Column by Chancellor Irwin: We celebrate our graduates
This time of year we celebrate with all our graduates, knowing that we are not just the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, but the university of Hilo and for Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island families and communities.
This column by UH Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin was posted at the UH Hilo Chancellor’s Blog on June 2, 2025.
At the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, commencement season is quite busy, but also so gratifying as we see the results of all the hard work of our entire university ʻohana, but especially the students, come to fruition. In addition to our main campus-wide commencement ceremony, all six colleges, along with the nursing and education schools and several departments host smaller celebrations for their graduates. What makes these events even more special is the presence of families, community partners, and supporters.
The College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management held its annual Senior Awards Recognition Night at the college’s Agricultural Farm Laboratory in Panaʻewa. Seniors and their families attended to honor the students for earning baccalaureate degrees and/or subject certificates this spring. Several students received awards for their outstanding academic or service achievements.
The College of Arts and Sciences held its annual Student Award Convocation Celebration to recognize student achievement and success across all departments and programs. This year, 15 programs presented over 45 awards during the ceremony, and there was a lunch that followed open to all students from the college and any family members attending the event.
The School of Education, which is part of the College of Arts and Sciences, also held its Closing Celebration, a community inclusive event designed to celebrate our master of arts in teaching candidates who completed their licensure year and to welcome them into the teaching profession (if they continue in the program and complete year two, they graduate with a master’s degree). Invited to this year’s event, along with the students and their families, were cooperating teachers who had mentored the candidates in their student teaching semester.
The College of Business and Economics invited local business representatives to their year-end Business Night event and featured a panel of students discussing what they looked for in job opportunities. The students and local community leaders learned from each other as they networked during the event, and everyone celebrated the students for their awards and scholarships.
At the College of Natural and Health Sciences’ Student Awards Celebration, highest achieving students across all departments were honored. Ten students from different departments received Excellence Awards, and 37 other types of departmental awards and acknowledgements were awarded, ranging from academic excellence to exceptional research and competitive internships. Family members joined in the celebration.
The School of Nursing, housed within the College of Natural and Health Sciences, held two ceremonies in May: a White Coat Ceremony to celebrate 10 graduates for their doctor of nursing practice degrees, and a Pinning Ceremony to celebrate 37 graduates who earned their bachelor of science in nursing degrees. The Nursing Class of 2025 included a cohort from UH Hilo and a cohort from Waiʻanae, Oʻahu, where UH Hilo has a longstanding affiliation with Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health.
Our Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy celebrated 36 graduates now conferred with doctor of pharmacy degrees and eligible to become licensed as practicing pharmacists. Along with their PharmD degrees, the graduates concurrently earned a bachelor of arts in pharmacy studies. The college also celebrated students receiving specialized graduate certificates: four in healthcare leadership, one in rural health, three in health science research.
Ka Haka ʻUla o Keʻelikōlani, our Hawaiian language college, held ʻAha Hoʻomoloa ceremonies for their graduates, where the graduates received their kīhei and were adorned with lei that they or loved ones made. Joining the graduates for the ceremonies held at Haleʻōlelo, where the college is housed, were members of their own ʻohana, UH Hilo leadership, college faculty and staff, and others who supported the student’s journeys as they earned bachelors or minors in Hawaiian studies and also linguistics, and certificates in Hawaiian studies. A separate graduate ʻAha Hoʻomoloa ceremony was also held for those who earned their master of arts in Indigenous language and culture education, and certificates in Kahuawaiola Indigenous teacher education.
This time of year we celebrate with all our graduates, knowing that we are not just the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, but the university of Hilo and for Hilo and Hawaiʻi Island families and communities. We are a university proud of our graduates embarking with an abundance of knowledge that will enrich not only their own lives, but also those of their ʻohana, island, state, and beyond.
With aloha,
