CARRIE Hyun has a go-getter type personality. She was like that at Punahou School, at UC-Berkeley and later at GTE Hawaiian Tel, where she served as the local phone company's spokeswoman in the early 1990s. A job in the
Clinton administrationShe's gone full tilt with every promotion at GTE, which has come every two years or so. She's a vagabond in a power suit, with postings from Costa Rica to Hong Kong, from Dallas to Los Angeles.
Then, last year, Carrie decided to "get involved" in national politics.
To most people in Hawaii, that would mean licking stamps or waving signs for presidential candidates during the election season. But remember, this 33-year-old wahine never does anything halfway.
So, just a few days ago, Hyun officially passed her security clearances and became the first Asian Pacific American to hold a senior communications post in the Clinton administration.
There's an energetic Hawaii presence across the Mall from the White House, and 33-year-old Hyun, of Korean ancestry, is it. She is the new director of media relations for Rodney Slater, the secretary of transportation.
She will oversee the communication strategies of departmental agencies including the Federal Highway and National Highway Traffic Safety administrations, the Coast Guard and the often controversial FAA.
Carrie's mom, Elizabeth Hyun of Manoa, is very proud of her daughter, now working and living on the other side of the country.
Meanwhile, Carrie herself is excited to be the middle of the decision-making action -- especially at a time when Asian-American players are viewed with suspicion in the nation's capital. She thinks her appointment says something important about the Clintons: that they will not be intimidated by the ongoing congressional investigation involving questionable money from foreign sources, especially from the Far East.
"It's ridiculous to imply that Asian Pacific Americans condone illegal activities," says Carrie, on a brief Hawaiian vacation before heading out to Washington. "This whole campaign of intimidation has had a chilling effect on the Asian community."
It was Carrie's strong concern for minority rights that first led her into the political arena. In Los Angeles, she served on the boards of groups like the Korean American Coalition, and was on the executive advisory committee of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
BUT it was attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last year, and hearing Hillary Clinton speak, that motivated her to make a difference in Washington. Unabashedly, she submitted an application to the White House. She persevered through several interviews and callbacks, until being offered a job at the DOT and being a finalist at the Department of State.
She accepted the higher ranking post with Secretary Slater (although the thought of working with Secretary Albright certainly was intriguing), and gave notice to her boss at GTE last month.
Then Carrie decided, since she was going to be working at the Department of Transportation, that she should drive the length of the nation's highway system. Thus she motored solo -- from L.A., to the Grand Canyon, through Denver, St. Louis and Chicago, to Ohio and then finally to Mayor Barry's town -- in seven days in her trusty BMW convertible.
As I said, Carrie does everything in a big way.