Women in the Know: Theresa Rose Arriola Mook

Author’s note: Saipan Tribune’s newest 10-part series, Women in the Know, features leading women in higher education. Abigail Baker, who has served in the U.S. Army for over 10 years, was last week’s feature. This week’s Woman in the Know is Theresa Rose Arriola Mook.

Theresa Rose Arriola Mook

Theresa Rose Arriola Mook remembers the exact day she developed a passion for sociocultural anthropology.

“I was sitting in my first ever undergraduate course at Brown University and the professor at the time was talking about the importance of culture and how it influences our daily lives and decisions,” she said.

That was a pivotal moment as it kindled within Mook a yearning desire to learn more about how the CNMI’s people use their culture to navigate the social world. 

This Northern Marianas Academy alumna is currently attending the University of California at Los Angeles and will be graduating next June with a Ph.D. in anthropology.

“…It [anthropology] allows me to study in a field that has scientific rigor and standards, but is still able to capture a sense of humanness and compassion for others,” she said. “ For example, much of the research that I have been conducting involves one-on-one interviews with local people in the CNMI and being involved in community forums as a way to understand the perspectives of others on a very personal level.”

Before matriculating at UCLA, the 27-year-old received a B.A. in sociocultural anthropology from Brown University in 2010 and an M.A. in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2012.

As a student at NMA, Mook has always had an incisive interest in culture and social issues. As a teen, she took part in research on the high rate of suicides in Micronesia and the cultural and historical impact of colonialism on the islands.

“I liked the way sociology and psychology approached these issues, but I did not fully discover my passion for the field of anthropology until I got into college,” she explained. 

Her experience and upbringing on an island community are salient factors in forging the path Mook has followed. 

“As a teenager, I remember being inspired by church and community service activities and cultural preservation projects. I also loved expressing myself creatively with different art forms like drawing and was very into sports like tennis, basketball and volleyball.”

The islands’ diverse demographic, she added, taught her to learn from a variety of people.

“Despite the many challenges that the CNMI faces, I grew to appreciate the uniqueness of the Marianas when I left for college and realized what a nurturing and community-oriented environment it truly was.”

She considers her parents, Ned and Kathleen Arriola, as “spiritual resources for my life journey, and my desire to always be of service to others…”

Arriola plans to return to the islands after graduation and teach. She also hopes to use her anthropological experience to conduct studies and write research grants, which will improve the government and economic systems through public policy. 

She believes that young students should be involved as leaders in the community and use their experience to produce positive social changes, both big and small.

She urges teens to have conviction and “a lot of courage.”

“The knowledge and experiences that we have gained from our history, our elders, and our community can be used to respect our land and serve one another,” she said. “But above all…have gratitude and learn to be compassionate toward others, especially when it means putting aside your own judgments to understand them.”