By Rose Hamilton 

As a child, Micah Aiu ’11 frequently campaigned with his mother, Donna Mercado Kim P’11, a state senator who has been a public official in Hawaii since the 1980s.

Aiu was not particularly fond of the campaign trail, but he must have been paying attention. In 2022, the 34-year-old won a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives, creating the first-ever mother-son duo to serve in the state legislature.

“I finally understand and appreciate what my mom has been doing for 30 years,” says Aiu, who earned his law degree from the University of Hawaii Manoa and has been a practicing attorney since 2016.

Aiu clearly relishes a challenge. He traveled 5,000 miles from home to join the Lasell community as an undergraduate after attending two other colleges that were not the right fit. At Lasell, Aiu majored in accounting, played on the volleyball team, and encountered cultures and points of view that were different from what he knew growing up.

“I think my experience at Lasell gave me a greater appreciation for other people and other perspectives, and I rely on that today,” Aiu says.

These days, in addition to his day job as an in-house counsel representing a large construction company, Aiu is busy meeting constituents and serving as vice chair of the housing committee. He is also tackling the challenge of working with a well-known parent while simultaneously establishing his own identity.

Because their districts partially overlap, he and his mother often work together as colleagues. They depend on each other to ensure that no constituent concern or issue goes unaddressed.

“My mom and I talk all the time, even more than before,” Aiu says. “I can ask questions and she can share strategies about navigating through a state bureaucracy.”

At times, the professional relationship can be tricky. When the house was considering a campaign finance bill, Aiu voted against it, only to be informed it was his mother’s bill. He did not change his vote, but quickly alerted her to the situation.

“She told me that I have to find my own voice and make my own decisions,” Aiu says.

During his state legislature orientation, Aiu and his colleagues were asked to select a word from a list of terms that best captured them. While others opted for words such as “cooperation” or “compassion,” Aiu picked “winning.”

“I was the only one who chose it,” Aiu said. “In order to be an effective representative, you have to go out every day and bring home wins for your community.”