Ikaika Regidor, ‘08 B.S. Early Childhood Education and ‘11 M.S.W. Social Work, didn’t plan to end up at UNLV. In fact, his sights were set on his dream school in Washington. But when it came down to it, UNLV made the most sense financially. 

“In hindsight,” he says, “things really lined up for me in Las Vegas. I don’t know that the same opportunities would’ve emerged if I’d gone somewhere else.”

That practical choice set him on a path from the preschool classroom to the frontlines of advocacy and public health.

Finding His Footing

Like many students, Ikaika didn’t settle into his major right away. He started out studying business, and even gave kinesiology a try. The real turning point came outside of class, through a work-study job at the UNLV/CSUN Preschool. Surrounded by children, educators, and ideas about learning, a spark lit within.

“I joke that I picked early childhood education because I’m short, and I didn’t want to teach middle schoolers taller than me.” Silly as it may sound, it helped guide his decision after a friend pointed out that early childhood education covered birth through second grade. “It felt like the right fit, and the rest started to fall into place.”

Looking back, the UNLV alum credits the preschool and people there with giving him room to grow and figure things out.

“They didn’t tell me what to do. They asked the right questions,” he said. “That space for reflection was a gift.”

A Voice for Inclusion

What began as a switch in majors proved to be a deeper calling. In his classes, Ikaika engaged in conversations around diversity and representation as he also embraced his queer identity.

He noticed that, despite their best intentions, curriculum didn’t always reflect LGBTQ+ families in meaningful ways. So, he got to work, advocating for more inclusive classroom books and better language on school forms, and presented ideas at both local and national education conferences.

“I just wanted the systems we were part of to better reflect the communities we were serving.”

This conviction led him to join various advocacy and affinity groups, serve as a student representative, and later as president of UNLV’s Association for the Education of Young Children.

Going Beyond the Classroom

Since graduating in 2008 and getting a master’s in social work also at UNLV, Ikaika has called several places home, and each has shaped his worldview and his approach to education. 

“Kaimukī [in Hawai’i] grounded me in culture and identity. Vegas gave me space to discover my path. New York sharpened my advocacy. And Honolulu reconnects me with purpose.”

He spent eight years at the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national organization focused on creating safe and inclusive schools for LGBTQ+ youth, rising to the rank of director of education and youth programs. From there, he returned home to Hawai‘i to serve as senior programs director at the YMCA of Honolulu, Nuʻuanu Branch.

Today, he works as the community initiatives program manager at Papa Ola Lōkahi, the Native Hawaiian Health Board, developing public health education materials, tools, and frameworks focused on uplifting the health and well-being of Native Hawaiian communities.

“Education is woven through everything I do, even when I’m not in a traditional classroom,” he said. “Facilitation is education. Whether you’re talking to preschoolers about Rainbow Fish or making public health training more effective, the same principles apply.”

Trusting the Process and Being True to Yourself

Ikaika is ever evolving but lives by these principles: "leave places better than you found them and trust your naʻau—your gut [center of being, ancestral connection, and inner sense of knowing].” Whether it’s a classroom, an organization, a one-on-one conversation, or giving yourself and others permission to change directions, he hopes his work continues to open doors for others.