Indigenous education will be highlighted at UH Hilo’s 2016 Fall Commencement
The commencement program will not include a traditional keynote speaker this time around but rather highlight the student speaker and feature a hula presentation about learning and growth.
Fall Commencement at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo takes on a different look this year, reflecting the view of higher education through an indigenous lens promoted by the UH System’s Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao initiative. The initiative seeks to make the 10 UH campuses throughout the state leaders in indigenous education.
The UH Hilo commencement program will not include a traditional keynote speaker this time around but rather highlight the student speaker and feature a hula presentation about learning and growth.
Student speaker
Kyle James Davis, an agriculture major, will represent the graduating class as student speaker. Davis, who is a candidate for a bachelor of science in tropical horticulture, has maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.48. His academic achievements include being named to the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management Dean’s List in 2013 and 2015.
Davis also earned a Semester at Sea Scholarship and spent spring 2014 studying aboard the MV Explorer in nearly a dozen countries.
Davis is an ordained minister, who served five years in the U.S. Army, including over two-and-a-half years in Iraq as a combat medic.
His commencement address will draw from his numerous life experiences and will include a call for his fellow graduates to broaden their horizons.
Chant-hula presentation
The chant-hula will be performed by UNUKUPUKUPU, the Indigenous Leadership through Hula Program under the directorship of Pele Kaʻio, Hawaiian Protocols Committee chairperson, and Taupōuri Tangarō, director of Hawaiian Culture and Protocols Engagement at UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College.
Organizers anticipate a dynamic performance, with at least 50 individuals representing UH Hilo, Hawaiʻi CC, and Waiākea High School.
Gail Makuakāne-Lundin, interim executive assistant to the chancellor and director of Kīpuka Native Hawaiian Student Center, will introduce the chant-hula entitled, ʻUlei Pahu I Ta Motu, which was composed more than 200 years ago and documents the evolution of world view. Makuakāne-Lundin is a member of UNUKUPUKUPU.
The chant-hula will be preceded and followed by the sounding of 20 pahu (drums) and 20 pū (conch-shell trumpets). The 20 pū will also sound honoring moana-nui-ākea (large and broad oceans) that connect Hawaiʻi to the world. The performance concludes with the presentation of paʻakai (sea-salt) to honor the profound intersection where the learner transitions to graduate.
UH Hilo Chancellor Don Straney says the 2016 Fall Commencement provides a unique opportunity to showcase the UH Hilo—Hawaiʻi Community College Papa O Ke Ao collaboration.
Commencement
The UH Hilo 2016 Fall Commencement will be held Saturday, Dec. 17, 9 a.m. at Vulcan Gym.
A total of 242 students have petitioned for 318 degrees and/or certificates from the College of Arts and Sciences (233), College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management (21), College of Business and Economics (30), College of Pharmacy (6) and Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language (7), while 21 others are candidates for various post-graduate honors.
