Born in San Jose, Calif., and a Maui resident by her fifth birthday, Kiana Yamat made the most of her time at Lahainaluna High School. She was on the wrestling team, captained the cheerleader squad and the track team, and was also a member of the National Honor Society.
Yamat graduated from Lahainaluna in 2012 and earned a degree in civil engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2016. She joined the Honolulu office of Hensel Phelps, a national general contracting and construction management company, later that year, and was the firm’s office engineer for the construction of the $270 million Mauka Concourse at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. The concourse opened in August.
Yamat, 27, was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2022 on Feb. 21. She is awaiting word on the date and location of the Miss USA 2022 pageant.
When did you decide to go into civil engineering?
Middle school is when I knew I wanted to be an engineer; high school is when I realized I wanted to be a civil engineer. When you get to your sophomore year, you can choose an agriculture, engineering or arts core pathway. I’ve stuck with it since I was a sophomore, and it’s done well for me so far.
Did you hear from people who think women don’t become civil engineers?
I have always been kind of the extremes of both super-feminine or super-masculine. I went to nationals on the wrestling team, and I was also cheerleading captain. I’m managing construction on job sites where most of the time I’m the only woman in the room, and I ran for Miss Hawaii USA. I’ve learned over time that people’s opinions may hurt, or they may discourage you, but I’ve always pursued what I wanted.
How do you do it all?
I’ve always wanted to be the best version of myself. I’m very lucky that I’ve had parents who have been very supportive since Day One. Being Miss Hawaii USA is a part of that. If things are important to you, you make time for them.
“If things are important to you, you make time for them.” That’s something we can all live by.
I work 55 to 60 hours a week. Plus, this is my new second job. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, and I’m blessed to represent the state.
What do you say to people who see pageants as objectifying women?
It’s not just about being beautiful or looking good in a bikini. It’s about having a platform and developing the confidence to speak publicly on something they want to advocate for. I was terrible at speaking in public, but Miss Hawaii USA made me confident in my abilities and gave me a platform to speak about what I care about — women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
Let’s talk about women in STEM.
When I was growing up, I never had a role model who looked like me or sounded like me or had a similar background. And even now I’m usually the only woman in the room. We have made great strides in STEM, but more women need to be encouraged to enter these male-dominated fields. I’m hoping to help make that difference.
Do you have to have a five-year plan?
I want to give more high school girls an opportunity to go to school. What I mean by that is I had to apply to every grant, every financial aid, every scholarship that I could to be able to afford school. … So I hope to be an advocate for letting people know, “Hey, you can have access to college funds if you need it, you can access (them), or if you don’t want to go to college, you can join the trades.” There’s so many different ways to continue your learning. It’s important to me to never stop learning. I hope to keep learning, and one day be project manager on a big Hensel Phelps job.
What about outside of work?
I would love to visit where the ancient Romans built all their structures. I would love to visit Egypt and visit the pyramids because — modern or not modern — ancient engineering is so fascinating to me. How did they figure it out?
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Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.
