UH Hilo celebrates 2023 Spring Commencement May 13

Justina Mattos, Ph.D.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo celebrates its 2023 Spring Commencement Saturday, May 13, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Edith Kanaka`ole Stadium. The ceremony may also be viewed via live stream at: https://go.hawaii.edu/XDz

Approximately 500 students have petitioned for degrees and/or certificates and for various post-graduate credentials, including the University’s first graduates of the Aeronautical Sciences Program. Students represent the College of Arts and Sciences, Ka Haka `Ula O Ke`elikolani College of Hawaiian Language, College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management, College of Natural and Health Sciences, College of Business and Economics, and Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy. The ceremony is by limited invitation and not open to the public. Students are allowed to invite six guests, who must be registered.

The University will also posthumously award the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to legendary kumu hula and composer Edith Kekuhikuhipu‘uoneonāali‘iōkohala Kenao Kanaka‘ole (1913-79) in recognition of her contributions toward the preservation and revitalization of the Hawaiian language and culture.

Kanaka‘ole worked as a teacher at Hawai‘i Community College (1971-74) and at UH Hilo (1974-79) where she developed courses and seminars on Hawaiian language, ethnobotany, Polynesian history, genealogy and Hawaiian chant and mythology.

In March 2023, a commemorative quarter honoring Kanaka‘ole was released into circulation by the U.S. Mint. She is one of five American women to be minted on new quarters as part of the 2023 honorees for the American Women Quarters™ Program.

Justina Taft Mattos, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Drama at UH Hilo, delivers the keynote address.

Mattos is also Chair of the Performing Arts Department and is a proud alumna of UH Hilo, where her studies focused on theatre and Hawaiian culture. While her graduate studies took her to the University of Oregon for an M.A. and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for a Ph.D., it was her life-long dream to return to teach at her alma mater in Hilo.

She teaches courses in acting, directing, playwriting, dramatic literature, theatre history, and drama pedagogy. She also acts and directs in a variety of genres, from musical theatre to Shakespeare. As a playwright, she writes in English, Hawaiʻi Creole English, and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi. Her most recent keiki musical, Moʻo Huelo: Tale of a Tail, was presented at the Keaka Hawaiian Language Theatre Festival, and televised statewide on ʻOiwi TV.

Mattos is the recipient of the 2021 UH Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Sean Kauāakeakua “Kauā” Segundo, an undergraduate receiving his second Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Hawaiian Language and Linguistics, is student speaker. His remarks will be given in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi.

During his time at UH Hilo, he worked as a student archivist at the Kaniʻāina Hawaiian Language repository, served as student representative with the UH Hilo Student Association (UHHSA) from Spring 2022 -Spring 2023, a member of the Hanakahi Council, and a lecturer with the Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani College of Hawaiian Language teaching Hawaiian language through Total Physical Response.

Segundo is also deeply involved in Hawaiian cultural activities, such as hula, Hawaiian oratory, and Hawaiian music.

He plans to pursue a Master of Arts degree in Indigenous Language and Culture with a focus on Hawaiian Language and Hawaiian Linguistics, followed by a Ph.D. in Hawaiian and Indigenous Language and Culture Revitalization.

The ceremony will be recorded and available for viewing at: https://hilo.hawaii.edu/commencement/.