From an early age, Hiro Hirano-Holcomb has been guided by a strong sense of fairness and a belief that meaningful change comes from action. That conviction carried them from early political curiosity to a term as the director of legislative affairs for the Associated Students of the University of Washington Bothell.
In their ASUWB role, Hirano-Holcomb spent part of the school year working and living in the state capital representing UW Bothell students.
Their work reflects a longstanding commitment to justice, empathy and collective responsibility — values that continue to shape their path toward a future in law.
Setting legislative priorities
Through a survey of students at the start of the school year, Hirano-Holcomb set a legislative agenda — a list of priorities to advocate for in Olympia.
“We had people rank issues based on importance. Based on that feedback, the prior legislative agendas and the Washington Student Association legislative agenda, we formulated our own agenda.”
It became clear to Hirano-Holcomb that basic needs and financial aid were priorities for the year. “People need their basic needs met to actually get their education and build a better life for themselves,” they said.
With priorities set, Hirano-Holcomb then decided how to advocate for the issues. They chose to support House Bill 1316, which would expand access to the Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness program.
The current statute allows only one campus per institution to apply for funding to support youth experiencing homelessness. With UW Tacoma already accessing the funds, UW Bothell and the UW in Seattle were ineligible for funding — and HB1316 would have ensured that all campuses from multi-campus institutions could apply.
Lobbying in Olympia
Support for the bill began last year when Hirano-Holcomb’s predecessor, Sienna Jarrard (Law, Economics & Public Policy and Educational Studies ’26), found a sponsor in Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place. This year, Hirano-Holcomb successfully lobbied for the bill to receive a hearing in front of the House Appropriations Committee. They had the opportunity to testify for the bill during the hearing.
While the bill passed through the committee unanimously, it didn’t move further due to time constraints. Hirano-Holcomb advocated for an amendment to the supplemental operating budget to allow university campuses to apply for the SSEH program instead. Sponsored by Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, the amendment passed and was included in the final budget signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in early April.
Hirano-Holcomb also lobbied alongside the Washington Student Association to support Senate Bill 5963. The bill allows students eligible for the Passport to Careers Program to automatically qualify for the Washington College Grant. This streamlined access to the Washington College Grant ensures that former foster youth and youth experiencing homelessness can rely on full financial aid should they choose to pursue higher education.
Turning interest into action
Back in middle school, Hirano-Holcomb turned an interest in politics into action. It was also around this time that they came out as bisexual and non-binary — and started advocating for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Something clicked in my little, middle school, 13-year-old brain,” they said. “There’s so much homophobia in the world. Maybe if people just grew up with and knew about queer people as something normalized, then homophobia would fade into the background.”
By the time they were in high school, Hirano-Holcomb was working with the Legislative Youth Advisory Council on lobbying efforts and had started to explore different career options. After working in a small law firm, they decided to go into law. Working as a lawyer was appealing, Hirano-Holcomb said, “because I saw the direct, quick and immense impacts that law has on people’s lives.”
Motivating Hirano-Holcomb was a belief in fairness. “I’ve never liked the phrase ‘life isn’t fair’ because what’s the point of that phrase? That’s not helpful to anybody. The whole point of life is to try to make things fair for as many people as possible.”
With the help of strategically minded parents, Hirano-Holcomb mapped out a path to law school through UW Bothell’s Law, Economics & Public Policy program but first starting with Running Start classes at Everett Community College.
Jumping into student government
Hirano-Holcomb did not waste any time pursuing their ambitions upon arriving at UW Bothell in autumn 2024. “It’s such a small campus community,” they said. “It’s really easy to just hit the ground running, build a community and make friends.”
In their first quarter, Hirano-Holcomb became a student senator for the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, which prepared them for a later role as the ASUWB director of legislative affairs.
Hirano-Holcomb took part in the Washington, D.C., Human Rights Seminar in 2025, choosing to research LGBTQ+ rights (and lack of rights) in Saudi Arabia. “It strengthened my resolve that this kind of research and this kind of class is necessary — especially at these times.”
As part of the seminar, a student cohort went to D.C. to visit Capitol Hill and meet with lobbyists, senators, representatives, non-governmental organizations and ambassadors. “It was very exhausting,” Hirano-Holcomb said. “We’d be out of the dorms at 8 a.m. and doing debriefings at 9 p.m. It was go, go, go.”
“I’ve never liked the phrase ‘life isn’t fair’ because what’s the point of that phrase? That’s not helpful to anybody. The whole point of life is to try to make things fair for as many people as possible.”
Hiro Hirano-Holcomb, senior, Law, Economics & Public Policy
Finding a future path
Participating in the D.C. seminar and serving as a lobbyist helped solidify Hirano-Holcomb’s decision to pursue law as a profession. “I remember one meeting in particular,” they said. “They mentioned the importance that sometimes you can’t make a big structural change. Sometimes it’s just about helping that one family — just helping one person get through.
“But when one person does better, everyone does better.”
Hirano-Holcomb’s time in Olympia also led to an interest in exploring structural policy, advocacy and civil rights. After graduating from UW Bothell on June 14, they will begin the J.D. program at the UW School of Law.
They are dedicated to working in law and continuing to draw power from the values of fairness, collective responsibility and empathy. “When it comes to my core values, those don’t shake.”
Hiro Hirano-Holcomb will sing The Star-Spangled Banner during Commencement ceremonies on June 14.
