Maya responded to an altar call at The Salvation Army at six years old, the same year her parents became Salvation Army officers (pastors). She then spent her childhood immersed in church life. “From that point on, it wasn’t just where we went on Sundays; it was the framework of our family’s life,” she said. “It’s where I learned what faith looks like in action.” 

But as she got older, insecurity crept in and she drifted away from church. A relationship turned controlling and physically abusive, and slowly cut her off from community. “My world shrank,” she said. When she went to college, that isolation deepened. Her life centered around her relationship. “I didn’t make friends, didn’t build community, and didn’t allow myself to exist outside of him,” she said. When she ended the relationship after her first semester, she thought she found relief but was met with emptiness. It was her mom who reminded her of her worth. “For the first time, I understood that no change in circumstances, relationships, or achievements could fill the void I was carrying,” she said. “That emptiness revealed how deeply I needed Christ, not as someone I believed in, but as someone I had to actively choose to follow.”

Maya returned to church. A simple “we’re so glad you’re here” changed everything. She began attending church services, joining Bible studies and the praise team, and slowly rebuilding what had been broken.

Today, she invites God into every part of her life. “Instead of treating faith as something separate I have to fit in, I let it shape how I approach school, relationships, and commitments,” she said. Her parents are her biggest spiritual role models. They help shape her understanding of who God is, what faithful leadership looks like, and that love does not disappear in failure.

In 2025, she joined Salvationist Service Corps and served in the Marshall Islands. “That experience transformed my understanding of Christ-centered hospitality, intentional presence, and joy,” she shared. In early 2026, she served with Revolution Hawaii (RevHi). “Together, Service Corps and RevHi have grounded my faith in trust, obedience, community, and joy, teaching me that God is faithful in both clarity and uncertainty and that He is continually shaping my heart for what comes next.” 

She planned to attend university in 2025, but deferred enrollment to fall 2026. She hopes to be a speech language pathologist and work with individuals recovering from strokes, brain aneurysms, and traumatic events — people who are in the process of finding their voice again. “There was a season in my life when I felt like I had lost my own voice, held down by fear and shame,” she said. “But in Christ, I found it again, and now I try to use it boldly and intentionally every day.”