Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 29, Number 6, 1 June 2012 — Molokaʻi grads honored [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Molokaʻi grads honored

By Cheryl Corbiell College graduations are typically yearly events, but on Moloka'i this celebratory event only comes every four years. Lifty-five graduates from the University of Hawai'i-Maui College, Moloka'i, fall 2008 to spring 2012 semesters participated in the quadrennial commencement ceremonies, held May 12 under a white canvas tent on the campus' grass parking lot. Hawaiian homesteader Brent Nakihei spoke from his heart to his fellow graduates: "Our kupunas' prayer from long ago has been answered with the graduates of today being the educated leaders of tomorrow. Be proud graduates because you are now the statistics that will definitely make a big difference in changing the world." Altogether, the class consisted of 194 graduates, about 75 percent of whom are part-Hawaiian, the highest percentage of any campus in the UH system. Post-secondary education on Moloka'i is a family and eommunity affair. Morale support comes from neighbors and 'ohana. Among the graduates were eight couples, four sets of parent-and-child graduates and nine sets of siblings. The graduates ranged in age from 18 to 64 years old. Camellia Hamakua-Napoleon was part of the graduating class,

having earned an associate degree in Hawaiian studies with the help of an OHA-funded scholarship through Liko A'e Native Hawaiian Scholarship Program. She had graduated from high school in 1976. The day's graduates earned associate degrees across a spectrum of subjects, including accounting, agriculture and natural resources, culinary arts, early childhood education, as well as certification in nurse aide training and sustainable construction technology. During the years waiting for commencement, two students earned bachelor's degrees at UH. Nakihei, a father of four, returned to college after taking an eight-year break. He has earned two associate degrees in liberal arts and human services and is completing his bachelor's degree from Ashford University. With plans to pursue a master's degree in social work through UH's dis-tance-learning program, he said nothing beats having a campus in your hometown: "We're very fortunate and blessed to have an educational learning center here. The youth get to see their parents in school and it shows them it's important." ■

Cheryī Corbiell is an Instructor atthe University of Hawai' i-Maui College, Moloka'i and a reading tutor at Kaunakakai Elementary School.

Because Moloka'i holds eommeneemenl ceremonies onee every four years, the graduating class of UH-Maui College, Moloka'i comprised graduates from 2008 to 2012. - Courtesy: PF Bentley