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PLAYSTATION FIESTA BOWL: PENN STATE VS WASHINGTON

December 28, 2017

Keishawn Bierria

Glendale, Arizona

KEISHAWN BIERRIA: ... that the government has control of. We learned a lot. We really learned a lot how America works outside of the United States, even though that's technically a state. We learned a lot that they don't teach you in school. You learn real-life learning, I would say.

We were going out in the communities talking to people. We're going out in the communities eating dinner with people. And every meal was pretty much cooked in a household. We actually had people in the community coming and taking care of us.

After that we have life-long friends in Hawaii now. So I could say it was a study abroad. I could say it was a vacation. I could say it was an internship, because every morning we're waking up and grinding. But for me it wasn't like I was out there in 30-degree weather in the cold, frost on the field, pushing sleds and stuff. I was waking up and we're running trail in the morning. And then we would go to a pond that was built 500 years ago to help restore it.

So it was a study abroad. It was study abroad. But people say, you're going to Oahu, you're going to Hawaii. That's a vacation. It was a vacation, but at the same time, I just enjoyed what I was doing. There are people that, oh, I don't want to go out there and have to work with the kids and do -- I want to actually go on vacation.

Well, it was more than that to me. I was able to affect people. I was able to be a University of Washington student and athlete, and show these kids, like, what it is to be a college student and go out and help people and just learn about different things.

The last time I went to Hawaii, we were barely allowed on the beaches. And that was my first game in my college career. And we didn't really get to experience Hawaii. A lot of people go to Hawaii and they don't really experience Hawaii because you're in the tourist areas. We're on the west side of the island. We're in there with the natives, going up to the mountains and getting into the freshwater streams and ponds.

And I would say that's probably one of the best weekends I had being a University of Washington student was to go out there with a bunch of, we call them muggers, but it's like regular students and a few football players and be a student abroad.

Q. You would stay at U-Dub forever if you could?
KEISHAWN BIERRIA: Absolutely. If I could do something like that every vacation or every five days I got off, or every ten days, I would absolutely do it.

As far as school-wise, I'll probably have to leave after I got my Master's, because that's about it. But, yeah, I really did have fun in college, I really did. And honestly these guys around me, they made it a lot better.

Q. The struggles that ethnic Hawaiians, native Hawaiians have, are there similarities between ethnic minorities here on the mainland?
KEISHAWN BIERRIA: Absolutely. It's like I would say the government allowing people to access resources. So on Hawaii people who want to farm, the biggest thing is water, fresh water. Those are things that's like that's a cultural, I want to say like an indigenous plant or whatever they're farming is usually indigenous, it's healthy, super healthy. They need a constant flow of like fresh water.

So if you've got to go talk to the government and say, okay, you close this stream down that flows down through my part of the land from my access to freshwater, now you have to file paperwork. Now they have like other things set up to where you can't get that fresh water. I mean, it's very similar to what we experienced here in the states. But people really don't like -- a lot of people don't really see that because they go to Hawaii, say I'm going to go stay in this hotel, going to sit on this beach, now you're going to somebody else's land, because this land we're standing on isn't ours unless you know your true history and a lot of people don't.

But Hawaiians, real Hawaiians, they know their history their grandparents passed it down. A lot of people here, besides the Indians, the Native Americans, the real indigenous people, a lot of the history has been erased. And that's purposely. So I would kind of say it's very similar as far as the world trying to discourage who you are.

I would say that's one of the biggest things. A lot of people say you shouldn't live this way, this isn't right, you need to do this. You need to have this modern car, this modern house, take your kids to this modern school. That's not really true. The most important thing is to understand the self.

If you know who you are and what you believe in, I mean, the world can't change you. But a lot of people here don't. That's why people have like these identity issues or they have issues all -- I mean, every day.

People have like midlife crises because they don't know who they are. They don't know their history, what their parents or grandparents went through and ancestors before them. A lot of people look at us and say we came from slavery. I don't really think a lot of my ancestors came from slavery. I think I had ancestors that went through slavery. But I think I have ancestors who also did slavery too. So I'm not exactly sure because I don't know my history. But it's one thing I'm trying to work on and research.

I'm trying to figure out who I am based on my history, but it's hard. It's been erased.

Q. You were here for the previous coaching staff. You've seen the program really start to take off in the last couple of years. Can you talk to me about that transition from one coaching staff to the next to get to the level you achieved?
KEISHAWN BIERRIA: I would say it's kind of like light and day. Coach Sark -- I mean, night and day. My bad. That's how different it is.

That team we're on, the relationships were strong. The competitiveness was at an all-time high. Guys would go -- say it was rap tempo. Guys are hitting it like it's live. That's how competitive we were.

As far as that, a lot of the older guys took us in. But a lot of older guys didn't. It was like, okay, I need to play, I need to get on the field and I want to say -- I don't want to say guys were selfish, but everybody was just like fully competing to the highest level. And it wasn't really a lot of brotherhood on the field.

Guys didn't really try to take care of each other on the field during practice. And it was a lot about me, me, I can't wait to get on the field so I can get to the next level as far as like this team needs to win games so we can win championships and get to the next level. That's where I want to say Coach Pete changed the dynamics of this team. He focuses more on team, unit, me instead of me, unit, team.

So now the way I move, the way I talk, is surrounded by my team first, then it goes to my linebacker unit and then it's about me. And it's all about our culture, really. Our culture has completely changed. Guys have a lot more respect for each other. They understand each other a lot more. And within that it's created a lot stronger friendships and bonds between teammates.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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