Interior Designer Chelsea Holladay Recalls Homeroom, Hula & Many More Memories

By: Daniel McArdle-Jaimes

The Chelsea Holladay I remembered in high school was always someone who was sweet, cool and artistic. She was a girl that always seemed to be surrounded by friends at all times (not the kind of person who would walk by herself), because she was down-to-earth, social, chill, and just easy to talk to.

Chelsea and I were in homeroom for four years together, and each morning we were greeted by Mrs. Roscoe. As Mrs. Roscoe began roll promptly at 7:45 a.m., I recall the sound of Mrs. Roscoe’s cheery and happy tone when she knew which students were “here” and on-time….And as she went through the roll, I just recall sitting there on those long tables with people like Michael Kaanoni, Jansen Fukuda, Ken Imura and Gen Fujitani among many many others watching that door to see who would be walking in late after climbing those treacherous hills from the campus parking lot by the gym. The guys in our homeroom in particular were ready to heckle the girls that were tardy.

I remember Chelsea and April Ichinose usually being the last to arrive. In their defense, they often did lug up the most stuff uphill to reach Mrs. Roscoe’s classroom. But I think Chelsea carried the most things daily. Her luggage would consist of a large backpack, but vary between paddling gear, hula costumes and/or some large art project. I remember Chelsea and others in our homeroom (mostly the girls) banter with Mrs. Roscoe about walking into homeroom even 15 seconds late (admittedly, I was late a few times).

Homeroom with Mrs. Roscoe, Chelsea and others was just a comical way to start the day with the various cast of characters that were in our homeroom. BUT I must say that the girls in our homeroom were especially late…

After witnessing Mrs. Roscoe’s frown of disappointment when Chelsea walked in late, the conversation sometimes shifted to the debate about whether or not Chelsea’s shorts or top was in dress code. Candidly, as I am typing this memory, I am laughing to myself because it was just too funny to watch the girls sass back hopelessly and swearing that “it shrank in the wash” among other excuses. The girls in Mrs. Roscoe’s homeroom, particularly Chelsea, made all the guys laugh hard as we watched them attempt to out-sass, the sass warden, Mrs. Roscoe. J

Let’s fast forward to life after high school: For five years, Chelsea and I both lived in San Francisco at the same time, and we saw each other periodically for lunches and happy hours. She was a guest at my 30^th birthday party, engagement party and wedding….so you could say that we are very much in tune with each other’s professional and personal journeys in life…but I’ll let her tell you that in her own words. 

Below captures our more formal conversation.

1)     Catch Us Up. What have you been up to the last 15 years?

I’ve been living in San Francisco for 13 years now. I can’t believe it’s been that long, but I went to college here and have lived here ever since. After high school, I was admitted into the interior architecture and design program at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. I really enjoyed the program and my major, and took on an internship in my junior year with an architecture firm. My first internship was a bit of a catastrophe because my boss had a volatile personality and work style but amazing projects to work on. It was an odd way to start off my career having no experience at all, but numerous jobs after school proved that not all work environments were like that. I enjoyed the firms I worked at because the people were supportive and the work was interesting.  I worked on projects ranging from commercial, hospitality, and residential interiors. However, in 2008, the recession hit the construction and architecture industries hard, and I was laid off from my job. Immediately after being laid off, I decided to do yoga every day and booked a spontaneous trip to Europe. 

About six months after that, a friend suggested that I apply to a mortgage lender that was owned by an acquaintance of hers.  It was supposed to be temporary and lasted way longer than expected but I did learn a lot about the industry. It was interesting and I advanced quickly which is why I stayed there for as long as I did. However, the economy recently turned around and now I’m back doing what I love which is more creative and hands-on. While I was working for the mortgage company, I did do some freelance residential design projects for friends and contacts, but now I’m working as a designer with a medium sized company in San Francisco. I specialize in designing furniture layouts for offices like law firms, tech start-ups, design firms, health and wellness, government, educational, and financial companies.  There is a lot of construction going on in San Francisco, as it is going through a bit of a “Renaissance”.     

Per my request, please find some of Chelsea’s work that she was willing to share with us.

Also, as Chelsea and I caught up, and we talked about how her boyfriend, Magnus, was finally admitted into the country from Norway after landing a job at a tech company and able to obtain a visa. In a nutshell, it’s like a lottery system, and if your number isn’t called, you have to reapply and wait a full year before applying for a Visa again. She and Magnus recently traveled to Miami, Florida to see Amanda Chun (former 2001 classmate) to go to an electronic dance music (EDM) festival.  Their favorite activity to do together is rock climbing.

2)     What does alumni relations mean to you?

I think it’s important to remember your roots and where you came from. Now that I live in San Francisco, I realize how lucky I was to grow up in Hawaii.  It is really nice seeing what everyone is up to these days now that we are all adults.  It’s funny reminiscing about the old Mid-Pac days.  I think it’s also important to reconnect since it could be beneficial in life to collaborate on a few things with different connections.  We could also provide wisdom and guidance to current Mid-Pac students about life lessons. 

3)     What was your favorite high school memory?

Like most, my most favorite high school memories were in the mornings or at lunch with friends. I remember when we would meet up and just talk about the day ahead, and the “problems” we were going through, which often involved boys, dealing with difficult friends, or what party we planned to go to. 

I also really enjoyed the performing arts shows. There were so many talented individuals at Mid-Pac that were so amazing to watch through acting and dance. I feel like Mid-Pac was a place where you could find your niche, ranging from the arts, sports, and science. 

4)     Who was your favorite teacher, and why?

Lanakila. I really treasure my hula classes. It is amazing to watch the evolution of Lanakila and the legacy he has built. It is amazing to see his journey, from his beginnings to dancing for Robert Cazimero, to forming Pupukahi and teaching at Mid-Pac, to now creating his own Halau and taking them to Merrie Monarch. 

For me, my hula classes were one of the best parts of my day. I enjoyed learning about the Hawaiian culture, language, and dance.  It was fun making the costumes, but they were so labor intensive sometimes.  Although Katrina (Fallas) Go and I would complain sometimes about cleaning seeds and picking leaves, it was always worth our efforts in the end to see our accomplishments.  Once the pieces were finished, we really admired them. In fact, my mom saved a box of all of my hula costumes at her house. 

Another one of my most treasured memories was when we went to the Big Island and had the opportunity to perform and visit sacred sites. It was an amazing trip, because I got to spend it with my friends, but more importantly shared a spiritual journey that allowed me to really live, breathe and experience the Hawaiian culture. I’ll never forget it.  San Francisco is a land of so many cultures, so I feel quite fortunate to have this background and really cherish all of these memories.   

5)     What was so special about going to school at Mid-Pacific?

There were so many opportunities to choose from. I took hula, visual arts, French, and did paddling in school, so I felt that Mid-Pacific really rounded me out. I also made a lot of friends there, and I’m happy to have kept in touch with so many of them. 

Now that I live in San Francisco, I am particularly fond of all of the cultural things we did in hula class. When I visit my mom (on Oahu) with Magnus, he’s always asking me to translate a bunch of Hawaiian words. Obviously I’m not fluent in Hawaiian, but it is fun for him (and me) when I’m able to teach him something. 

6)     Which classmate do you most admire? And why?

Amanda Shaw. The girl has been going to school forever! She’s one of the smartest people I know and I love traveling to see her at whatever exotic destination she is at.  When we catch up, it feels like old times and she constantly impresses me by trying to make our world a better place.  I am always so excited to hear about what she is going to do next.  I admire her for her passion and ability to juggle all of that.

7)     If you were going to the reunion, who would you like to see?

Paul Griffing and Daniel Pereira.  I have not seen those guys in forever. They always made me laugh and I admire them for being such strong individuals. 

8)     Since you will be a mentor later this year, what advice would you tell your 17-year-old self today?

Study more. I wish I studied harder in school and took it a little more seriously.  I definitely would not change anything that has happened in high school or thereafter, but there is such vast knowledge presented to us, and we will never get that opportunity again.

I would also take advantage of the variety of activities that Mid-Pac has to offer, which I am sure has quadrupled since I have been there. I think I took full advantage, but it would have been nice to try out more activities or join different types of clubs.