LIHU‘E — The Project Graduation committees from the three public high schools said they will take whatever help they can get for their respective projects. Yolanda Yee, representing Kaua‘i High School, Cassie Camara, representing Kapa‘a High School, and Esther Estes,
LIHU‘E — The Project Graduation committees from the three public high schools said they will take whatever help they can get for their respective projects.
Yolanda Yee, representing Kaua‘i High School, Cassie Camara, representing Kapa‘a High School, and Esther Estes, representing Waimea High School, had the rare occasion to meet in a single place, Wednesday when they accepted a grant from the Alexander and Baldwin Foundation for their respective Project Graduation events.
“It’s not much, but we at A&B believe and support the Project Graduation program and this is one way we can be a part of it,” said Dewayne Kong of Matson Navigation, one of the A&B subsidiaries on Kaua‘i.
Camara said in addition to sponsorships from community organizations like A&B, students pay a nominal fee to attend the drug-free, alcohol-free event following the high school graduation.
“Dewayne helped by sponsoring the fee for some of the students who could not afford to pay the Project Grad fee,” Camara said. “Now, he got his company to become involved in a bigger way.”
Camara, in agreement with the other representatives, said the volunteer-based Project Graduation usually ends up costing between $30,000 and $35,000 to host.
Estes said Waimea High School coordinated with Kapa‘a High School one year to help defray the cost of entertainment.
“Everything helps,” Yee said. “We’ll take any kind of help we can get.”
Project Graduation is usually headed up by volunteer parents who have seniors graduating. However, on Project Graduation night which takes place several hours following the high school ceremony and runs overnight until about 6 a.m. the following morning, parents of students in the 11th grade take over chaperoning duties.
“The location and program is usually kept secret from the seniors,” Estes, whose children have since graduated Waimea High School, but continues to help. “But it’s a good program and we try to make sure students have fun.”
Yee said what helps is to have the students register early so the committee can get a handle on how many T-shirts, souvenirs and other memorabilia to order.
“We have about 260 students graduating at Kaua‘i High School, but have only about 20 registered so far,” Yee said. “It helps if the students register.”
Estes said about 90 percent of students graduating usually attend Project Graduation which helps keep the graduates safe and occupied with a final night they can spend with the rest of their classmates.
She said Waimea has about 165 students graduating and Kapa‘a has about 203 students graduating, Camara said.
“If students have difficulty in coming up with the fee for Project Graduation, there are several ways the committee has worked out so the students can still attend,” she said. “They can sell an extra amount of items for fundraising, help out a little longer than required at fundraising events, or even earn a scholarship for the fee.”
Kong said he remembers his high school days and there were no celebrations like Project Grad.
Yee said Project Graduation started about 18 years ago at Kaua‘i High School. The other two schools started their respective programs about 15 years ago.
This year’s Project Graduation will take place on May 21-22, the night each public high school celebrates its graduation.
“We never had anything like this when we graduated high school,” Estes said. “But it’s a good program and provides the students a safe and enjoyable environment following commencement.”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
