The Brigham Young University - Hawaii 2008 Commencement Ceremony took place on Saturday. I decided to check it out, as I had an uncle, cousin, and several close friends finally earning their degrees.

The ceremony was very nice, and rather solemn–I give a lot of credit to Vernelle Lakatani, the school registrar, for her efforts to correctly pronounce long, tongue twister names from Hawaii, Samoa, Mongolia, China, Tonga, the Philipines, Marshall Islands, and countless other exotic countries of origin.

Of course, once the ceremony was over, the madness began.

I had to sort through this crowd to give out the 8 lei I brought with me!

I thought these signs were adorable.

Congrats to all the graduates who are moving on to the next big step in their lives, be it careers or graduate school–you worked hard for it!

My little brother graduated from Kahuku High School last night.

How did that happen?! (So quickly, I mean )

The commencement ceremony ran smoothly (if a little rowdily, as usual), and even started on time! The seniors ran the entire show, singing the National Anthem and Hawai’i Pono’i, giving valedictory addresses, and even performing a group song and dance for the crowd adapted from their songfest routine earlier this spring.

During their performance, the seniors pulled out signs thanking parents, relatives, teachers, coaches, and various community members.

I really enjoyed the remarks given by Marie Jeanne Napa’a, the Senior Class President. It was apparent that she worked extremely hard to make sure her classmates had a memorable senior year–and from the standing ovation her classmates gave her, I’d say she did a pretty good job.

Congrats to the class of 2008!
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Of course, once the commencement ceremony ended, the madness began. The area outside the CAC was a mass of humanity struggling to find all the graduates they brought lei for. Most families made large signs to wave over their graduates, however, which definitely helped. Here is the one my sister Jamie and cousin Christine made for Evan:

The sign combines Evan’s middle name, favorite phrase, and a picture of a tako he caught while diving in La’ie.

Congratulations to the 2008 Kahuku graduates, who have been awarded over $1.7 million in scholarships to date.

Congratulations to the 6 valedictorians (those students with a 4.0 or higher cumulative G.P.A.): Ana Reidy, Nicholas Sirlin, Kristian Au, Tiffany Polk, Amanda Stratton, Carlyn Hubner, and Samantha Thee. I know how much work you put in to earn those medals!

Congratulations to my cousins who earned degrees last night: Jocelyn Beaver, To’a and Tilo Hill, Amanda Soliai, and Shiloah Te’o.

And most especially, congratulations to Evan for a job well done. I’m proud of you!

My brother Evan and I after he received his diploma.

Good luck, graduates, as you go on to college, jobs, and life as adults. Now is when things really start getting exciting. Again, congratulations!!