By Staff Reports
(Oahu)– Graduates, family, and friends will celebrate fall commencement exercises with an emphasis on the University of Hawai‘i – West O‘ahu’s 40th anniversary and alumni engagement on Saturday, Dec. 10. Nearly 300 students – the University’s largest ever graduating class – will earn bachelor’s degrees and certificates during a 9 a.m. ceremony at the UH West Oʻahu Lower Courtyard. UH West Oʻahu alum, Saint Louis School President, and singer/songwriter Glenn Medeiros will give the keynote address.
Interim Chancellor Doris Ching will preside over the ceremony and confer degrees for the last time before retreating to her second retirement from the university on Dec. 31. University of Hawai‘i System President David Lassner and University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents’ Chair Jan Naoe Sullivan, Regent Brandon Marc Higa, Regent Michael McEnerney, and Regent Michelle Tagorda, will be on hand to congratulate the graduates. The UH West Oʻahu band will perform at the commencement ceremony, and UHWO Associate Professor Leilani Basham and graduating students will give the UH West Oʻahu Oli, He aloha no nā ʻEwa.
UH West Oʻahu candidate for graduation, Kuualoha Kauanoe-Luda, will serve as the student emcee. The copywriter and social media talent is a Creative Media/English Literature major who interned with Make-A-Wish Hawaiʻi, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, and the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Waianae resident Mahealani Kahala will speak on behalf of the graduating class. Kahala is a graduate of Saint Francis Schools and will achieve a bachelor’s degree in Humanities with a concentration in Creative Media. As a member of the creative media progam, Kahala was an instrumental member of the team that produced the community trailer at the Regal Cinemas Kapolei Commons 12, as well as the UH West Oʻahu’s fall commercial.
UH West O‘ahu graduates will receive their baccalaureate in Applied Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Public Administration and Social Sciences during the commencement ceremony. Graduates will also receive certificates in various programs including Applied Forensic Anthropology, Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, Health Care Administration, Risk Management and Insurance, Substance Abuse and Addictions Studies, and Democratic Principles and Social Justice.
The commencement ceremony will be streamed live on the UH West O‘ahu website at http://www.uhwo.hawaii.edu.
UH West O‘ahu Fall 2016 Commencement details:
- Family and friends are welcome to attend commencement in the UH West O‘ahu Lower Courtyard. No tickets will be issued. Guests may arrive at 8 a.m. The seating area will be closed off once it reaches maximum capacity.
- The parking lot is expected to fill to capacity. Carpooling is highly encouraged as there will be considerable congestion along the Farrington Highway entrance to the campus. The parking lot will close once it reaches maximum capacity.
- Lei vendors will be on site. Balloons and strollers are not allowed in the commencement seating area for safety reasons.
- A first-aid station will be available.
- A UH West Oʻahu Bookstore tent will be on-site selling UH West Oʻahu merchandise.
- Graduates may greet guests following the ceremony at approximately 10:30 a.m. at the UH West O‘ahu Great Lawn near alphabetical signs.