UH commencement Molokaʻi style
Commencement ceremonies for the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College are not all annual events.
“Every four years, our outreach sites on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi do graduations,” said University of Hawaiʻi Maui College Chancellor Lui Hokoana. “We also have outreach sites in Hāna and also in Lahaina. So it really celebrates the accomplishments of all our graduates from Maui College this year. We have a total of about 700.”
Between 2012 and 2016, the UH Maui Molokaʻi Education Center awarded 87 associate degrees, 17 bachelor’s degrees and 12 master’s degrees. Forty-one of the graduates participated in the 2016 commencement ceremony, including Ekolu Ah Yee. The Molokaʻi native earned associate degrees in Hawaiian studies and liberal arts, worked at the center as a tutor, and delivered one of the student addresses at commencement.
As part of UH Maui College, the center offers a wide range of credit and non-credit courses and certificate and associate degree programs. Like other UH outreach sites, it provides selected courses from other UH community colleges and receives selected bachelor’s and master’s degree programs from UH Mānoa, UH Hilo and UH West Oʻahu via UH-ITV.