This is my favorite time of the year: The month of May is when we hold our big Commencement ceremonies at the Stan Sheriff Center, where beaming graduates march in with caps and gowns, and march out to a throng of family and friends ready to greet them with fragrant lei and tearful congratulations. These joyful events are especially meaningful in 2022, because all graduates – no matter what degrees they have obtained – are united in the knowledge that they are stronger, wiser and forever changed.
We are especially grateful that, throughout all that has happened over the past two years, academic achievement and excellence continued unabated. In this issue, read about motivated Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies students who are using their knowledge to make a positive difference in health care. Meet a journalism sophomore who has already mapped out her career, powered by the long-term goal of returning to her high school to train the next generation of communicators. And we are proud to introduce you to three of our outstanding faculty members – one an expert on tea in Taiwan, another a grant-winning anthropological archaeologist knowledgeable about Cambodia and a third who is deemed to be a Living Treasure of Hawaiʻi.
Now you know why there is so much pride in CSS, and how there is only optimism in the air as we leave this academic year. Congratulations, graduates. Congratulations to their teachers and supporters. And, given all that we have triumphed over, congratulations to us all.
Denise Eby Konan
Dean, College of Social Sciences
