Alia Wong

Alia Wong previously covered education news for Civil Beat.

A Honolulu native, Alia returned to the islands in May 2012 after graduating from Boston University with degrees in journalism and Latin American studies.

Alia was a longtime intern at Civil Beat before landing her position as a reporter-host. One of her stories, “A Lost Child of Kalaupapa,” won her the 2011 Society of Professional Journalists Hawaii Chapter award for best online feature writing.

But not all her intern assignments at Civil Beat have been as glamorous. During the summer of 2012, she had to tour (read: smell) some of Oahu’s nastiest bathrooms for her story The Dirty Dozen: The State of Honolulu’s Public Restrooms.

She sincerely hopes her editors remember she’s no longer an intern.

Before the birth of Civil Beat, Alia wrote for Honolulu Weekly. She also had a number of jobs while in Boston, including as a fellow in Boston University’s writing center and a research assistant on a long-term project that analyzed the relationship among the Mexican Revolution, international cinema and transnational politics.

Alia is a self-proclaimed globetrotter and will do anything she can to travel to new places. She developed a fascination with Latin America while in high school and hasn’t been able to keep herself away since. Most recently she traveled to Ecuador, where she lived and studied for six months.

You can follow Alia on Twitter at @aliaemily

Education, Hawaiʻi, University of Hawaii

UH Closes All Campuses in Anticipation of Storm

by Alia Wong August 7, 2014August 7, 2014

The university has added Oahu, Kauai campuses to its list of school closures.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell speaks to media at the Department of Emergency Management about city plans for dealing with Hurricane Iselle. August 6, 2014

Hawaiʻi, Hurricanes

Stormy Weather: Hurricane Iselle Is About to Rock Hawaii

by Alia Wong August 6, 2014August 21, 2018

Hurricane Julio is about 1,000 miles behind.

Hawaiʻi

Hurricane Iselle Likely to Hit Islands as Tropical Storm on Thursday

by Alia Wong August 5, 2014September 1, 2023

Heavy rains, flash flooding and strong winds are expected. All public schools on the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai will be closed Thursday.

Education, University of Hawaii

Fired UH Chancellor Says Cancer Center Politics Sparked His Termination

by Alia Wong August 1, 2014August 3, 2014

Tom Apple had defended his leadership in a letter to UH President David Lassner, who wrote a performance evaluation that faulted Apple’s “decision-making.”