Posted on: Thursday, December 19, 2002
UH-Hilo to honor graduates Saturday
Advertiser Staff
HILO, Hawai'i — The fall semester commencement ceremony Saturday at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo will witness the awarding of the college's first master's degrees in education.
Thirteen candidates completed the five-semester program with cohort members from various public and private schools and Hawai'i Community College. The program includes 15 classes for a total of 33 credits and a master's project.
"This is a really big accomplishment for our students and the community," said Alice Kawakami, associate professor and co-chairwoman of education at UH-Hilo. "The community and the university worked for more than a decade to make it possible for this group of educators to earn their master's of education at home in Hilo. Thankfully we had the will to persist."
Saturday's 9 a.m. ceremony in the UH-Hilo gym also will recognize 196 students graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences, 13 from the College of Agriculture, Forestry & Natural Resource Management, and eight from Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani, the college of Hawaiian language.
Department of Education superintendent Patricia Hamamoto will be the keynote speaker. The graduating class will be represented by student speakers Tamara Bronk and Aaron Phillips.
Bronk, a communications major pursuing a minor in business administration, is a California native who carries a 3.99 GPA. She twice received the College of Arts and Sciences' merit-based tuition waiver, is a two-time recipient of the All-American Scholar Award and was the May 2002 recipient of the National Collegiate Business Merit Award.
Phillips, a fellow communications major, carries a 3.5 GPA. He came to UH-Hilo last year after attending Montana State University. An Army veteran of the Gulf War, Phillips earned numerous decorations and received the Purple Heart after being wounded by an Iraqi suicide bomber. He also was awarded the Bronze Star for disarming 18 Iraqi soldiers in Kuwait with the assistance of just one other soldier.
