LIHUE — On Friday, 274 Kaua‘i High School graduates, Class of 2021, were excited to be able to graduate formally back at Vidinha Stadium, where the tradition was taken away last year due to the pandemic.
Keynote speaker was Mayor Derek Kawakami, who said it was the first time that he had been invited to speak in person at his alma mater.
“I’ve learned so much more from all of you, than you will ever learn from me,” Kawakami said. “This is the class that has gone through and overcome the biggest challenge that the world has faced in recent history.
“I’ve watched all of you over the course of this past year, and I have grown tremendously as a person, as a father and as a leader by watching you. Either witness compassion, patience, grit, determination, flexibility and generosity. All of you have had to find a way to make sense of situations that at times seem to make no sense at all.”
Kawakami continued: “This is the class that has renewed my hope that things do indeed get better. This is the generation that gives me the promise that tomorrow will be a better day. I want to thank you. I want to thank your families.”
The mayor was followed by student keynote speaker, Autumn Lee, who gave a heartfelt speech about what it’s like to live with Tourette Syndrome.
“Knowing that there may be days when it feels like I’m stuck in a minefield, too, but as I move and grow through my minefields,” Lee said, “I can now proudly say ‘my name is Autumn Lee, I have Tourette Syndrome.’ I am now a graduate of Kaua‘i High School, Class of 2021. I wish you all the courage to make it through all your minefields you face in your life. In times they’ll become better things. Congratulations, Class of 2021.”
There were 12 valedictorians, with the top three valedictorians presenting speeches to their class and their families watching over them from the stands. The top three valedictorians are Tristan Flores, Napua Canales and Jessica Hreljac.
Flores had a 4.15 GPA in the third quarter, and will be studying pre-engineering at Kaua‘i Community College. “I feel kind of nervous,” Flores said. Flores opened his speech with a funny statement: “There’s one person I want to thank you personally, because he’s the best inspiration, and that person is me.” Flores made the crowd laugh with his transparency and his humor, but overall he was thankful to his class, teachers and ‘ohana.
Canales’ third-quarter GPA was at 4.122. She will be heading to the University of San Francisco to major in marketing. “I’ve always been interested in communications,” Canales said. “And, actually, I want a career in public relations. So, I think that marketing is like the closest one of the closer majors that I could get to become closer to my career goals.”
Canales reminded her classmates that entering the adult world is all about responsibilities and stepping up, something she knows they are already doing because they had to learn through distance learning.
“I know it took a lot of hard work to be here, but here we are. I am so proud of you all. I wish you the best of luck with whatever your future endeavors be.”
Hreljac, with a 4.116 GPA through the third quarter, will be attending Cal Polytechnic in San Luis Obisbo to study architectural engineering. “I am very excited to start this new chapter of my life and see where it takes me.” Hreljac encouraged her classmates with a quote that resonates with her: “Each and every one of us here tonight has something to be extraordinarily proud of,” Hreljac said.
“We have stuck with it and graduated through a global pandemic. Not even our parents could say that. I ask you to keep this quote by Robert F. Kennedy in mind: ‘Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all of those acts will be written the history of this generation.’”
Jennifer Hreljac, a teacher at Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School and mom of Jessica Hreljac, was excited to hear her daughter speak.
“Her father and I are extremely proud of her accomplishments,” Jennifer Hreljac said. “We look forward to watching her thrive at Cal Poly.”
There were other awards announced that night, for outstanding student performances throughout their four years, and the Early Learning Program recognized 27 graduates receiving certificates of competence from Kaua‘i Community College.
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Stephanie Shinno, education reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.
Sorry mate. With superior quality? That is the best explanation I can give. Gung Ho movie. I think came out in 1981. Michael Keaton. He was the supervisor.