As graduation looms ever nearer, anticipation is beginning to grow within the student body who are undoubtedly eager to step out into the real world.
This can be a confusing time for some, when students are thrusted out into the upper echelons of education institutions, eschewing the small, comfortable classroom sizes afforded by community colleges, and into the daunting 300-seat lecture halls that shroud Mānoa.
It’s also a time for reflection for others who will be transferring to major universities. Of course, Mānoa isn’t the only destination for Kapi‘olani Community College graduates, as there are several other colleges in the state that are always accepting students. In the UH system, there is the West O‘ahu campus and the Hilo campus.
There are other options for those who wish to look beyond the University of Hawai‘i system as well, such as HPU, which offers campuses in both Kāne‘ohe and Honolulu. There’s also the slowly proliferating University of Phoenix, which has residence in Honolulu as well as Kapolei.
Then there is Chaminade, which shares estate with St. Louis High School, and is best known for it’s yearly participation in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Maui Invitational, which pits Chaminade against the top competition in the nation. It is the only tournament in the country that allows Division II teams to play against Division I teams.
The UH system comprises a total of ten campuses spanning six Hawaiian islands, making it the largest collegiate educational system in the state with roughly 60,000 students registered islandwide. According to the school’s website, when last measured in 2011, an estimated 9,023 students were enrolled last fall at KCC alone, with a roughly equal split in gender attendance.
Of the 6,000 graduate students going to school, roughly 90 of them will be earning their masters, and less than 10 will receive their doctorates.
Some see graduating as an exhilarating step in the right direction.
“I am so excited to start taking class at Mānoa,” said 22-year-old art student Shanon Kurasawa. “I’ve been there a couple times and it’s just huge.”
Others are not so enthusiastic.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready for the workload,” said 25-year-old Kawika Kahiapo, a liberal arts major. “My friends have told me about how much they have to do and it’s a little intimidating, but I think I will manage.”
KCC’s commencement ceremony will be held May 11 at 6 p.m on the Great Lawn.
In order to walk, graduating students must fill out a commencement application form online and turn it in by April 27 at 4 p.m at the Office of Student Activities in ‘Iliahi 126.
These forms are vital, as they will help the public speaker to pronounce your name as accurately as possible. Prospective students must return to the Office of Student Affairs after May 7 to pick up their name cards, which will be needed to enter the cafe on commencement day.