In a celebratory event hosted by Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, honorees include award recipients for extraordinary contributions to campus, last year’s retirees, and those celebrating milestone years of service.
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin, on May 6, 2025, hosted the annual Awards and Recognition Celebration. Honorees at the event were faculty and staff who won awards given out annually for extraordinary contributions to the campus, those who retired during the previous year, and those recognized for milestone years of service.
Accepted Student Reception included a lucky scholarship drawing. (Photo: Admissions Office/UH Hilo)Chancellor Irwin delivers remarks at the Accepted Student Reception on April 12, 2025. (Photo: Admissions Office/UH Hilo)
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin attended the Accepted Student Reception on April 12. The event welcomes newly admitted students and their families to celebrate their achievements and prepare them for their next chapter of their academic journey.
“It’s always so fun to meet with the accepted students and their families and hear the students’ dreams and plans for the future,” says Chancellor Irwin. “I am always so impressed with their dedication to giving back to their communities through their education.”
The annual reception is hosted by the Admissions Office and “serves as a bridge between high school and university life, in hopes to set the stage for students to thrive at UH Hilo,” according to a statement by the office.
Guests were greeted by UH faculty, staff, and current students, who extended personalized congratulations to each accepted student. This set the stage for a day filled with excitement and connection. Activities included talk story sessions with students and their families about the transition to the university, addressing questions and providing valuable insights. Financial aid staff were also on hand.
A campus resource fair had tabling with info on housing options, student organizations, leadership opportunities and other aspects of campus life that make UH Hilo unique. Faculty and deans highlighted academic programs, giving students an inside look at their prospective majors and the learning experience awaiting them.
Families explored the campus through guided tours. Current students shared their personal experiences and offered advice for navigating university life. There also were scholarship giveaways.
“Iʻm always delighted to hear what our Chancellor’s scholars are working on and what their plans are for the future,” says Chancellor Irwin. “We are fortunate to be able to support these bright and ambitious students in their college and career journeys.”
The scholarship recipients hail from public and private high schools in Hawaiʻi. The award covers four years of tuition for students who earned have a grade point average of at least 3.5 or higher while demonstrating leadership and/or community service while in high school.
All chancellor scholars are required to enroll as full-time students, and earn a minimum of 30 credits each academic year. They must also maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 and participate in leadership activities and/or community services with other chancellor scholars.
Full group shot of current Chancellor Scholars, the Chancellor (front row at right), and Professor of Communication Randy Hirokawa (front center left), at the dinner event on April 29.
Comments closed
Flanking the group shot are leaders of the UH Hilo delegation in the Merrie Monarch parade in Hilo, April 26, 2025: Chancellor Bonnie Irwin (3rd from left), vice chancellors Keiki Kawaiʻaeʻa (2nd from left) and Kalei Rapoza (far right), along with college director Norman Arancon (far left) and deans Michael Bitter and Simon Kattenhorn (2nd and 3rd from right respectively). (Courtesy photo from the Office of the Chancellor/UH Hilo)
“Participating in the Merrie Monarch parade is a wonderful way to connect broadly with our community,” says Chancellor Irwin. “It was so gratifying to see alumni along the parade route and to hear people cheering for our hometown university! It certainly helped to walk the route behind the Waiakea HS band, whose cadences kept us all in step.”
Chancellor also attended the festival with Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor Susan Kazama on April 24 at Hilo’s Edith Kanakaʻole Multi-Purpose Stadium.
“For the last two years, Chancellor Kazama has joined me for one of the evenings of Merrie Monarch,” says Chancellor Irwin. “This year we attended the Miss Aloha Hula competition together. It is so fun to share our appreciation for the dedication and hard work that each young wahine brought to the competition and to marvel at the grace and beauty of all the contestants. Truly a memorable night!”
UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin (at left) and Hawaiʻi Community College Chancellor Susan Kazama attend the Merrie Monarch Festival on April 24, 2025, at Hilo’s Edith Kanakaʻole Multi-Purpose Stadium. (Courtesy photo from Office of the Chancellor/UH Hilo)
Comments closed
With the many sister cities that Hilo has, this is truly not only a diverse community, but also an international one. The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo plays a big part in that, through our academic programs, the opportunities our students have to study abroad, and through the international guests, students, and scholars we welcome here on campus.
UH Hilo has 40 international exchange partners, and international universities and communities are often coming to us to foster additional partnerships. We are all enriched through these international relationships, which are a key element in UH Hilo being the diverse campus it is.
Our campus celebrates our international community through events and exchange programs year round.
Each October we celebrate United Nations Day with a Parade of Nations featuring delegations of students wearing their traditional attire and holding high the flags of their countries. The students also share song, dance, arts, crafts, and information from their homelands. UH Hilo has about 250 international students this year from nearly 40 different countries around the world, and this year’s event highlighted their presence on campus and brought everyone together — participants and the larger campus population — as one university community living in peace and dignity.
Another annual event is International Education Week, held in November. This year, international books and food were celebrated and shared; students held a photo contest with images brought back from their international exchange experiences; a workshop taught Chinese calligraphy; a block party shared music, games and crafts; a panel of National Student Exchange and Study Abroad alumni shared their experiences on exchange; and an International Night Market celebrated an array of cultures through food sampling, crafts, fashion and performances (including UH Hilo’s Jazz Orchestra!).
Our Host Family Program matches our international students with families in the local community who help the newcomers acclimate to our island and culture. Hosts provide home-cooked meals and supportive conversations, sightseeing and shopping trips, meet-ups and talk-throughs, all cultivating a feeling of ʻohana (family) for both hosts and students. Nearly 100 new international students from 19 countries have enrolled at UH Hilo this year, and each one is met with aloha, welcomed and supported throughout their time with us.
International students also contribute to our island and communities through their research and internships. Recently, marine science major Manuela Cortes, who hails from Columbia, interned and conducted research with the National Park Service here on Hawaiʻi Island. Two student-athletes in men’s tennis, Agustin Gentile from Argentina and Filippo DiPerna from Italy, interned with the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on Hawaiʻi Island. Three international students at the College of Business and Economics — Jing Feng from China, Ginate Mahuru from Papua New Guinea, and Basil Tavake from Solomon Islands — completed a program funded by the National Science Foundation that focused on developing highly successful artificial intelligence chatbots for UH Hilo business students seeking academic advising or career advice.
Our campus also welcomes international visiting scholars: for example, political scientist Maria Armoudian from the University of Aukland, New Zealand, was on campus for the month of October sharing with students and the public her expertise on human rights and environmental policy. Innovative artist Hung Keung, based in Hong Kong, has worked with students and welcomed the public to his exhibition on 3D videos and lectures.
This international community at UH Hilo adds to the rich diversity on campus and primes all our students to thrive here in Hawaiʻi while preparing them to be global citizens.
Further, several of our Hawaiʻi and other U.S. resident students are currently scholarship recipients traveling abroad to expand their own education. Kyson Kaneko (Business), Brooklyn Geiger (Japanese Studies), and Dominic Hilman (Linguistics) are studying respectively at Tokyo Gakugei University, Nanzen University, and Hokkaido University in Japan; Leiya Margareth Torrano (Business) is at the University of Birmingham in England; and Whitney Taylor (English) is studying at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Korea.
We take pride in the diversity at UH Hilo and in preparing our students for a productive life in a global society.
