Graduating Biomedical Student on Short List for Key Literary Prize

Gillian Leasunia Katoanga enrolled at St. John’s University, hoping to one day become a doctor. She will leave this month as an author and a candidate for a global literary prize.

Born in New Zealand to parents from Samoa, Gillian recently wrote Final Effort of the Wind, a short story rooted in Samoan cultural identity. Written during her time at St. John’s, the story is short-listed for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize, a creative writing competition open to citizens of all 56 countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

More than 8,000 stories were submitted; Final Effort of the Wind is one of only 25 submissions to advance to the second judging stage. Another cut—to five stories—is expected by May 14, just a few days before Gillian graduates from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences. The winner will be announced in mid-June.     

At 21, Gillian, a member of the University Honors Program, is the youngest writer short-listed this year and one of the youngest ever reach this stage of the competition. Final Effort of the Wind is her first-ever fiction story. 

“It is exciting,” Gillian said. “To move further ahead again would be life changing. But also, to represent Samoa on a global stage would be incredible. And not just Samoa, but also Fiji, Rotuma, and Tonga. When I was younger, I would have appreciated seeing a Rotuman writer on a list anywhere, but those are the types of names you do not typically see.”

Final Effort of the Wind follows protagonist Ane (pronounced Ah-nay) as she navigates feelings of anger, frustration, and sadness rooted in her home life in Samoa. The narrative takes place in a single day of young Ane’s life, presenting themes of isolation, secrecy, and communication failures.     

“It is not a happy story, but reflects many of the themes I dealt with growing up,” Gillian said. “Though the story is not mine, it is very autoethnographic, because Ane reflects issues or struggles that resonate across many Pacific Island households.”

Meet Gillian Leasunia Katoanga, Writer and Researcher at St. John’s University 

Compared with Ane, Gillian has had a fortunate upbringing. Her father, Charles Katoanga, is Director of the United Nations’ Division for Inclusive Social Development. Gillian has lived more than half of her life on Roosevelt Island, NY, not far from St. John’s Queens, NY, campus. She attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood, NY.  

Fluent in four languages, Gillian chose St. John’s for its scientific research opportunities. She has since changed her mind about medical school, preferring instead to concentrate on social science research. Her minor—Critical Race and Ethnic Studies—reflects her commitment to social justice issues, particularly those rooted in cultural identity.

“When I was applying, I wanted to stay near New York City, but I also knew I wanted to do research,” Gillian recalled. “I knew St. John’s has plenty of research facilities. By January of my first year, I was working for the professor who would become my mentor.”

Jeanette C. Perron, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences,  immediately recognized Gillian’s inquisitive mind. Gillian took two classes with Dr. Perron, beginning a three-year research journey in neuropharmacology. 

“In her first year, Gillian contacted me about getting experience in the lab,” Dr. Perron recalled. “She was motivated to understand what real research was about. I started her on small projects, and she returned with her own experimental design on how to improve on the next steps. I could see a budding scientist right in front of me.”

Dr. Perron ignited Gillian’s research passion—the writing talent is all hers. Both skills were tested when she collaborated with classmate Jilian Maxine Frianela on a 2023 research paper that examined racial and ethnic representation in biomedical research, which was published in the Journal of Vincentian Social Action. She recently completed a draft of a second research paper—this time solo—focusing on efforts by Pacific Island populations to resist westernization.

Gillian Leasunia Katoanga Credits St. John’s for Her Growth as a Writer, Researcher 

Gillian’s eagerness to examine challenging issues caught the attention of Sophie R. Bell, Ph.D., Professor, First-Year Writing, and Chair, Department of Core Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

“From her first assignment, everything Gillian wrote kind of crackled and was full of originality,” Dr. Bell said. “She devoured any intellectual material she encountered and came up with extremely sophisticated responses that were always about solving the problem.”

“Gillian understands the bigger stakes of a situation,” Dr. Bell continued. “Things like the ethical, moral, and political landscape that issues exist on. She sees the big picture and tells strategic stories to move people toward a deeper understanding of those stakes.” 

Natalie P. Byfield, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, St. John’s College, and another of Gillian’s mentors, called her a “sophisticated scholar.” Dr. Byfield sees in Gillian’s writing a student “operating like an interdisciplinary scholar, pulling from all different areas of her knowledge base and interjecting it into the areas she wants to explore.”     

Gillian said her passion for writing is fueled by a lifelong love of reading. Experience in scientific research has inspired her as a fiction writer and knowing how to weave a narrative makes her research writing more compelling. 

“One thing informs the other,” she said.

Gillian’s next stop is a return to New Zealand, where she will pursue a master’s degree in Pacific Studies and intends to keep writing. 

“Because of the research I want to do, specifically the protection of indigenous cultures, it makes more sense to do it in New Zealand,” Gillian said. “But St. John’s has been wonderful. It has taught me to be honest about what I want. I do not know if other universities would have allowed me the opportunity to start in biomed and then branch into something completely different and still have the same amount of support as I had initially.”