Amy Higa - Class of 2012
January 1st, 2021
Alumna Pursues Career at Agency iQ 360
Pacific Buddhist Academy alumna, Amy Higa (class of 2012) works as an account executive at public relations, digital and reputation management agency iQ 360.
Amy got her journalistic start in high school as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper Karma Chronicle. "It helped me realize my interest in journalism and media, which applies to this day. I fell in love with reading and writing in Mr. Corson's English classes and, for some reason, I still have the first lives of 'The General Prologue' of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales memorized thanks to him," said Amy.
Now, almost 10 years since graduating from PBA, Amy says that working at an agency never gets boring. “Every day is different, every client is different, and every project is different. My day could consist of anything from public relations, media outreach, marketing coordination, social media strategy, content development, crisis communication and more, in a number of different industries and areas of expertise,” explained Amy. “iQ 360 believes in the power of communication. Our code states that we deliver bold ideas, we do things the right way and we work without ego. These values tie in nicely with my personal values, as well as the values that were taught at PBA.”
Prior to working at iQ 360, Amy graduated magna cum laude from Loyola Marymount University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and English minor in journalism. She previously interned at Hawaii News Now, Alexander & Baldwin, Mana Means Communications, and Crystal Clear Communications. In her time at iQ, she has worked on award-winning projects such as iQ 360’s blog for communicators and Popeyes Hawaii's social media.
Former PBA advisor Kena Heffernan says, “Amy is smart, witty, and driven. I was lucky enough to have her in my advisory as well as in all my math classes, which she excelled at. I still have a house she created from a blueprint back in geometry. Our goal in advisory while she was at PBA still carries on today: get stuff done. By the looks of it, that is exactly what she is doing.”
Looking towards the future, Amy says, “I still feel fairly new to my industry, so I'm looking forward to gaining the broad experience and expertise that I need to help more people and organizations reach their goals, build an audience and deliver on bold ideas — whether that's through communications or not.”
PBA wishes Amy a successful career in the media and communications field.
