considers herself something of a therapist for her clients.
“Honestly, if I really think about what this job does, it's really about managing people's emotions about how they feel about their money,” she says. “And when you feel good about where your money is at, you can give yourself permission to enjoy your life.”
That human element is where her career connects most clearly to the values Rachel learned growing up on Kauaʻi. She has always found fulfillment in helping people. Wealth management simply gave that instinct a new place to live.
Returning to School with a Purpose
The path to finishing her degree took a couple of attempts. In the middle of pursuing her undergraduate degree, Rachel returned to Kauaʻi because her grandmother became ill. She put her education on hold to care for her family while continuing to build her career in finance. Years passed, and her professional experience grew. But the unfinished degree remained in the back of her mind.
Rachel wasn't interested in just checking a box. She wanted an education that would make her better at the work she was already doing.
“When I get it in my head that I'm going to do something, I'm going to follow through, and there's nothing that can stop me,” she says.
Her experience in wealth management had also shown her that succeeding in the field requires more than financial knowledge. Advisors are essentially running businesses of their own, making operational decisions, adapting to changes from upper management, and finding ways to keep their practices efficient. That, coupled with her employer benefit through Edward Jones, made the bachelor’s degree from UAGC a natural fit.
“I feel like I picked the right degree that I needed, and from the right place,” she says. “It's incredibly relevant to what I do, and it makes me so much better that I can give so much back, because I know so much more, and I'm so much more confident.”
She anticipated the coursework to challenge her. In fact, she wanted it to.
“I knew it wasn't going to be easy,” she says. “I expected challenges, and I knew that I would have to put a lot of time and effort and make this a priority. Thankfully, I’ve always been very career-oriented; I take it very seriously.”
What has surprised her is how quickly she has been able to put that effort to work. Rather than treating assignments as exercises separate from her professional life, Rachel often builds projects and papers around situations she is navigating at work. Concepts from her courses can move almost immediately from the classroom into practice.
“Every single class, I've been able to apply immediately,” she says. “Why wouldn't I? This is the best way to learn.”
Making Room for What Matters
The pursuit of professional development has taught Rachel that her values and Hawaiian culture can help carry her even further. The girl who watched her family and neighbors rush into the streets after a storm now helps people navigate some of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. The young woman who left home at 12 to build her independence has built a career across multiple states.
And the professional who once worried about how to express herself without hurting someone else's feelings is learning to trust the knowledge and experience she has earned.
“I'm more transparent with what I want,” she says. “I'm more direct as to why I'm taking up space. I'm more confident in a way that I know I deserve to take up the space that I do. And I can thank my education for that, for sure.”
While her degree is giving her new knowledge and confidence, the drive behind it has been there all along: keep learning and use what you know to help someone else. It is the same spirit of kōkua, the Hawaiian value of helping others, that Rachel saw growing up on Kauaʻi. And, like the example set by her village, Rachel doesn’t wait to take action.
“You cannot wait for life to feel less busy,” she says as she reflects on her educational journey. “You have to make room for it. If it's important and it's a priority, you have to commit and decide that this is important enough for me to make room for it.
“Eventually, you're going to look back, and think, ‘Wow, I can't believe I've made that much progress,’” Rachel promises. “Imagine if I didn't start.”
Are you interested in building on the experience you already have while gaining career-shaping knowledge too? Explore how a degree from UAGC can help you invest in your goals with confidence and talk to an advisor today.
