Meet Nicki Aquino ’26

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Where are you from and what is your background?
I am an Asian Pacific Islander visual artist, educator, and current student for the Museum Studies MA program. I was born and raised in San Francisco. I grew up frequenting museums across the Bay Area, most notably the Exploratorium (at the original Palace of Fine Arts location), the Randall Museum, and the Cal Academy of Sciences.

Why did you apply for this graduate program and decide to study at USF?
Throughout my transformative experience working closely with Galing Bata and SOMA Pilipinas through my art educator and community engagement capacities at both Root Division and the Children’s Creativity Museum respectively, it has become abundantly clear to me that my life’s work is to work with and alongside artists and cultural heritage institutions. I have had the privilege of learning about some of the complexities, methodologies and successes of museum institutions first-hand through my work at the Children’s Creativity Museum and I also crave a holistic and more structured understanding of museum history, theory, and practice in an academic setting. As a cultural and educational practitioner, I am deeply compelled by the University of San Francisco’s graduate program in Museum Studies because of the social justice-centered, project-based, and praxis-minded approach to teaching.

What impacts has the Dean's Scholarship had on your ability to further your studies?
The Dean's Scholarship has helped tremendously in alleviating the financial burden of self-funding my education, while simultaneously paying my bills. I am deeply invested in my education and deeply appreciate the opportunity to focus on my studies during my time in the program.

What are your career ambitions?
The ultimate career aspiration is to work at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawai’i. As a mixed Native Hawaiian, whose connection to their Hawaiian identity growing up was fragmented (a result of being physically disconnected from my homeland due to diaspora), my first visit to the museum changed my life trajectory. Not only was it my first time visiting a museum that was developed by and for Native Hawaiians, but I also was compelled by the museum’s ability to engage in this complex, but important, content in a manner that was accessible to visitors of all backgrounds and ages!

I deeply appreciate the institution’s continued commitment to centering and amplifying Native Hawaiian pasts, presents, and futures, as well as the inherent connection between Native Hawaiians and the ‘Aina (the land) and urgent need for continued conservation efforts on the island. It would be an absolute honor working alongside individuals with shared values about celebrating and shedding continued visibility on Native Hawaiian histories and futures.

What is something unique or interesting about you?
I live with a menagerie of critters! I have 4 guinea pigs (Rojo, Tuxedo, Hershey, and Ollie), a Holland Lop bunny named Student Section, and a senior Chihuahua Mix named Moxie.