LIHU‘E — About 80 graduates celebrated their achievements, but only two dozen made it to the Kauai Community School for Adults graduation, Tuesday evening at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall. Those two dozen graduates were greeted by an overwhelming
LIHU‘E — About 80 graduates celebrated their achievements, but only two dozen made it to the Kauai Community School for Adults graduation, Tuesday evening at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall.
Those two dozen graduates were greeted by an overwhelming sense of pride from fellow classmates, friends, and family, as they tentatively and nervously waited for the moment of their processional.
Pride and the sense of feeling good was the common thread of the evening, the first time the word “proud” made its appearance was from Dickie Chang of Wala‘au Productions, who kept repeating that word throughout his congratulatory speech, and repeated again by not only student speakers, but from the keynote speaker as well.
Chang explained that he was approached by Terry Proctor to be a speaker, and with a full calendar to juggle, “I came because I’m proud of what you have accomplished, and this is a very special evening.”
Fletcher Parker, one of three student speakers at the ceremony, said he dropped out of high school in his junior year because of problems in his family.
That taken care of, Parker, who spoke on behalf of the GED (General Educational Development high-school diploma equivalency) graduates, said he’ll be starting school at the Kaua‘i Community College in August, Tuesday night being just a step on his road.
He encouraged anyone who is thinking about taking the GED classes to “get it done. Get it out of the way. It feels really good.”
Harrie-Lynn Spencer, speaking on behalf of the competency-based-course graduates, told the audience, “I dropped out in 1985.”
Ten years and four children later, in 1995, Spencer said she went to all the classes with the help of her mother, who helped care for the children while she attended classes.
Then, on the day of her finals, her mother passed away, and she failed the test.
“My life is over,” she said, explaining that the value of education eluded her until 2005, when she approached the staff at the Kauai Community School for Adults, who encouraged her to take the test again.
She was nervous, she said. She studied hard, but it had been 10 years since she had tried before and, during that time, a lot had changed. She prayed during the test, taking the full 90-minute allocation for the examination, and asked for help because it appeared the questions were getting the better of her.
“And, guess what? I passed. I was so happy, I cried,” Spencer said. “I thanked God for giving me a second chance.
“When they asked me to be a speaker tonight, I said ‘yes,’ and I don’t even know why I said it, because I have stage fright,” she said, her sense of pride and elation totally overshadowing her stage fright.
“I’m going back to become a nurse,” she said. “But, I also want to be a role model for my children.”
Ronald Finney, who spoke on behalf of the high-school-diploma-program graduates, explained that he has been involved with the staff of the Kauai Community School for Adults for the past five years, during which time, he said, “I never imagined that it would be me standing here at the convention hall.”
Finney, who earned his diploma while incarcerated, said, “My whole world changed when I got my diploma. It is the key (to the future), and I’m thankful for the staff for their help and encouragement.”
Keynote speaker Maggie Cox, the Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau representative to the state Board of Education, acknowledged each of the graduates’ achievements, noting that there are a lot of people who have better cars, make more money, and live in bigger houses. But what is success? she asked.
“Success is having a goal, and working real hard like each of you did, to achieve that goal, and how it feels really good,” Cox said while relaying her personal saga of how she came to “the city of Kapa‘a” as a teacher out of college, only to discover, “they gave away my job.
“Tonight is the achievement of one goal, and the beginning of another,” she told the graduates. “There are choices to make. But, it has to be your choice, not that of your wife, or family, or friends. Set your goal, and work really hard. We’re all very proud of you.”
Graduate Rebecca Ayon served as the mistress of ceremonies for the event that saw the graduates make their appearance by passing through the saber arch performed by the cadets of the Waimea High School JROTC program’s Saber Unit, under the supervision of Maj. Victor Aguilar.
The processional and recessional were performed as Arnold Meister, longtime state Department of Education teacher, singer and actor and, now, instructor for the Kauai Community School for Adults. He tickled the ivories of the old convention-hall piano, with strains of “Pomp and Circumstance” only serving to garnish the overwhelming sense of pride from the audience.
Graduates received their diplomas with the help of Eugene Uegawa, principal for the Kauai Community School for Adults, Chang, and Cox, as state DOE Kaua‘i Complex Superintendent Daniel Hamada joined members of the audience in witnessing this milestone event for the graduates.
The Kauai Community School for Adults instructional staff includes Todd Barcial, Gayle Cuizon, Bernie Enrique, Julie Keane, Cheryl Morita, Matthew Sherman, Steven Kui Souza, and Jett Tokita.
Richard Clark, Caylen Kilmer, Kaniu Huihui, Fletcher Parker, Shanna Peretti, Andrew Saia, Harrie-Lynn Spencer and Taylor Thompson were among those who recently received their state high-school diplomas from the Kauai Community School for Adults.
These and other individuals earned their degrees by completing one of the two diploma programs available through KCSA, the GED (General Education Development) and the CB (Hawai‘i, Competency-Based High School Diploma Program). Individuals wishing to find out more about these programs may call KCSA at 274-3390.
