Yesterday, another class participated in commencement exercises at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, and in a step forward, we were able to hold small ceremonies in person for the first time since December 2019. Congratulations, graduates!
Some universities do not hold December commencement, preferring to have just the larger spring ceremony, but I speak from experience when I say that it is hard to wait five months or more to celebrate one’s graduation. When I earned my Ph.D., UC Berkeley only did spring ceremonies, so even though I finished in August and graduated in December, I did not have the opportunity to “walk” until May, after I had already been teaching for months across the country.
Still, it was an important milestone to celebrate with my parents. Introducing them to the faculty whose classes I had been taking for many years was a great experience. I even remember my somewhat shy and introverted dissertation advisor slipping out of the ceremony early to go get me some flowers. The day was a milestone for all of us.
In some ways, however, I prefer the fall commencement. December commencement ceremonies tend to be a little smaller and more intimate, which actually gives families more opportunities to meet other graduates, faculty, and staff at the university, individuals who have truly made a difference in their graduate’s life. It allows us more time to celebrate each individual student.
Also, the bond among December graduates is often closer because of that small ceremony. This year, the pandemic made us make the ceremony even smaller in order to have some distancing among the graduates and the attendees. Thus in Fall 2021, the graduates shared a unique experience. Even though they could only have two guests each, I hope they felt that camaraderie of the small group and are moving into the holiday season with their heads held high.
December graduations are sometimes risky propositions, however! In Hilo, we can sometimes get by without rain in May, but a December ceremony is virtually guaranteed to be a wet one!
When I worked in Illinois, we often had to contend with snow on graduation day, one time so much so that we had to cancel the ceremony. But with winter also comes the holiday season, and the joy of the holidays and the hope for the new year are hallmarks of graduations as well.
Our December UH-Hilo grads are embarking on a new phase of their lives. Many are local and will be joining our workforce, armed with new skills and new credentials. They will be making their way into full-fledged citizenship: paying taxes, voting and serving our community in new ways.
Others will return home to another island, another state or another nation, and by doing so, spread our island values and strong sense of ‘aina and ‘ohana to their home communities. These values, whether applied locally or internationally, will benefit us all with greater community and collaboration, a greener, more eco-friendly planet, and a world more prepared to meet the complex challenges of the future.
Our graduates will be heading into health care, education, science and art, social services and technology, conservation and culture. Each is also fortified with a firm grounding in other subjects — those general education courses that many graduates will not understand the value of until many years down the line.
Most students who emerge from college and university have at least one course that they are not sure why they “had” to take. But the subject matter of these courses creeps into their lives directly and indirectly for years to come. The experience of taking a course in an unfamiliar topic is a growth experience in itself.
The holiday season leads us toward reflection as we look back on the year that is ending (and what a year this has been!), and I hope that as our graduates reflect back over the year and their time at UH-Hilo, they value the knowledge, the experiences and the opportunities that a university education has given them. I know I am grateful for their presence and the many contributions they have made to our campus and our community. Mahalo!
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.