Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 7, 1 July 1998 — Graduating [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Graduating

JUNE AND July have traditionally been months of eelebration as young men and women graduate from high school and college and take a good look at what life has to offer. To puka-through, or graduate, is very important; it symbolizes the successful completion of one stage of life and the beginning of the next. It is a time to reassess our past goals and expectations and develop new ones for the fumre. Inthe process, we look closely at our own experiences and those of others to build our personal path to pono. OHA is at a stage where it must begin to analyze its past goals and objectives and build new ones. We have graduated into an organization poised to do what is right for our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. There-

fore, it is critical that OHA do some soul-searching and prepare a path that will benefit all our people. I look forward to working closely with you so our Native Hawaiian people ean again take our rightful plaee as the native

people of these lands - a people responsible for the care of our 'āina and mindful of the compassion, self-respect, mamrity and wisdom required on that pono path. To capture the essence of our people's advancement, I share excerpts from this year's commencement speech delivered at the Moloka'i High School exercises by a class of '89 graduate, Malia Akutagawa. Speaking on self-respect, she quoted President Nelson Mandela of South Africa (below in italics), who campaigned successfully and so passionately against apartheid: "Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. "We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented,fabulous?'Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. You 're playing small does not ser\ e the world. There 's

nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won 't feel insecure around you. "We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory ofGod that is within us. It's not just in some ofus; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our ownfear, our presence automatically liberates others. "I have leamed that the greatest gift you ean give yourself is to love yourself, to take pride and deep gratification in what you do. You may find delight in helping others, helping the needy. You may find fulfillment in building and constmcting things with your hands. Perhaps doing acts of service brings you satisfaction, be it in medicine, law, teaching, sales, art. meehanieal and technical professions.

"From this point onward, make every act count as if it were your last. Spread around that light that resides wiīhin you. There are so many strengths and talents that you don't even know you possess. There is so mueh beauty within you that must be shared with the world. Whatever you do, hamess your creative power and limitless potential. Respect and nourish that light within you. And soon you will grow and evolve into that person you want to be: a person of compassion, self-respect,mamrity and wisdom, following a path that is pono for you." Malia Akutagawa received her bachelor ofscience degreefrom Whitworth College and her juris doctorfrom the University of Hawai'i. She was recently sworn in as an attomey by the Hawai 'i Supreme Court and the United States District Court. ■

TRUSTEE MESSAGES

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